Category: Fulfillment

What Would You Do If You Had More Time?

Let’s try a thought experiment. Pretend that there is an eighth day in the week, or an extra hour in the day. What would you do with more time?

Many people feel they are too busy, that their days are too full. Between work, family, social obligations, and so on, there isn’t much extra time for hobbies or exploring other interests.

This starts at an early age, as school work can take up a lot of our childhood years. For many, there is a relentless pressure to get good grades, in order to get into a good college. This sets you up for graduate school, law school medical school, or the like.

It doesn’t get any better once you get into the working world, as a young employee will often be expected to work long hours in order to get established (and pay off school debt).

Add in a spouse and some kids, and every hour of the day can easily be taken up with one chore or another.

Related: Listen to an episode of the Intellectual Roundtable Podcast, where Lee and Michael discuss this question: ‘Are we too busy?’ We discuss another question as well, ‘What are our responsibilities to others?’

But what if it wasn’t that way? What if you had some time every day to an interest of some sort? What if there was an extra day to spend on an extra project? How would you spend that time?

Maybe you would write a novel. You might get your friends together to film an amateur movie. Perhaps you would host a regular party for friends, or learn to paint. Who knows? You might watch more TV.

What would you do if you had more time?

Related questions: Are we too busy? If you had an assistant, what would you have them do? What are your favorite hobbies? What is time?

Why Don’t You Know What Makes You Happy?

We are all chasing happiness throughout our lives. Sometimes, we will go to great lengths to try and achieve it. But do you know what will actually make you happy?

It’s hard to argue against happiness. Simply put, it feels good. Given a choice between some other emotion — being sad, for instance, or mad — happiness will win in all but the most extreme circumstances.

However, some studies seem to suggest that what we think will make us content doesn’t. Or at least, it doesn’t produce long-lasting happiness.

For example, we convince ourselves that buying the latest gadget will do the trick. And sure enough, shortly after buying it we are very pleased, but that sensation fades pretty quickly. In turn, that leaves us wanting something else to fulfill that need.

Alternately, it is suggested that positive experiences might lead to longer-lasting happiness. Sharing with a loved one, making memories with friends, or unique experiences are thought to be more fulfilling, ultimately, than some physical possession.

Have you found that to be the case? Do you know what will make you happy? Or do you just think you know? Why would we think something will make us happy when it won’t? Looking back on your past experiences, can you draw any conclusions for what has been the happiest times of your life?

Related questions: Is happiness the most important purpose in life? What makes you the happiest? Why do we put up with unhappiness?

 

What’s The Most Important Thing You’ve Read In The Past 6 Months?

Has the most important thing you’ve read recently come from a book — non-fiction, a novel, or a short story — a newspaper or magazine article, a blog post, the lyrics to a song, a poem, or a note from a friend?  Or, perhaps, some other medium?

And, what has it been about? The pandemic?  Politics?  The economy?  Or has the most important thing been about a passion of yours?  Or has it taken you deeper into a hobby?  Possibly it’s something a friend wrote you via snail- or e-mail.  Or, maybe it’s been about something completely different.

Lastly, have you done anything differently because of what you’ve read?

Related questions:  What are you reading?  What are you thinking about?  What is important?  

How Can We Encourage Collaboration?

There is something very primal about working together with others. Collaboration on a project can be rewarding in ways that working in isolation isn’t.

In the music industry, it is very common for musical artists to collaborate. Whether it is a musician playing on a track, two singers performing a duet, or a producer mixing an entire album, collaboration is frequent.

Unfortunately, in other walks of life working together is less common. There are many reasons why that may be. For instance, co-workers might be competing for the same promotion and so they have no motive to work together. Or it may not be obvious how two disparate jobs could collaborate on a single project.

But more often, the concept of a joint effort simply doesn’t occur to people. If you meet someone socially at a party, for example, you may not give any thought to their job or how you might collaborate together.

How might that change? Would if be possible to view another person, and the expertise they have, as an opportunity to make something that neither could make independently? How can we encourage collaboration?

Related questions: Where do shared ideas exist? What do we have in common? What makes a community? Alone or together?