When you grow up in an wealthy country (like I did in Germany) most people recommend that you should choose a profession which you like – which is fun for you. Learn something you enjoy doing.
That’s an awesome recommendation. The problem which several people pointed out in various books and talks is that what’s fun for you changes over time.
So just doing what you love and choosing your career in an area which you love while you are in training may not be the best idea in the long run.
They say that it eventually makes more sense to do something which you are good at. Because that’s what you’ll enjoy in the long run.
The idea is that you:
- do what you are good at
- get recognition for doing what you are good at
- experience fun while doing it
- get more motivated by recognition & fun (long-term)
Problem: Young = No Skills
A well-known problem which many young people experience is that they feel like they have no noteworthy skills.
Hence they just don’t know how they could possibly help others. I experienced that you often find out how you can help other people, just by doing it – just by starting somewhere.
It’s impressive how many people I’ve met during my academic studies, who felt like they couldn’t do any job in their field of study because they have simply no experience. They felt like they just didn’t learn any noteworthy real-world applicable skills during their studies.
And I’ve definitely had similar perceptions about myself during that time. If you are interested in many topics but don’t double down on a single interest you may quickly feel untalented.
Especially if you don’t apply the skills which you already have in the real world, you won’t get the recognition which motivates you to double down in that area.
Do what you are best at
A great way to apply your skills is to help other people with your skills.
As some people assume, the most motivating actions (those which you keep up in the long run) aren’t those which are just most fun. They are rather the things which you are best at.
Why? Because the skills which your are best at are the one’s for which you get most recognition (which again motivates you to keep it up, become better, skill up, …)
Golden Circle
So here’s the Golden Circle of satisfactory Helping:
- acquire skills, which are (challenging &) fun for you
- apply your skills to help people -> experience recognition & motivation
Hint: Since it’s a figurative circle, there’s no clear start- or endpoint.
Think: How can I apply my skills to help?
My recommendation (to myself): Always think in terms of “How can I apply that skill (which I like and which I’ve just started to acquire) in order to help people?
If you start doing things because they are fun and eventually find a way to apply them in a way which helps other people, you’ll eventually hit the jackpot!🥰 That’s the recipe for self-fulfillment.
Because that way you’ll end up doing what you love, while applying that thing to help others. The people whom you help will be super grateful and this will motivate you to do more of what you love.🤗
Appendix: This doesn’t mean that you always only do what you enjoy most! But by applying the golden circle of satisfactory helping framework you’ll increase your potential to live a super-satisfying life.