The Quick And Dirty
I noticed things were missing from my life.
During attempts to gain the missing pieces, I realized that others do the same things.
I also noticed that the missing pieces change based on what lacks our attention.
We have limited resources, so something is always lacking if you do not have a system that puts specific efforts into effective things.
A system can be created using our human commonalities and also our uniqueness as inputs to help us achieve better, more fulfilling lives.
The Long Version
After college, getting a job, buying a house, and filling it with stuff, I noticed that I wasn’t content and that I was craving something more. I realized that I didn’t like my job or the type of work that comes with my education, and I felt alone.
So, I started exploring other ways to make money and began seeking rewarding relationships. Both of which were done by trial and error and methods that others used with success. I wanted things to work, but then certain aspects of either the pursuit or the person were so off putting that I’d lose interest and/or motivation.
Stress and frustration would send me back to other areas of my life that were easier, more familiar. However, the cravings would always come back. After many iterations of chasing things and feeling frustrated, I started to wonder if I was broken or if I just hadn’t found what I was looking for yet.
Watching others and actually paying attention to how they were living, really opened my eyes. Many people were acting out a similar pattern. They weren’t all using the exact same types of pursuits, but the underlying mechanisms seemed to be the same.
Some people would continue to upgrade houses, cars, and material possessions. Others would keep upgrading jobs or working more hours. Some people had many more friends than others. I saw that some people’s cravings turned into consuming obsessions like pursuing a partner, work, and even health. These people all behaved as if what they currently had wasn’t enough or that other areas of their life were lacking.
I could relate to many areas and behaviors myself. It was interesting to see the differences in what people were pursuing and the varying levels of their commitment towards different areas. This got me thinking of a concept you see in a lot of the money building and weight loss programs that I have come across. It is the idea of knowing your “why”.
If you aren’t familiar with the concept, it is that success is more likely to be achieved if it is based on something so compelling that you can tap that reason when you are struggling to stay on track, or you can use it to become motivated. Basically, if you have a strong enough reason as to why you are doing something, you won’t fail.
Applying that concept to my own pursuits, I noticed something interesting. I thought my “why” for all of the things I was trying to achieve was extremely compelling. But then why was the pain and frustration able to distract me from sticking to the process? Was my compelling reason not enough or was it being overridden by something else? I started paying more attention during my various attempts.
It became apparent that when you put a lot of focus, time, and effort into one thing, you have to take those resources from somewhere else. That means that previous areas of content will start to slide or regress which then causes stress. Old areas then become areas of higher priority, which then pull resources back and away from new areas of pursuit.
This simple concept is something we should all be aware of already. However, old information gets pushed into the subconscious so that we can consciously focus on new things that require more attention. This is how we tend to forget the small and yet important things. What else have we forgotten?
We are familiar with applying the concept of resources, goals, effectiveness, and efficiency to work but not really to ourselves.
If we could take life and break it down into a “project” it would lend a systematic and intentional approach which should create better success. However, we have to keep in mind that humans are complex and ever evolving. This just means that we need to create a system based on our components, inputs, principles and values because that would allow for the fluctuations of a person’s situation over time.
The problem here lies in the fact that different people have different values and principles. Combinations of which can be as unique as a fingerprint. But remembering that I was able to see people exhibiting similar behaviors and focusing on similar categories, means we do have things in common.
Commonalities are a good place to start, but I personally value uniqueness and believe that it can be incorporated into a roadmap in some way. So, I decided to make this mountain of a project my mission. I figured if I could crack the code for myself, I could create a system that would help other people have better lives too.
What’s Come Of My Quest
Everything boils down to understanding our components, resources, and inputs, and evaluating whether our human needs are being met. If we aren’t using effective things to try to fulfill our needs, we are left with voids.
I’ve decided to publish what I have uncovered so far since research is never ending and what I have discovered is helping people. It is also easier to disseminate information via a blog to meet the increasing requests from individuals.
Let me know what you think! I fully encourage feedback and insight from you all so that I can improve this roadmap for future users.
What Needs Aren’t Being Fulfilled For You?
Let us know what area of life has your focus right now because it is lacking or being neglected. How is that affecting other areas of your life?
