Difficult accomplishments are worth achieving precisely because they are difficult. If it were easy, everybody would do it, and if everybody did it, it would have little value. However, just because something is difficult doesn’t mean it holds value. This is a key lesson of life that is better learned sooner rather than later: valuable means difficult, but difficult does not necessarily mean valuable. Let’s examine.
There is the 50-year-old man who owns all material possessions. He has a nice car, an even fancier house, and a prestigious job, only to realize it means fuck all. The mid-life crisis proceeds. There is the college student who is the life of the party with no care for academics. He moves with charisma and suave, effortlessly attracting women and status. His peers look on with jealousy until graduation arrives. The “real-world” consumes him and his playing field. He becomes a shell of his former self unable to cope with the rapidity of sudden change. There is the selfless mother and wife forever placing her dreams in favor of others. She always chooses to appease until the repressed aspirations overflow from the cauldron. Never having given energy to herself, she loses the essence to give to others and retreats into a dull solace.
These three individuals each possessed something difficult and desirable. They had what was revered by many, only to realize it was not revered by them. When they reached their goal, they felt empty. They asked themselves, “was this what I truly wanted?” The answer was silence. Their pursuits were entirely extrinsic. Never once did they question their motives; instead, they blindly followed societal advice, failing to honor their intrinsic spirit.
Extrinsic motivation is outward-facing. It is driven by the expectation of a reward or outcome. This nature makes it fleeting and unsustainable. Extrinsic motivation is a crafty devil. It charms the human while rotting the soul, and all the while, we follow eagerly because of its cunning form. We tell ourselves, “if it is of value to them, it must be of value to me,” yet it will never fulfill us. Like a dog chasing its tail, we will forever pursue something that already belongs to us: freedom.
Intrinsic pursuit is done for the sake of doing – the action itself is fulfilling. It resides internally, freeing us from corruption. It is also the binding between what is valuable and what is difficult. Ask yourself, “If I do this – craft, art, sport – without anybody ever knowing about it, would I continue to pursue it?” In this question lies authentic action. Connect with the passion worth pursuing when nobody is watching. It is the path to emotional, intellectual, and spiritual fulfillment. It is an energy that sustains. It is freedom.
