Roc Reguant

Recently I did a post on why do people follow the rules ‎which is tightly linked with this one. One could say that the external motivators may be the rules and the internal motivators the discipline. But in my opinion it does not work like that. External motivation comes from others cheering you but also from environment changes -laws-, the market, etc. Internal motivation is the motivation that people should aim for. You should do things because you believe in them, not because they tell you but because you deeply believe that it is the right thing to do.

If you knew you would get never caught would you kill a person? For most of us, unless there is something wrong with your head, this idea give us disgust. It is not because you would spend 20 or 30 years in prison, this is because you know it’s wrong. So why don’t we apply the same logic to the rest of our lives?

Do you work in a company because you like it or because it pays the bills? If you do it to pay the bills you’re going to do an ok job so you don’t get fired. Whereas if you do it because deeply inside you think that you’re making a difference and love it, then you would not mind going for the extra mile. The extra mile is what sets the difference now a days.

So think: What do you do because there is nothing better around? What do you do because otherwise your life would be bland?

We follow all the rules is the sentence that rises a big red flag. If a company has to advertise that they follow the law that means that there is something sketchy about it. If a person says that he or she follows the rules be wary that they may be playing on a thin line.

But also, when companies say they follow the rules it may also mean that they do not want to build a better product but instead they want to do the bare minimum. If it’s legal why should they make an effort to upgrade and change things?

For example, the car seat belts were not mandatory at the beginning of the automotive industry. Volvo developed the invention and made it publicly available because it considered that a patent would kill people. So why didn’t all automotive companies jump and implement the belt in their cars? They didn’t because it incurred in extra costs on their side, and there was no law that forced them to do so.

So, following the rules is a strategy that can help you short term but rules keep changing. Striving for greatness will help you more in the long term.

Most of the time we roam around earth without a clear direction. We let the winds guide us, we accept everything, we take up activities because some friend asked. Just because we don’t dislike something it does not mean that we like it.
Yeah, I could read this book, but it’s an ok book. Wouldn’t it be better to read that other awesome book? Just because it is there does not mean that you should take it in.
We should stop doing things that do not spark joy in us and create space for the activities that brightens us up.

So every time you need to take a decision think. Is it a hell yes!! ? if not, then it’s a sharp no. No shame, no regrets. Otherwise you will be to busy for the things that make you happy.

We are full of contradictions. You think you’re smart because you are able to point out the contradictions of the others but you don’t escape them either. Some examples:

Work so we have money for our retirement vs. Be with our families and enjoy them now. We need to do both.

Democracy vs. People making bad choices. Democracy is not perfect and not good for every society. The problem is what system works better?

Enjoy every day vs. Live careful, healthy lives.

Speak your mind vs. Let others be. Let’s have free speech, but not be insulting.

In the end all of us have contradictions, but those contradictions have a reason. As Aristotle’s put it Virtue is the happy medium between two extremes. Rarely life is white or black. In many cases we need to compromise, don’t be afraid to find a middle ground for your ideas.