Using Momentum & Mindfulness to Work Harder

THERE’S A BATTLE within all of us. I try to detach for a moment, and recognize the duality — the two distinctive wants that battle for majority attention:

1. The want of difficulty, and of seeking betterment for ourselves. Doing the right thing for the long-term, no matter how much hard work is needed.
2. The want of ease, and taking the path of least resistance. Doing the easiest thing no matter how detrimental it might be long-term.

Biologically speaking, human beings have evolved to favor ease over difficulty. Though, our prefrontal cortex — the most complex and cognitive part of our brain — has the ability to want more than just what’s easiest, and tries to combat our more primal and sluggish behavior.

Working Towards Something Better

THE INTERNET IS a remarkable utility that has changed humanity forever. Never in history has information been more freely available. Past generations wouldn’t have been able to fathom the amount of personal freedom that the Internet has given us. Because while the availability of content to consume is ever-present, what’s even more important is the fact we ourselves have the ability to create, to freely voice our opinions and creativity.

I’m starting to wonder what I’m doing on Medium, with my writing. I enjoy writing because it’s creating something. This has been at the heart of my identity — of who I think I am — for as long as I can remember. I want to discover or contribute something important to the world — that’s what I’ve set as my purpose in life.

“It is not that we have so little time but that we lose so much. … The life we receive is not short but we make it so; we are not ill provided but use what we have wastefully.”

— Seneca**, **On the Shortness of Life

Time is all we have — and it is our only limited currency. You can always get more money, you can always get more energy, but you can never get back time that you’ve spent. No matter how healthy you live, no matter how good your genetics are, your time is rangebound.

What isn’t so transfixed is our perception of time. A day that is spent doing something that is completely novel and laborious feels exponentially longer than a day spent doing something that is routine and pleasurable. Our mind has the ability to stretch or shorten our sensation of time, depending on our activities and mood.

How to effectively go about doing what’s truly important.

**PART ONE: HAVING FAITH IN GRAND DREAMS
** Understanding the why of the work is the most important thing that’s needed when starting out. It’s so easy to become discouraged when you’re in the the thick of the weeds, when you need to do difficult or tedious. Motivation and discipline to do such work comes from having a bigger picture — a purpose.

This purpose comes from a place of realistic optimism and idealism. It’s a messy and bold goal. A tangible, yet implausible objective without conventional measure or perspective. There’s a lot wrong with the world — and a lot of people that will complain about it — but how can you improve it? What troubles are you willing to tackle head-on for the good of humanity?