Do Your Thing, Your Way
There is a band I used to listen to called Pavement, and they had a song called “We Are Underused.” That title always struck me because for so much of my adult life I’ve felt hugely underused. I’ve felt like my talents and gifts weren't being used by the world, like they were just going to waste.
What I’ve come to realize is that no boss or employer is going to use my talents and gifts to the best of their ability except for me. The responsibility is mine alone to create an adventure for myself that fully utilizes my skill set.
Only 20% of Americans are “passionate” about their jobs. The other 80% are mildly interested, apathetic, or just full-on hate it. That’s terrible. That is a passion crisis.
So many people go through life hoping that something interesting will happen that will change everything for them, but the reality is, it won’t. The writer Charles Bukowski (who spent most of his life as a miserable drunk) wrote, “I was waiting around for something interesting to happen, but nothing ever did unless I caused it.”
That’s the truth. I’ve watched so many people I know waste years waiting for something interesting to happen, but nothing ever did, because they weren’t causing anything. I think that one of the most important skills to develop is the skill of initiating. Cause things to happen.
I understand why people hesitate. I understand the reluctance to initiate. It stems from a fear of safety and security. We all have physical needs that we need to provide for. On Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs that is taught in most high-school health classes, the bottom layer is survival needs, such as food, water, and shelter. Then safety in the form of locks on doors and financial security. As we move up the ladder of needs we establish relationships with other people that provide us our love & belonging needs, and we involve ourselves in activities that build self esteem and confidence.
The peak of the pyramid is self-actualization, that is being yourself in your daily activities and actively living your fullest potential, donating your talents and gifts to the world in the most meaningful way possible. Who doesn’t want that?
Of course we all want that, but we get hung up in fear of losing the bottom levels. We get to level 4 or 5 and decide to play it safe to conserve what we have, rather than reach for a life that uses our talents to their fullest potential.
The truth is, when you reach for your fullest potential and go on your own great adventure, there will be struggles and difficulty and pain, but the whole world will conspire to help you in your dream. Why? Because people LOVE to see someone going for it with everything they’ve got. People LOVE to help a person that is on their own great adventure. Think about it. If you come across someone who is in the passionate pursuit of using their talents to their fullest potential, what do you want to do? You want to help them because they’re inspiring and you want them to succeed! You want them to be right!
One of the best things about pursuing your own great adventure and causing something to happen is that once it is happening, you can bring other people along for the ride. You can pull them out of something boring and purposeless and plug them into your business or your project and give them something more interesting to do.
Everyone wants to do something that’s interesting to them. Everyone wants to use their talents to their fullest potential, but we hesitate, out of fear of losing the safety and security that we already have. This makes sense. It IS reasonable to be concerned, because every adventure is always a risk.
But if you can find a way to do your thing, your way, you can make sure that your talents are used to their fullest potential. Instead of waiting for someone to show up and give you something interesting to do, you can create it for yourself. And what better way to donate your gifts to the world, than YOUR way? Because if you don’t do it your way, then it will never exist THAT way. Your thing will happen other ways, but it will never happen YOUR way, unless you do it YOUR way.
The World Needs You to Do Your Thing, Your Way.
