Entrepreneur and angel investor, Naval Ravikant said, “I only really want to do things for their own sake. That is one definition of art. Whether it’s business, exercise, romance, friendship, whatever. I think the meaning of life is do things for their own sake. Ironically, when you do things for their own sake, you create your best work.”
I thought about what Naval said in terms of doing things for their own sake.
Exercising for the sake of exercising.
Making money for the sake of making money.
Cultivating friendships for the sake of cultivating friendships.
Being a hard worker for the sake of being a hard worker.
There is a beauty to his words.
To live in the art of doing things for their own sake. To me this means that you do what you want. You don’t need to follow a rule book, you don’t need permission from anyone. Not your friends, not your family, not your boss, not society. There is no right or wrong way to do it. You create the rules. You don’t need anyone else’s permission to exercise for the sake of exercising. You define what exercise looks like to you and you do it based on the parameters you set.
Naval’s words remind me of the concept of detachment. Detachment is when you release your attachment to a specific outcome and instead concentrate on the present moment or the task at hand. It’s about finding fulfillment in the process itself rather than solely seeking external rewards or recognition. Where your self-worth and well-being is not contingent upon things outside of your control. Instead it’s based on your ability to learn and get better.
When I think about this, I think about a job-seeker. Someone that applies to jobs for the sake of applying to jobs. You define how you want to show up. For instance, you can ask yourself “What jobs seem the most appealing to me?”, “How can I add value to a new industry?”, “What experience can I bring to this company?”, What skills can I learn?”. You’re putting your energy into the process and finding fulfillment in it by making it your own. By making it fit you. By crafting your story. By creating your impact. But majority of the time, we see job-seekers mindlessly apply to jobs and get frustrated when they don’t get interviews. They’ll say things like “the job market is bad right now”. Even if it might be true, it doesn’t matter when you’re applying to jobs for the sake of applying to jobs. You’re defining your craft, a new skill. Use the feedback and use it to help you craft a better job application for the sake of creating a better job application. It’s the joy, and it’s the art that matters - not the outcome.
This also reminds me of the art of learning to learn opposed to learning to win or learning not to lose. Kobe Bryant talked about this concept on BET Genius Talks where he spoke with Jemele Hill, an American sports journalist.
Hill asked Kobe “I always think that there’s two type of players, players that love to win and players that hate to lose, which player are you?”
Kobe answered by saying “I’m neither. Meaning that I play to figure things out. I play to learn something. I think that if you play with the fear of failure or if you play with the will to win, I think it’s a weakness either way. Because if you play with the fear of failing, you’ll have the pressure on yourself to capitulate to that fear. If you play to the sense of ‘I want to win, I want to win’ then you have the fear of what happens if you don’t. But if you find common ground in the middle, in the center, then it doesn’t matter. You’re not phased by either. That really enables you to stay in the moment, stay connected to it, and not feel anything other than what’s in front of you. So, I try to be dead center.”
Here is an extended version of the clip and what Kobe thinks about failure:
Ending with a thought from me.
I created a list of teachings and learnings that I’ve compiled throughout my life. I’ll share one of the one’s I wrote on life & art.
🧡 remember that life is art. you’re a creator, an artist. think about when you paint on a blank canvas and there is nothing there. you’re tasked with stroking the paint on the paper and even if you don’t know what you’re doing or what you’re creating as long as you keep painting you’ve created art. i think life is like that. we don’t realize the that each moment in time that passes by we’re putting paint on our canvas’ and when we look back at those canvas’, we’ve created art. whether we’re actively painting or sitting in stillness. we’ve learned lessons, we’ve formed memories, we have stories to tell, and we’ve gained wisdom. It’s beautiful in a way.
As always, send me your thoughts and messages here.
XOXO,
Palak