“Mountains should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without desire. The reality of your own nature should determine the speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion. Then, when you’re no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn’t just a means to an end but a unique event in itself. This leaf has jagged edges. This rock looks loose. From this place the snow is less visible, even though closer. These are things you should notice anyway. To live only for some future goal is shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top. Here’s where things grow.”
– Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
With today’s hustle culture, we’re told we’ve got to be constantly moving. We’ve got to be striving to reach a goal (the promotion, the raise, a new house, etc) or someone else will get it. We also feel this in tasks with work. “If I just stay up late tonight and tomorrow night I’ll bang this project out and then I’ll have some time to breathe.”
This gives us the impression that we’ll be happy, or better off, as soon as we get to that destination. The fallacy with this mindset is that we’ll never be satisfied and work will always be there. There will always be something more to accomplish and more work to complete. What is driving the hustle culture? What is attractive about it?
On this week’s episode of 33 Tangents, Jim and Jason talk about what it means to “enjoy the journey” with work.
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