Most of us think that the more motivated we are, the more successful and happy we’ll be. But too much motivation can lead to a life of constant striving for achievement without happiness or enjoyment.

If you’re a regular listener to this podcast, chances are that you’re interested in personal development and growth. (And of course, Michael and Adee are, too!). But in this episode of the podcast, we’ll talk about how our striving for greatness and achievement must be balanced with time spent doing things we love – purely for the pleasure of them, without aiming to be “productive”.

Michael and Adee will outline three actionable steps you can begin taking today to strike the balance between motivation to achieve more while remaining present and happy in your life as it is right now.

We would love to hear from you! If you have a question you want us to answer on the podcast, let us know by leaving a voicemail at workingagainstgravity.com/podcast. And don’t forget to follow along @workingagainstgravity on Instagram and leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts!

Topics: 

• 02:50 – Trying to squeeze every drop of ‘efficiency’ from each day can lead to missing out on life
• 03:45 – Trying to optimize things for efficiency causes them to lose fun and enjoyment (i.e. trying to read as fast as possible)
• 04:45 – How the traditional model of career growth is changing (i.e. “I’ll be happy later”)
• 07:00 – Adee & Michael playing the long game (striving for growth and change while enjoying life now)
• 08:15 – Living life with an emphasis on being joyful now may bring more material success
• 09:57 – How to play the ‘long game’: what do you love to do just for the sake of doing them? 
• 12:13 – Once you know the things you love, make time for them (start 1 hour per week)
• 13:10 – Feeling stress or guilt for doing things you love that aren’t ‘productive’
• 14:45 – Continue to strive to reach your full potential (have goals and a system for accountability) 
• 15:13 – Lululemon Vision and Goals packet and the importance of revisiting goals all throughout the year
• 16:00 – Write down a list of things that make you feel alive and carve out an hour this week for them

Links:

• Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author mentioned by Michael
• The Great Work of Your Life, by Stephen Cope (book mentioned by Adee)