824. The Anchor Of Commitment & The Guide Of Curiosity.

Sometimes we choose to quit. We just make that decision. And there were other times where life forces us to quit. And it got me to thinking why wait. To get to a breaking point. Where you are---Uh! I'm out your flame out and you quit. But also why wait with bated breath? In fear. Of when life's going to force you to quit. Why not instead embrace the power of curiosity. And be committed to the thing. But also maintain your curiosity. To see what's in. And all around. your day in, day out All right. 3, 2, 1. Let's get it. Welcome to What's Your Problem? The podcast where we explore solutions to three universal problems, adversity, and certainty and complacency, we all face those things and you need some skills to handle the adversity. Embrace uncertainty. And never settle again. Today we're riffing out of any Duke's book. Quit. Love that title. And we're going to talk about the duality of. Not only being committed. But also being curious, whoever thought, let me tease you a little bit. Whoever thought that an ant could be a sensei? Bow to your sensei. Well, today, an ant is going to be your sensei. Cause I was reading out a chapter 10. I do random reading every single morning. There are books that I read cover to cover in the afternoons, but in the mornings, I llike to pull a fresh book off the shelf. I just stare at my bookshelf. I'll find something. That jumps out at me. I go to the table of contents. I find a chapter that most resonates with me. I set my timer for 15 minutes and I read, and then based on that, I write about what I read. How do I interpret that? I don't just write word for word. I absorb it. And then I interpret it. If you want to get really good at decision-making and thinking clearer and quicker, I will challenge you. To do a 10 to 15 minute read every single day, a fresh book. Because you're going to get more out of it. You know how sometimes you read a book and you just kinda. Oh my God. How many more pages I got? And you just trying to power through her book, just to say you got through a book. It's not how much you read. It's what you apply. If you just take 10 to 15 minutes, number one, it's fresh. Number two. It's bite-sized because there are times where I read stuff and I'm like, oh, bookmark that, come back to it. And I keep on reading. I go back to it. And the idea is gone. So that's, what's beneficial. About the 15 minute read. This is not what this podcast is about. But that's what I do. So today, I was riffing out of any Duke's book. Chapter 10. And she writes that."Sometimes we choose to quit. We just make that decision. And there were other times where life forces us to quit. And it got me to thinking why wait. To get to a breaking point. Where you are---Uh! I'm out your flame out and you quit. But also why wait with bated breath? In fear. Of when life's going to force you to quit. Why not instead embrace the power of curiosity. And be committed to the thing. But also maintain your curiosity. To see what's in. And all around. your day in, day out activities it's a great concept to think about. Duke writes. That ants strike a balance between exploration and exploitation. Exploitation is committed to the thing. So for ants. They see a big juicy piece of watermelon sitting on a picnic table. They're going to exploit that thing. They're going at it. But they also have the balance. Of curiosity. So while some of the trooper ants are going for that watermelon. Not all of them go. Some of them are curious and they explore. To see what other resources are around.' cause you gotta think about it. What if the big giant called people? Pick up that juicy piece of watermelon throw in the trash. Well, if the ants were going for that one piece of watermelon and everybody was going. They're done. What are we going to eat today? But because they exploited. What's right in front of them, but they also explore what's in and around what a great metaphor for life. You could explore to see what other possibilities are all around. So that way, if something that you're going after shuts down. You have something else? That you've already explored. What a great metaphor for life, man. The challenge for me. Is to continue to exploit . To be committed to the thing that I'm doing. But also. Explore.in in all kinds of different areas, man. It's not that I'm just some skiz and I bounce all around. ADD - No, I'm committed to the thing I'm committed to the task I'm committed to providing for my family. Yet, I'm not so myopic. Which is being near-sighted. I'm not so myopic on the one thing. It's where people just, all of a sudden something happens. You're like, oh my God, I don't know what to do because you exploited, you didn't explore. So do the job. Yet, explore. Other interests. other possibilities. Other opportunities. That are in and around. My day in and day out. What's beautiful about this. Is it voluntary. See everyday, man, you have. Two sets of opportunities. One set of opportunity is your obligations. Got to do it, but see, there's another hidden opportunity. That nobody ever explores. It's the voluntary. It's what you're not forced to do. Nobody's standing over your shoulder, commanding you to do things. It's a hundred percent voluntary. And so you began to explore. And challenge yourself. To try other things. To try other interests. To like sample some different things. In and around, it's kind of like going to Sam's or Costco, wherever you live. And you know, at these big box stores, they have these trays of food, right. And so you can sample that food. If you like the food. Go buy a bag for yourself. If you don't like the food. Cool. Throw the toothpick in the trash and keep going. Don't like it. And that's what Duke challenges us to do is exploit the thing. All areas of your life exploit. Yet, explore. Sample some different things. If you're going to college. Sample different majors. That way you don't have the sunk cost. Sunk cost is, you've poured so much money into it that you can't break free. What's beautiful about exploiting and exploring is it's voluntary. It's a very low consequence. So even if you fail. All it did was cost you a little bit of time. And it's not one that you don't have. These sunk costs. You haven't sunk so much money into it. If you like it. Fine. Explore more. Get into that thing. It may be something where your Plan B turns into Plan A. But also, if you don't like it, cool. Try something else. And this is what keeps things spicy. This is what keeps life interesting and keeps you from dulling down. And getting into these ruts. I could be committed and curious. It's not either or. Duke writes. One thing about ants is their exploration never goes to zero. Never. So they can be all big eyed about what they see in front. But they're also curious. And looking what's around. They never let that go to zero. Most of us. are at zero, when it comes to curiosity, we just got to go do the job. Looking forward to the weekend. We're moving in points. I wake up. I work out. I'll go to work. I'll come home. I eat a shower, I'll go to bed and we just, we just work in these points. So no wonder life has gotten stale. Yeah, you could still be committed. Do those things. Yet. Open your fucking eyes. And see what else is around? Be curious, try some shit. Explore other opportunities. Interests hobbies. It's all yours, man, your world. Is a lot larger and way more colorful than you think. And what's great about it is, is you can zoom in. And exploited. Yet also zoom out. And backup and explore. See, what else is out there? It's almost like you take an investor's approach and you diversify your day. You diversify your job, you diversify what you do day in and day out with your relationship. You keep things moving spicy. It's not sex night on Wednesdays. It's not Golden Corral on Tuesdays., fucking spice. That shit up. Even like your workout, stuff like that, like diversify man, try some different stuff. diversify your friends. You don't have to just hang out with people who think like you. Bring in people to your circle, who don't think like you. And you don't just diss him or dismiss him. Can you make an argument for what they believe? Can you see it their way? Doesn't mean you have to run with it, but diversify. A lot of shit you don't know. You're way more stupider than you think you are. I understand that. Stay committed. Yet be curious. This is just so powerful, I just love the. Commitment. And curiosity, so I can't stress this enough, I love this model. Because they're low risk, low consequence. Try something, pick something else. Diversity is free, it is., you won't freedom in your life. You already have it. You just don't realize it. And this being committed. And curious the duality of the two. Being committed to the thing yet. Curious as what else is out there. It's important. It's important. I'm telling you, you do this. You're going to build your skillset. You're going to build new connections. You're going to create more opportunities for yourself. Life is going to get more interesting. And even more key. You're going to become more courageous. Because. you don't have to be very courageous to do the thing that you've been doing for 26 years. That didn't take courage at all. You can do it in your sleep. Literally. What takes courage? Is to be committed to that thing that you've been doing for 26 years. Yet be curious. To step out into the unknown to embrace the uncertainty, to beat back the complacency. And to say, let me try some other stuff. Even if I fall flat on my face, that's. It's all right. It's temporary. Because I'm building new skillsets, I'm building new know-how, it's going to make you more valuable both personally and professionally. This builds this courage. Which is what you need. What's beautiful about it because this commitment yet curiosity. You work within this every single day, this muscle man. Then you get better and stronger at it. It becomes a way of life so no matter what situations pop up adversity, and then certainty pops up. I'm good. It may be distasteful. But I believe in myself enough because I've been working this muscle long enough. That I can pivot. I can make the adjustments and I keep on rocking. All right. Let's get out of here. Remember, keep it simple. Keep it moving. Never settle. Stay tough peace