Some might argue that working every day on your personal projects can cause a burnout due to the constant strain you put on yourself. You don’t feel comfortable being shackled to a daily schedule, especially when you haven’t yet developed a habit out of it. But also, if you take a longer break you will, in turn, need a lot of acceleration to get back into orbit.
I’ve recently been playing video games on the PlayStation 3 for long stretches of time. It’s fun because I love to play video games. But on the other hand, it’s also dangerous. Indulgence is a threat to those especially who work for themselves—entrepreneurs and self-learners primarily.
Video games are just an example. Any recreational activity can be harmful to people who don’t work under anyone. But let’s say I’m a clerk in a bookstore. Let’s also assume that that is my primary, full-time job. I don’t do anything else, nor am I looking for any kind of career. That’s fine. In this case, I am free to do whatever I want as long as it doesn’t interfere with my 9–5 job. And when I go back home, I am free to do whatever I want, for as long as I want, as long as I can drag myself work the next day. The job is my duty, and if I want to keep it, I must satisfy their requirements. Obvious, right?
But in the case of self-employed workers and students who are responsible for their own progress, it’s tougher because the boundaries of duty are less strict. There’s a lot of freedom. Too much of it actually. That’s because you are in charge. You are responsible for creating your own schedule, tasks, and goals. You have all the freedom in the world to do whatever you like. You can even choose to take a 12-year holiday if you want, if you’re willing to sacrifice your other pursuits. That’s because you don’t have any duties, unlike people with 9–5 jobs or school syllabi.
I don’t support the idea of being a jack-of-all-trades. I’ve always believed in mastery and focus. I however think that people who want to be successful should consider learning certain skills that can serve as valuable assets at the workplace as well as in life in general.
The phrase kung fu is a Chinese compound word roughly meaning ‘expertise,’ ‘skill,’ or ‘success’. Kung fu isn’t just gwa choys, poon kius, and other swinging punches. Tea ceremony, musicianship, origami, and motorcycle maintenance can all be called kung fu. But its most common connotation obviously deals with martial arts. Kung fu movies. Shaolin kung fu. Kung Fu Panda. That sort of thing. And today, I want to share a kung fu secret with you.
Many of us face serious problems when we have to start doing things in a different way. We humans attach ourselves easily to various practices and systems, and consequently inconvenience ourselves if we have to forcefully break out of them. This happens when we get comfortable with existing things, and can’t imagine working without them. Bidding farewell to old habits can be very tough, but learning new ones is also vital to success in the modern world, so we must learn to accept what the future brings to us.
Allow me to better illustrate the problem.
Self-Learner is a blog about self-education and self-improvement based lifestyle design. Goal? To become the best "version" of yourself, and feel excited to jump out of your bed every morning.