Do What You Love & Love What You Do
I am passionate about helping others discover their Optimal YOU Lifestyle. So, I spend a lot of time thinking about optimizing life. It’s all about knowing what you want and how to get it. If I am striving to be the best I can be and have Optimal health, I must consider things like growing my business, having better relationships, scheduling alone time, getting in better shape and maintaining my healthy diet. All of these things are very important and deserve my attention. Yet, the ultimate Optimal YOU goal is to be happy and fulfilled, Then why not optimize for that more directly?
The easy answer to optimize is to do more of what I love, and less of the things I don’t like. Think about it. Each of us have things we LOVE, that bring us joy and fit into our personal vision of what and who we want to be. When we are doing these things, we are enjoying them in the moment and feeling fulfilled with the person we are aiming to be. And then there are things we just LIKE. We don’t mind doing them and they help us pass the time. Of course, there are things we dislike and avoid when we can.
I decided long ago on my journey to Optimal YOU, that I want to be fulfilled with greater happiness and purpose in both day-to-day and long-term goals and activities. Where I am in life is simple: I’m doing more of what I love, cut back on things that I just like, and quit doing the things I dislike. How did I do this? Let’s take a look at some key steps to Optimal You that you can do too:
How to do more of what you love
Aim for Fewer “I shoulds”
Ok, now you are thinking that there are lots of things that I have to do, whether I love, like or hate them. Like working to pay bills, supporting friends and family, staying in shape and eating healthy and all that self-care…But if I look closely, there are a lot of things that I SHOULD do that I neither love, like nor have to do, in the strictest sense. For instance, some say I should follow politics closely or I am a bad citizen. Society says that if I haven’t got my Doctorate, then I’m not reaching my full potential. And parents just have a non-stop list of “shoulds” or I won’t survive out here in the real world…Just as I should cut back on things that I just like to make room for things I love, I have to cut back on my “shoulds”. In other words, if it isn’t a MUST, and it doesn’t get me excited, then I’ve decided to dodge the guilt about avoiding it now. It is rather simple and you can start now strategizing your ‘shoulds’.
Stop Feeling Guilty About Things I Love
I am always impressed by people that are doing what they love no matter how the world views it. I learn from them. I remember moving to Southern California from Aspen, CO to build my own outdoor fitness business that could run 12 months a year. I first started a beach bootcamp that used ski poles in the sand to speed walk and we amped it up with arms working like cross-country skiing or an elliptical machine. My motto was “Bring the mountains to the beach and beyond!” I brought my ski poles from the mountains and adapted them to the beach for a new way to get cardio. At first, people thought I was crazy and they were a bit embarrassed to stroll down the beach with ski poles, but now “it’s a thing” and instead of being dismissive of my new idea, my tribe embraces it and shares it with others. By the way, bringing this new fad to the beach helped with my own cardio! I didn’t have to give up my love for mountain sport…I just brought my mountains to the beach and I’m still loving it while making a good living!
Loving the things that I do is what brings me joy. More than money, fame or status. It’s also something almost fully under my control. My health, career or relationships may be influenced by outside factors, but doing what I love is MY choice. My Optimal YOU took it a step further and strategized to make my work (what I do for 8-10 hours a day) what I LOVE. This strategy may not always be possible for everyone, but it is so worth the try!
While you may not be able to excuse all the things you have to do, you can definitely make adjustments to the things you merely like or reduce the guilt from the things you feel you should do.
Self-Discipline to Do What I Love
It takes courage and discipline to do what you love. Courage, because it may not always be socially acceptable so you may default to things you just like to stay in the norm. Did you ever notice that the general vibe of society isn’t love, but mild irritation, so being someone that LOVES what you do automatically makes you stick out.
I LOVE learning new things and define myself as a “Life Learner”. Discipline kicks in when I know it would take more effort to learn a new sport or spend time with friends instead of watching YouTubes and Ted Talks that take no effort to keep me engaged. If YOU want to do more of what you LOVE at Optimal YOU levels, here are some ideas to get you going:
Make a list of all the things you love to do: The things you truly enjoy doing that bring you a deeper satisfaction and meaning.
Make a list of things you think you might love to do, if you gave them a try. They might be things that interest you, but you don’t have a mastery of them enough to feel good consistently about them.
Make a list of all the things you do regularly that you just like or even dislike.
Now, seek to eliminate your #3 list while you replace it with #1 or #2. You do this by changing your habits, eliminating unnecessary tasks, while freeing up more time to do the things you really love, so things you just like get pushed out naturally.
This is a strategy for everyone, not just the retired that have more time. If your life is filled with mostly things you have to do, it’s even more important that what little time remains is spent doing things you really love, and not wasted on the things you merely like. Your Optimal YOU thanks you for the disciplined efforts. Remember, You choose: Live, Love, Optimize!
