A friend recently told me that she stopped listening to podcasts from a number of self-help gurus because she was fed up of ‘being told what I should do’. As someone who reads, listens to podcasts and consumes information from a range of people, I can appreciate the value of a good idea. However, perhaps like my friend, I’m often overwhelmed by how much ‘stuff’ is available. Each person has their ideas for you to incorporate into your life. I often wonder, how many of the successful people achieved what they did via this method which was defined in retrospect. If they didn’t have their latter-formed ideas as a guide, do they notice the irony is sharing their ideas as a blueprint for others? (I note this same irony as I’m writing here).
Pondering this, I began to think what an unplanned journey might look like. I once heard that to understand engineering one should spend time as a bird watcher and to grasp physics, one should visit more fine-art galleries. Our minds are complex and interwoven in ways we can’t understand so perhaps the key is in diversifying what we expose ourselves too? Maybe it is through a life that is rich in variety and allows for chaos and complexity that the truly great things will emerge? I’m not sure of the answers but I’ve decided to have a break from neatly formed ideas, for now.
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