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This is Optimal Work Daily, Episode

0:32

1305. The Deep Uncertainty

0:34

of Meaningful Work by

0:36

Leo Babouda of zenhabits.net.

0:39

And I am Dan, I'm your host, and today

0:41

we're going to hear from one of our

0:43

regular authors who you'll hear all across our

0:45

network of podcasts, and that is Leo Babouda.

0:47

So let's get to it now as we

0:49

optimize your life. The

0:55

Deep Uncertainty of Meaningful Work

0:58

by Leo Babouda of zenhabits.net.

1:02

A man I know wanted to create a

1:04

nonprofit organization that was going to help give

1:06

people a voice who don't have that voice

1:08

in our society. He felt really

1:10

strongly about this issue and knew that

1:12

this would have a big impact on people who he

1:14

cared deeply about. But he

1:17

kept putting off starting. He was

1:19

like a million others who want to do meaningful work,

1:21

write a book, fight for those who are

1:23

powerless, create a startup, code

1:26

a phone app that could change lives, volunteer

1:29

at a charity, launch a business that

1:31

has a heart. We put

1:33

off doing this work because of deep uncertainty.

1:36

This man, like many of you, wasn't sure

1:38

if he could do it. He wasn't sure how

1:40

to go about doing it. He was worried

1:42

that people would judge him, worried about what they

1:44

might say. He didn't know what path to

1:46

take, was overwhelmed by how much there was

1:49

to do, discouraged that he kept having

1:51

to start over. These are

1:53

just a small subset of the doubt, fear,

1:55

and certainty we all face when we think

1:57

about doing something meaningful. This

2:00

man made a list. Everything he

2:02

had to do. He picked the first thing on

2:04

the list and told himself he'd do it tomorrow. Tomorrow

2:07

came and it turns out he needed to organize

2:09

all the files on his computer. Oh,

2:11

and cleaned his desk, and also his bedroom

2:13

and kitchen. Once these things were

2:15

done, then he'd be all clear to go. He

2:18

started the next day but wondered if he was using

2:20

the right tools. He did a

2:22

search and spent the day researching the best tools for what

2:24

he needed to do. That led

2:26

to a lot of other research so that he

2:28

didn't feel he was procrastinating. The

2:30

tools research led him to research a bunch of

2:32

other things and he felt good doing this research.

2:36

He spent weeks in the research face not

2:38

tackling the things on his list but just

2:40

reading and searching and taking notes. He

2:42

told himself he was doing the meaningful work. He

2:45

decided he needed to get back to that first task

2:47

on his list so he told himself to do it

2:49

tomorrow. Tomorrow came but

2:52

he decided to check his email first to see

2:54

if anything important was in his inbox. He

2:56

also answered messages and checked some news

2:59

websites, answered some more emails, started

3:01

organizing all the things he had to do, and

3:03

paid some bills. That lasted several

3:06

days. If he got all these

3:08

things clear, then he'd be ready to work on the

3:10

non-profit. You can see where this is going.

3:13

He found lots of reasons not to actually

3:15

do the meaningful work. He was

3:17

feeling worse and worse about himself at this point. But

3:20

the people who he wanted to serve are those

3:22

who continued to suffer. He himself

3:24

was in a pretty comfortable life, other than the

3:27

angst of not taking action. But

3:29

those who he wanted to help were still

3:31

suffering because he couldn't face the uncertainty. The

3:33

story isn't over yet. He's still

3:36

avoiding the uncertainty but it's possible

3:38

he'll turn and face it, practice

3:40

with it with full mindfulness, be

3:42

absolutely courageous and present with it,

3:45

and then begin to open up to it, letting

3:47

it transform him like a fire transforms

3:49

metal. It's difficult at first,

3:51

but he can relax into it and fall in love

3:53

with it. The key is to

3:55

open up to the deep uncertainty of this

3:58

meaningful work. Recognize it as an necessary

4:00

component of that work, not

4:02

something to be feared or hated or avoided,

4:05

but embraced and loved. It's like

4:07

the uncertainty of falling in love. How

4:09

boring would a relationship be without the shakiness

4:11

of that uncertainty? We can

4:13

learn to recognize the uncertainty of our meaningful

4:15

work as the thrill of exploration, falling

4:18

in love, adventure, learning,

4:20

creating, playing, or

4:22

serving those we love. Devoting ourselves

4:24

to those we love helps us to open up

4:26

to the uncertainty, to relax into it, because

4:29

we allow our minds to open beyond

4:31

the smallness of our self-concern. We

4:33

see that there is more to this than

4:35

worrying about our own comfort and realize that

4:37

the most meaningful moments in our lives were

4:39

achieved with discomfort and that wasn't a coincidence.

4:42

The uncertainty and discomfort are a necessary

4:44

component for us to do anything meaningful.

4:47

We can train in this with love. You

4:54

just listened to the post titled,

4:56

The Deep Uncertainty of Meaningful Work

4:58

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Get. Started today. And

7:18

thank you to Leo who runs Zenhabits, of course.

7:21

It is a site about finding simplicity and

7:23

mindfulness in the daily chaos of our lives.

7:26

It's about clearing the clutter so we can focus

7:28

on what's important, create something amazing,

7:30

and find happiness. It has

7:32

over a million readers and was named one of

7:34

the top 25 blogs by Time magazine. And

7:37

if you enjoy his work, come on and check out our

7:39

other shows where we narrate more of his content since he

7:41

writes on so many different subjects. You can

7:43

find all of our shows by searching for Optimal

7:45

Living Daily wherever you get your audio and wherever

7:47

you're hearing this. And hit subscribe

7:49

or follow in your podcast app to make sure you

7:51

get those new episodes every single day. You

7:54

can also come by oldpodcast.com to see

7:56

all the shows we have, plus more

7:58

content as well. But that's going

8:00

to do it for today. I hope you enjoyed the post and that

8:02

you're having a great day out there. And I'll

8:04

see you back here tomorrow, where your optimal life

8:07

awaits.