When Competing
Most things aren’t as competitive as they seem, and, if you really want it badly enough, you are competing with no more than one in every ten people who have declared an interest in something.
Most people will quit. They are not lazy or unmotivated, they may just have better things to do. Others won’t perform at a level that will justify staying in the race, and others, though good, will suffer from the irregularity and inconsistency that removes them as competitors.
It will not take long to realize that you aren’t really competing. Besides, most fields are elastic, and there will always be room for the production of things that people like. There are no empty rooms and spaces; there will only be what you will create and occupy.
The skill is in knowing what to start, what game to play, and where to compete. Nobody is ever wiped out by competition, unless he is playing a game he didn’t stand a chance at winning anyway. There are things you can do easier, things where you have a comparative advantage. Find them, polish your shine, and watch as you dazzle with the alchemy of a magician.
What You Must Know
Whatever you must know to lead the life you want, you will know. You will know because you’ll be so restless for not knowing it. At times, you will make mistakes that will lead you closer to acquiring this knowledge. At other times, your aspirations will lead you to drift towards the things you must know.
Don’t worry about not knowing, but be perceptive and malleable enough to bend to the teachings of the necessary knowledge. Once the moment arrives, move fast to benefit from the advantages of speed.
Institutions and Modernity
Many people feel dissatisfied with things like jobs and marriage, but the problem isn’t these; it is their conceptualization of them. Marriage is a basic institution structured around raising children. These other expectations that people have are their problems. Love has nothing to do with relationships and marriage; it cannot be confined to them, and they, in turn, cannot guarantee it.
A job was always a means of earning an income. That you want to enjoy your job is not your employer’s problem. You sell your labor, and you are compensated for your time. Any enjoyment of your job is an accidental outcome. Happiness and enjoyment are highly personal things; they cannot be found in a job. These remain your business, the type that only you can give yourself.
You will suffer greatly if you expect simple institutions to provide answers to complex and personal needs and questions. All personal needs are one’s business, and attempts to have them met otherwise is to outsource the means of meeting them. Parents who expect teachers to parent their children soon realize the limitations of this aspiration.
Teachers teach (not parent learners), a job provides a means of earning an income, and relationships remain ways of exchanging value (as defined by those who enter into them). Learn to meet your own needs, which is why living is a job in itself—your own job, not anybody else’s.
Quiet People
Quiet people love their peace and space. If they got their wish, they would never have to deal with anyone. Any time they have to deal with someone, it is an intrusion. It is not about how much interaction they want, it’s more about how much intrusion they are tolerating.
Your presence is a cost/annoyance to be minimized, and the near zero the final figure, the better. Don’t fool yourself when dealing with an introvert, she wishes she didn’t have to interact with you. But because she cannot, she entertains and tolerates you. Be skilled; be perceptive; do not test the limits of one who would rather never have to deal with you.
Energy and Ignition
Whatever enthusiasm you feel at the beginning of something, there will be less of it as time passes. Things thus generally become harder, or at least increasingly boring, as they unfold. If you aren’t excited about something at the beginning, there’s no point doing it. You simply won’t last long enough to reap the benefits of patience, resilience, and the lessons that must be learned along the way.
There’s a place for reason, and this will become clear as you continue to do something. As the enthusiasm wanes, you’ll have to rely more on it (reason). Having to engage this gear early on doesn’t make you more rational, it simply means you’re lacking that initial push that emotions normally provide. Even if you won, it would most likely be a lifeless win that wouldn't excite you. Heed the counsel of feelings. Whatever isn’t exciting enough to start won’t be rational enough to continue.
Good and Bad News
If you think something good about a person, tell them immediately. Don’t wait to remember compliments, especially when they are genuine. If you want to say something negative, suspend this thought for a reasonable period. If you still remember it later, it perhaps is worthy of being said. Say it then. If you have forgotten it, which will most likely be the case, then it wasn’t worthy of mention.
Small things are best ignored, except when they are compliments. This is so in all interactions—love, friendship, and even in performance appraisals.
"If you think something good about a person, tell them immediately"_ May God preserve you and bless you with peace and prosperity. As always amazing! Thank you so much for sharing :)
"A job was always a means of earning an income. That you want to enjoy your job is not your employer’s problem. You sell your labor, and you are compensated for your time. Any enjoyment of your job is an accidental outcome."
A part of me doesn't agree with this, and the realist (that I know you are) in me does. If you enjoy your job, the energy of that creates forward momentum and motion, and everyone around you in the work place picks up on that. You make more money, create new opportunities for yourself, people actively seek you out to work with you. People who enjoy their work are more particular about it and want to exceed a client's expectations, less likely to slack, feel more pride in doing well.