“Do what you love,” said Confucius around 500 BC. The paraphrase of his words was, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” These words have been echoed by many motivational speakers, politicians, and corporate leaders without giving him the due credit for the original thought.
The message of love is itself so powerful and yet complex. It can only be understood by the people who can reach the depth of the message. In the literal sense, “do what you love” means do something you love. Still, the depth lies within the journey of love in which you meet new people, establish relationships, do business, and eventually make new friends. Ecstasy is experiencing the transition of your relationship into a friendship. This only happens when you are driven by the passion of “do what you love” because, in love, there is always enough room for making new friends and no corner for hate and envy. As you move along with your new friends, you will realize that the time you spend together doesn’t make you feel like you are at work all the time because the good time spent with good friends flies fast.
The “Do what you love” analogy of Confucius is very much relevant in today’s digital age, as long as the work is encapsulated within the trilogy of our consciousness, curiosity, and resilience, which drives our daily decisions. Your consciousness helps you to make the right decisions, your curiosity takes you forward, and your resilience makes you stand every time you fall for the right. Because only the one who falls in the journey of love is potent enough to rise again and again. It is perfectly fine to be misunderstood by the rest of the world. It is fine to be an unknown genius as long as you are self-aware. It is fine to challenge the status quo as long as you are confident to drive the change.
It is even better to drive yourself than to be driven away by someone else; remember that high and low are part of daily life, and that’s why we witness change every day, and every morning is different from yesterday. You will never be happy every morning, despite greeting everyone with ‘good morning’ because even the sun doesn’t rise at the same time and carries the same energy every day; so how could you expect your morning to be the same? There is no fun in staying with the status quo.
If you look around, you will find that some people wish for a bright sunny day while others wish for an overcast, but the happiness comes from inside, not from the surroundings. You will find happy and sad people in the same environment, enjoying the rain and thunder and looking for shade. Anytime you disdain yourself, feel low, or are surrounded by melancholy, then remember that someone is still there who knows the spark you had once, the person who brought you here. Be thankful to that person; that person is there to help you and love you the most. Reach out to that person to ignite the fire again. Don’t be shy in talking to that person because you know that person more than anyone else in your life. You can’t deny that you have spent most of your time listening to that person while driving, in the shower, and on a late evening stroll. Ask for help from that person, and that person is “you.”
Any time you feel like falling into the trap of disdain, go for a walk in solitude, talk to yourself, and resource your energy retrospectively. Keep the picture of “yours” in front of you, not an idol, nor a totem, neither effigy but a cast of yourself. Your image is more powerful than anything else; the only picture that speaks thousands of words to you is your own picture, and that’s where you get your strength.
If you want to go farther, remember the rule of thumb for changing lanes on a highway: you cannot change the route without looking into the rearview mirror, and that’s precisely the story of life. Every time you want to go far, keep a look at the back; it reminds you how far you have reached. And during that journey, the only thing you should remember is the companion you have, neither the destination nor the journey itself.
Love yourself before giving it to others. Ask yourself before asking others, and think about yourself before borrowing someone else thoughts. For your own sake, don’t hold the fire; spread it and pull the trigger. Ignite it.
Your trinity is your physical, mental, and emotional strength, and all three lie inside you. You must carve out all three with diligence, care, and absolute consciousness with your handmade chisel. It’s not the one you can pick from a discount shop with a tiny oval-shaped kiss-cut glossy golden sticker at the back. Pick up the chisel and “cast the better version of yourself.” Invest in the intangible version of yourself, which you will only appreciate over time.
Asif Durrani
22-May-2023
https://www.linkedin.com/in/asifdurrani
Also published at Medium
Asif Durrani 