Passion is a fire
Why 'discipline' doesn't work (and how to actually develop it)
As I've been thinking through the questions "how do we choose what to work on" and "what motivates us to work" I've been trying to understand what "passion" is.
I've been struggling to actually define it, but recently I think I've come to a pretty solid hypothesis:
Passion is a fire.
On social media we see people who have the grindset-mindset: wake up at 4am, cold shower, eat nails without any milk, etc. They make videos and twitter threads to show it off, pitching those early morning routines and raw eggs have allowed them to build their lives, wallets, and shredded bodies.
How do they do it? Motivation? Willpower?
One of the things often pitched is discipline. "Just be disciplined bro."
So we try to replicate what we see on the outside -- their cold hard discipline. But the only fuel we have is a mere spark of inspiration from watching them do it. That fuel is like a few pieces of paper, or a handful of dry twigs. It may burn fairly bright for a short while, but very quickly burns out.
Were they just born with some innate discipline gene, or a massive willpower reserve?
Honestly, I don't think so.
These people are able to go through that suffering because they have a fuel that's stronger than their desire to lay in bed. Not the other way around.
The fire is only as strong, or lasts as long as you feed it.
The successful people we see are indeed passionate, they have the fire burning. But what is the fuel? At its core, its a competing interest. A value. An identity. A higher purpose. A call. Dharma.
THATS what allows us to be consistent or disciplined in the long term. Its those things that you can't help but doing, that are tied deeply into who you are.
Screw following your passion, you need to kindle and stoke it.
What's your fuel?
Personally, a lot of my projects are stacks of pallets. I take a few weeks or months "stacking pallets," just tinkering with things, not making much progress. When it finally lights, it burns super bright, but extinguishes out a short time later.
Instead, I'm going to start choosing those clean burning, longer lasting fuels. Start to act on my curiosities unapologetically, and start to turn those into a higher purpose.
How do we cultivate a higher purpose? Great question, hopefully we'll answer that together :)