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70. The 4 words that made me write this

  • Writer: Howie Birch
    Howie Birch
  • Jun 16
  • 3 min read

I like writing.


It can provide a sense of clarity.


Let’s say we’re feeling a certain way, but not overly sure why, then getting it on paper and trying to put some sort of structure behind it can allow for a bit of sense to be made.


And that's exactly what happened last week, as I got slightly irked by something almost completely innocuous. 


I know, very characteristic. 


I was having quite a pleasant conversation, telling someone about a particular element of life that I was currently enjoying.


The response? 


“Cool… but what’s next?...”


I know, incredibly inoffensive. No malicious intent at all. If anything, a kinda pleasant way of keeping the conversation going.  


But for some reason, it jarred with me. 


Initially I wasn’t sure why, and then later on it hit me…


I think my very strange brain translated it as “OK, you’re happy with that thing… who cares, what’s the next goal!?”


All the usual caveats of me being an overthinking weirdo aside, it did get me thinking about how common it can be to dismiss present contentment for future worry, plans, goals and ambitions. 


Naturally, that’s important. But surely life isn’t always about chasing the next thing, it’s sometimes just enjoying what we’ve got?


Of course, there’s an argument to say that this possibly sounds on the unambitious side of things. 


At least in the traditional sense and definition of the term, where ambition is synonymous with achievement. 


However, I’d argue that if ‘life enjoyment’ or ‘life quality’ is our goal, then taking a bit of time to actually try and enjoy it is probably one of the most ambitious things we can do...


But I think there’s a perception issue here. 


Generally, as humans, there can be an overvaluing of what we do, and an undervaluing of how we feel. 


I imagine there are a few reasons for this. A couple spring to mind.


Firstly, from an evolutionary point of view, we’d probably rather someone in our tribe go out and get a load of food for the troops, as opposed to just sit there and be content. 

As such, valuing people based on what they do is possibly hard-wired into us to some extent. 


Secondly, our internal state isn’t really measurable, or particularly easy to accurately display. No one really knows how we’re feeling other than us.


On the other hand, external achievement is loud and can be put on show for everyone to see. 


We can’t pretend to run an ultra-marathon, but we can pretend to be happy.


And this simple question of “but what’s next?...” did get me thinking about where we place value as a society. 


Of course, everyone’s wired completely differently, so it would be ludicrous to make a generalised sweeping statement. However, in certain corners, perhaps we do have a tendency to overemphasise achievement over life quality. 


It’s kinda like James Clear’s idea


“If you already live a comfortable life, then choosing to make more money but live a worse daily life is a bad trade.
And yet we talk ourselves into it all the time. We take promotions that pay more, but swallow our free time. We already have a successful business, but we break ourselves trying to make it even more successful.”

Naturally, thinking about “what’s next” is important. However, if we’re enjoying our current set up, I don’t think we necessarily want to undervalue and sacrifice the “what’s now”.


Ahhhh, the impact of 4 innocuous words...


Not to put you off ever having a conversation with me again or anything.

 
 
 

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