Revisiting The Idea That Helped Me Gain Clarity
Focus is often all we need and focus is easy when we are obsessed
Sometimes, we never escape our bubbles.
Sometimes, we are very confused and lack direction.
Sometimes, we overestimate our ability.
I have been in all of those situations. I overestimated my ability to think I can move mountains when I am yet to learn the art of moving stones. I was lost in my bubbles and in a desperate search for a map to guide me back on track.
Well, the beauty of going through all that is that I am where I am now, more aware and less idealistic. Reality slaps differently they say.
Now, what idea helped me the most to navigate this situation?
My question to Kapil:
Kapil’s answer:
The simple idea is that there is a difference between what you are interested in and what you are obsessed with.
Often, your obsession takes most of your time and you get better at whatever you are obsessed about because again, you are committing more of your time to it.
This idea helped to understand that far too often our mind tricks us to think we can all things and most things when in reality what we should be focusing our attention on is how to capitalize on what we are already obsessed with.
When I gave it even more thought, I realized that the list of what we are interested in will grow endlessly. However, we can only become obsessed with a few things at a time.
A common question I get from people is also around the question I asked up there. They want to know what to focus on. Maybe you also want to know. Take time to observe. What do you spend the majority of your time on? What occupies your mind when you are in the bathroom? Those are strong indications of what you are obsessed with. Find it and it may lead you to what to focus on.
Relevant reading - Don’t be a donkey
3 Ideas TO Challenge Your Mind
There is nothing worth doing that is not scary. There is no one who has achieved greatness without wrestling with their own doubts, anxieties, limitations and demons.
~ Ryan Holiday
A walk and your mind gains clarity
A family and your mind gains purpose
A workout and your mind gains confidence
A meaningful work, and your mind gains focus
A deep conversation and your mind gain ambition.
We believe we don’t have enough time when really we don’t have enough focus
~ Mark Manson
Things I am exploring right now
I am reading a lot and writing about the intersection of payment and crypto. You can connect with me if you have a unique perspective in this area. You can simply reply to this email.
I completed the book “The Things We See Only When We Slow Down”. It is such a delightful book that I intend to share a lot of what I gained in it later on.
I have also been doing a lot of reading about Data Management. It ties in directly with my work.
I am also researching personal finance in the UK context. Since I need that for myself.
See you next week (;
