A Taste for Salt Water
Fulfillment in doing difficult things
Shane Parrish used this phrase near the end of The Knowledge Project podcast #231 talking about the difficult journey of entrepreneurs. This specific podcast was about the founding and tumultuous history of Firestone (the tire company).
I like this phrase as a simple way to describe a way of living. I enjoy doing difficult things …maybe enjoy is not the right word exactly …but I get fulfillment from difficult endeavors. I like the challenge, the sore muscles, the strained effort, and the ending of it all when I reach my goal.
I think it is important to have difficult tasks in our lives. We shouldn’t live at 70 degrees and sunny. It’s ok to be uncomfortable. It’s ok to feel stress and fear (to a point). It’s ok to have sore muscles. It’s ok to hate it when you are in the middle of it …but there is value in pushing through those tough moments and building mental fortitude.
It’s also ok to relax …and this is where I struggle. I have slowly learned that it’s ok to do nothing in particular, but mentally, it’s not easy. It is just as much a taste of salt water as hiking to a mountain peak with a full bag of gear …it’s just a different flavor, a different type of effort …because there are always things that need doing: Articles that need writing, emails that need replying, chores that need doing, nagging projects around the house …need I go on? It is much harder for me to sit idly, read a book, meditate, or relax than to do the things that need doing.
A taste of salt water is different for each of us. I incorporate small sips of salt water in my daily life and I am searching for that next large gulp. I am not sure what it will be, but I will let you know when I figure it out.
What about you? What difficult things bring you fulfillment?