Deep Focus, Long-Term Commitment & Sheer Will
The Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud posited that all human actions were driven by a “will to pleasure”. He believed that we pursued the things that felt good and avoided the things that felt bad.
His colleague Alfred Adler disagreed. Instead, he proposed that humans are driven by a “will to power”. Our actions are designed to maximize the impact we can have on the world and on those around us.
Over half a century after these gentlemen had proposed their ideas, yet another Austrian neurologist suggested that both of them were incorrect. Viktor Frankl, in his magnum opus Man’s Search for Meaning, said that human beings are driven by a “will to meaning” — an inner desire to find purpose and meaning in life.
He believed that we pursue pleasure and power only if we find them meaningful. But really, it’s meaning that’s primary.
We all wish to live meaningful lives. We all wish to find someone or something that gives us a sense of purpose — that we can focus on and commit to.
For most human beings, this means getting married and having a baby. Your child becomes the center of your universe and source of meaning in life.
But it’s not just through the propagation of our genes that we can find meaning. We can also find it through sharing our memes or ideas. For example, when you have a passion project or startup idea, your life becomes very meaningful. When you are creating and sharing your art, activism, services, or products, your life feels purposeful and meaningful.
And so, meaning in life can come in one of two ways — propagating your genes or sharing your memes.
Success comes to those who have deep focus, long-term commitment, and sheer will. Once you find your source of meaning in life, it’s your focus, commitment, and will that determine your success for the most part. As for luck — I believe that it finds those who are focused in the first place.
The modern world has an ever-increasing number of ways in which you can find meaning. It also has an infinite number of distractions. You can view these distractions as a problem. Or you can choose to see them as an opportunity — just as pressure makes diamonds, distractions can help you sharpen the blade of your focus. Distractions are an opportunity for you to practice being focused, committed, and wilful.
With Project 52, life has given me an extraordinary opportunity to engage in an endeavor that I find deeply meaningful. While there are plenty of things that I say Yes to, Project 52 has my Full Fuck Yes!
For the second quarter of year two of my Project 52, I have decided to sacrifice a number of somewhat meaningful things (that I would usually say yes to) and dedicate more time to my Full Fuck Yes. For 13 weeks, I have committed to — no porn, no masturbation, no alcohol, no new TV shows, and no movies.
It’s not that I’ve been addicted to these things. And it’s not that I think that they are inherently bad. In fact, I think that they can be good for you, in moderation. I think it’s okay to say yes to these things once in a while. I am a big believer in being sober, in moderation.
But this sacrifice is more like what stoners call a “tolerance break”. I think I’ve become too used to these things in my life. And as they say, familiarity breeds contempt. The short period of abstinence should help me rethink and refresh my relationship with them.
I look forward to the opportunity to deepen my focus, commitment, and will.
Wish me luck!