Interest

As we begin a new week, it can be easy to lose interest in our work. With the many distractions in today’s world, it can be natural to lose sight of our excitement about what we are working to achieve.

The daily grind distracts us from the bigger picture. We forget it. We fail to remember that our former self was interested in living the life that we have now. We pursued that life. That is how we got to today.

In running and in life, following our interests can help us to remain focused and overcome challenges. Not only does being interested help us, it seems to be required to truly excel at something.

As the late billionaire Charlie Munger said, “Intense interest in any subject is indispensable if you're really going to excel in it.”

As Charlie explains, we tend to do better at things when we combine our passions with our aptitudes. Since tough times are inevitable, following our interests positions us for long term success by increasing the chances that we persist during tough times, even if positive results are not immediate.

Intense interest helps us to grow, overcome and increase our efforts. Regardless of what interests us, lets follow it. That is how we give ourselves an opportunity to excel.

Here are 3 ways to follow our interests this week.

1. Be authentic: When we’re authentic, we work harder, we are more enthusiastic and we easily connect with others. Things come naturally. By living authentically, we get pulled into areas that interest us. This is cyclical. When we are genuinely interested in a topic, it gets easier to be authentic.

2. Consider intrinsic motivations: Sometimes we need to do what we do not want to. Most of the time, however, this should not be the case. We should feel an intrinsic motivation for what we are doing. By following our interests, we align our intrinsic motivations with our work. Whether in running or in life, being intrinsically motivated helps us to excel.

3. Nothing great is accomplished overnight: Since we can’t achieve anything great in the short-term, we are better off playing for the long-term. By following our interests, we position ourselves to stay focused, maintain our optimism and remain determined regardless of what happens.

Thanks for reading. Lets have a great week!