Love this one, Brad. Indeed when I look back on my life, the places I find the most fulfillment were a joy/struggle combo. Completing my doctorate. Becoming a parent. Even taking on new hobbies like ceramics and powerlifting. Big struggle sometimes. But out of that comes joy when the stars align and all that work finally pays off.
Yes, Brad, I couldn’t agree with you more. Great read. “A good life is about finding fulfillment in the struggle. It’s about expressing our unique talents and gifts and creating joy, community, and meaning in the process.”
The conveniences of modern life are making it too easy to avoid struggle. Take AI; students are using it to think and produce for them, instead of going through the struggle of coming up with an original thought. The end result will be a diminished joy.
is "meaning of life" a gold medal in something you enjoy to suffer through? or perhaps it's the prolonged ability to stick with the suffering-joy cycle and never burn out (ie the point of the original Passion Paradox book)? Seems rather banal if presented in such a perspective and I love the idea of perpetual excellence/struggle-joy cycle.
That bit about Alysa loving struggle? I can relate, but I also love my couch and Netflix. Still, I guess we can have fun while falling flat on our faces, right?
Struggle x Joy … it’s a multiplication thing. As long as both are greater than 1, we can sustain performance and reach potential. If we can max them both, we can ride/run/skate that knife edge ridge of peak performance…
This really hit my heart-home (is there another?). We tend to love the dualistic-binary view - good or bad. The full range of humanity is both and. Joy and Struggle in something that is meaningful and attuned to our unique gifts and talents. Made my day!
Love this one, Brad. Indeed when I look back on my life, the places I find the most fulfillment were a joy/struggle combo. Completing my doctorate. Becoming a parent. Even taking on new hobbies like ceramics and powerlifting. Big struggle sometimes. But out of that comes joy when the stars align and all that work finally pays off.
Agreed. Parenting illustrates this point like no other. It’s the greatest challenge of my life but also the source of unbelievable joy.
Yes, Brad, I couldn’t agree with you more. Great read. “A good life is about finding fulfillment in the struggle. It’s about expressing our unique talents and gifts and creating joy, community, and meaning in the process.”
The conveniences of modern life are making it too easy to avoid struggle. Take AI; students are using it to think and produce for them, instead of going through the struggle of coming up with an original thought. The end result will be a diminished joy.
is "meaning of life" a gold medal in something you enjoy to suffer through? or perhaps it's the prolonged ability to stick with the suffering-joy cycle and never burn out (ie the point of the original Passion Paradox book)? Seems rather banal if presented in such a perspective and I love the idea of perpetual excellence/struggle-joy cycle.
Great stuff. Looking forward to reading the book.
That bit about Alysa loving struggle? I can relate, but I also love my couch and Netflix. Still, I guess we can have fun while falling flat on our faces, right?
Struggle x Joy … it’s a multiplication thing. As long as both are greater than 1, we can sustain performance and reach potential. If we can max them both, we can ride/run/skate that knife edge ridge of peak performance…
This really hit my heart-home (is there another?). We tend to love the dualistic-binary view - good or bad. The full range of humanity is both and. Joy and Struggle in something that is meaningful and attuned to our unique gifts and talents. Made my day!
Thanks for this…reminding me about “the joy!”
Great stuff! We are writing about embracing the struggle, too - so inspired by Liu!