Why You Shouldn’t Be The Hero
Being a hero is sexy.
Everyone grows up wanting to wear a mask and have super powers.
The trouble is that while the idea of super-hero powers is attractive, it’s not functional.
Unless you have found a glowing vat of toxic waste and survive contact, you can probably kiss this dream goodbye. In fact, you can also kiss other types of heroism goodbye. Like:
- Working 100 hour weeks.
- Never taking breaks.
- Missing your kids’ baseball games.
The list goes on.
You don’t have to suffer to be productive or successful.
I’m going to say that one more time to help it sink in. You don’t have to suffer to be productive or successful.
If your work requires heroism to get the job done, your process is broken.
There are plenty of people who are more successful and productive than you and who are also happy.
2 Minute Action
What is something you really love doing?Take 2 minutes right now to carve out whatever time you need to do that thing. It can be for this week or for next month. Just carve out the time and look out for yourself.
How Being Unsexy Helps
The thing about this post is that it’s just one post.It’s a small piece of a whole commitment to posting everyday.It won’t save the world.It won’t make you (or me) rich.It won’t change anyone’s life.Well, probably not.What’s more likely is that by chipping away slowly, over time, a more clear and overarching message becomes visible.
Big monumental paradigm shifts are sexy.
You know what’s not sexy?Waking up before everyone else so you can read up on your field.
Industry disruptions and rocket-ship startups are sexy.
You know what’s not sexy?Firing a close co-worker who turned out to be the wrong fit in your quickly changing company.
Lots of funding and office massage chairs are sexy.
You know what’s not sexy?Investing 20% of your income every time you get paid.
Don’t be sexy.
Be good.Be good and just a little bit more good every day.Make the commitment to small, daily actions and the momentum will catch up with you laterFor a long time, exponential growth just looks like linear growth on the same chart.Then, suddenly, it’s not even close
2 Minute Action
What’s something unsexy you have to do today?Do it first.Make that a habit and the rest will come.
Are You Missing Out On The Unsexy Part of Your Work
We can probably agree that the sexy part of being a leader or a business owner or a doctor or an artist or a musician is not typically the whole job.There are early mornings, bad customers, emergency surgeries, writer’s blocks, budget cuts, and furloughs.There are many unsexy parts of work that matters but most of the time, those things are what we need to focus on.Hard work. Discipline. Self-reflection. Action.
In the end, you have to choose the work or the way the work looks.
You can’t optimize for vanity AND for output.What are the hard things?What are the things you don’t want to do?Now you’ve found what’s important.
2 Minute Action
This is known as “eating the frog.”Decide on the thing you want to do the least today.Do that first.Building a habit of conquering these unsexy things accumulates confidence and discipline.In fact, it’s the only way to get them.