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Finding your life's calling can fulfill you in every way imaginable. It can also ruin your life.

Awkward.

Everyone from influencers to self-help experts tell us to chase our passions - to pursue a life of purpose. But there’s a dark side to finding work that fulfills you: It can fill every waking second of your day.

And this kind of unreasonable time commitment makes us ripe for burnout.

Whether your vocation is being a YouTuber, a surgeon, firefighter, patisserie baker, bonsai tree expert, plate spinner - it’s not burnout-proof. With hustle culture’s pervasive influence, you’re programmed to believe it’s totally normal to work on overdrive since “you’ve found your calling.” Not to mention, your complaints about this self-sacrificial workload are disregarded because...you love what you do, right?

It’s a tricky spot to be in.

As a result, vocationally committed people tend to make excuses to work overtime, take work too personally, or simply forget to live life outside of work. In short: you become your own worst boss.

Like all work, vocations follow a long-term growth horizon. It takes time to master your vocation, even if it feels natural to you. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but loving what you do isn’t a ticket to becoming an overnight success.

As you figure out WTF you’re meant to do in life, understand challenges will continue to arise even after you’ve found your calling. Finding the perfect balance between consistency, ambition, and intensity will lead to joy.

And if you can find the joy in what you do, then you can do it forever (in moderation, of course). If you’re lucky enough to have a strong vocation, challenge yourself and ask: How could you be the best boss you’ve ever had?

Are We Too Busy To Enjoy Life?

Article | by Ness Labs

Ever feel like you’re too busy one week, but that next week things will definitely slow down?

And then next week comes and...you’re still busy. And the next week. And the week after that.

You get the gist.

There are times where our busy states feel cyclical. We’ll get asked to go on a walk, have dinner, go to space (unless you’re not a billionaire, awkward) and our default answer is: “I can’t. I’m too busy.”

Anne-Laure’s article asks us to re-examine our blind commitment to busyness. Being busy all the time creates the illusion of productivity. Research professor Dr. Brenée Brown goes so far as to claim that being “crazy busy” is a numbing strategy to avoid facing the truth of our lives. Ouch.

In a world of stimuli overload and dopamine snacks, not being busy isn’t an option. We’re afraid of idleness, because it’s during these pockets of silence where we might ask ourselves: “Am I doing work that I actually want to do?”

As our pal Malcolm Gladwell once said, “Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not have meaning. Once it does, it becomes the kind of thing that makes you grab your wife around the waist and dance a jig.”

Ensure you’re not just busy, but that the work you're doing has meaning. Is it aligning your trajectory with your high-level goals?

Anne-Laure reminds us that exciting work is good, but missing out on life’s moments is, well, not so good. Extreme busyness is another symptom of hustle culture. Slow down, be mindfully productive, and remember to enjoy life outside of work.

TL;DR
Focus on being productive instead of busy.

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Fear Setting: The Most Valuable Exercise I do Every Month

Article + Video | by Tim Ferriss

According to Tim Ferriss, most of us would rather choose unhappiness over uncertainty.

In the human brain, uncertainty = danger. Yet the life-altering decisions we might encounter - asking for a raise, buying a one-way ticket, starting a business - are often the very ones we need to do to grow.

So, how do we cope with uncertainty when every fiber of our evolutionary upbringing screams, “hard, hard pass”?

For Tim, it’s figureoutable with a simple exercise he does quarterly called “fear-setting.”

In this written practice, you write down the worst-case scenarios of what would happen if you did “X” thing. Then, you figure out how you’d salvage the remaining pieces before finishing the exercise by writing about the best case scenario.

You might be rolling your eyes and thinking, “Hmmkay.” But hear us and Uncle Tim out. The reason why this exercise is so effective is because the first step to conquering fear is defining it. Unknown outcomes prevent us from doing, so visualizing how you’d handle an outcome is an effective way of managing your anxieties.

Our level of fulfillment in life is related to our ability to lean into our uncertainties and cultivate a sense of possibility. Peruse Tim’s article, realize inaction isn’t an option, and get groovin’

TL;DR
Unknown outcomes prevent us from doing. Define the worst-case scenario of whatever jump you’re facing, and watch your fears float away. 💭

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Ten Meter Tower

Video | by NYT Op-Docs

This video of clad Swedes jumping off a 32-foot tower proves far more interesting than expected.

In this documentary from The New York Times, we watch as tentative divers debate jumping into the pool. Mind you, 10 meters is no joke. It’s nearly three stories tall.

Some get to the top and say, “Nope.” But others actually make the leap.

The next time you’re feeling anxious about your own 32-feet drop - which might be posting a piece of your work online, quitting your job, or trying a new sport - watch this video as an example of how people use self-talk in the midst of fear.

A vitamin for the brain infused with courage, self-confidence, and encouragement. It also might make your knees sweat a little bit.

TL;DR
This miniature documentary of Swedish folk dealing with fear before jumping down a 32-feet tower will inspire you to follow their braveness.

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Elsa Scola

This week we’re featuring Elsa Scola. A software engineer at Amazon by day and a newbie Youtuber by night, Elsa makes videos on productivity, self-development, and reading. What’s not to dig?

Why do you create? Who is your content for?

I’ve always wanted to share what I learn with the world and help people become the best version of themselves, uploading videos on YouTube helps me do that. My content is for anyone interested in reading, productivity and self-improvement.

The biggest lesson you’ve learned since you began creating content?

Value your viewers’ time as if it was yours. People really appreciate it when you share valuable and honest content. Before hitting upload, think “Will this provide value to at least one person?”

One thing you wish you knew before you got started?

Good content takes time and it’s okay to upload less frequently if that means you’ll provide more value to your audience and give yourself the space to enjoy the creative process.

One piece of advice you’d give to aspiring creators and self-development nerds?

Obvious to you, amazing to others. What I thought of as ‘my worst video’ is the best performing video on my channel. Don’t stop yourself from posting just because you think something is too obvious to share.Would you rather a cat with a human face or a dog with human hands?

I’m assuming a cat with a human head would be able to speak... and I used to love Garfield when I was a kid, so... I’ll go with the cat with the human head. Can you imagine eating lasagna while chatting with your cat? 😸

Check out Elsas YouTube channel →

Written by Alice Lemée

Edited by Matt D'Avella & Stephen Wise