Banning The Right Thing
I want to expose the myth of The One Thing That’s Right For You. There’s a lot of talk about finding the Thing That’s Right For You. That’s the thing you’re most passionate about; the thing that will motivate you naturally; the thing to get clear on so you can follow its path. It might be your "calling" or a project, the subject you study or the career you choose.
Here’s the problem: when you think in multitrack hyperspeed, thinking is the one thing you do. You have tons of great ideas. Any one of these great ideas can get you going, get you passionate and energized and surging ahead. The energy can be so powerful, and the thinking so rapid, that the idea creates its own reason for being the One Thing. You can be convinced that’s the right way to go, just by thinking about it.
It might be one of a thousand possibilities.
I find that for some folks the whole notion of picking the one way to go shuts them down, paralyzes them. It can make them feel stupid or insecure for not knowing that thing. But why should they when there are so many options? Picking one just shuts infinite doors.
So how do you pick what to focus on and what to do? I’m not suggesting you do nothing, and I’m not suggesting you discard your interest in particular ideas. I am saying that another approach might be more likely to keep you in action, and keep you happy, than chasing a notion of purpose that doesn’t suit everyone.
If you’re like me, your interest in something might be gone as soon as it has lost some novelty, even if it seemed amazing before- and then the trick is to pick some of those amazing ideas to go with when the time is ripe. They don’t need to be a forever purpose.