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In this episode, we dive deeper into when it might be beneficial to choose a lower level of success. Society often pressures us to make sure we’re living up to our potential, but is that always the right call?
Email us: brandon@strategic.li
Episode Notes:
- Book by the author of the 10,000 hour study: Peak, by Anders Ericsson
- Often people don’t think about shooting for a lower level of success because of cultural pressure or common wisdom.
- There is a “default” answer to how successful you should aim for. “Work your butt off, be the best.” If not, you were never “successful.” But the default answer is not YOUR answer.
- Is college graduation for you? Or is that just what you’ve been told or the stories you’ve heard? Is that next promotion right for you? Or is it just the next thing and you’re assuming that you should constantly be moving toward something farther ahead?
- We only hear about the higher levels of success: the sports superstars, the entrepreneurs who made millions, the geniuses. We don’t hear about the people who had moderate success, made good money, and enjoyed time with their friends and family.
- Example: speed running. You only hear about a new world record speed run. But what about the person who played it normally had just as much joy as the record holder?
- Someone might even think, “I should never even bother playing this game because I’ll never be the best at it.”
- Often the reason we don’t start something is because we didn’t stop and ask ourselves, “What is my goal in trying this? What am I after? Do I want to be the best or just enjoy myself?”
- Example: fighting video games
- Overall in our lives, often our stress or anxiety comes when we are striving for levels of success that we don’t even care about or in areas we don’t even care about.
- If you haven’t intentionally chosen your targeted level of success, you’re setting yourself up for unnecessary anxiety, stress, and dissatisfaction. This is often the source of our lack of joy and contentment.
- Example: Duncan Robinson in the NBA. He was a starter on his team because he chose to be very good at one thing.
- We’re not talking about just forcing yourself to be happy with a lower level of success, but redefine success in a way that still resonates with you and brings you joy.