Why Your Job Is Just A Fabulous Excuse (What’s The Big Idea, Part 2)

July 3, 2023

So I wanna share with you some hard-earned wisdom. After 20-plus years of living as an artist, I’ve got three BIG ideas about life. This post is part two of a three-part series. Today I’ll focus on what it means to thrive. Like this:

Part 1. Three BIG ideas about life.
Part 2. You’re in the process of making a beautiful life.
Part 3. Why your job is just a fabulous excuse.

Let’s go!

Part 1. Three BIG ideas about life.

BIG idea number 1. Your purpose:
You’re here to expand your creativity.

BIG idea number 2. Your process:
You’re in the process of making a beautiful life.

BIG idea number 3. Your practice:
Your only job is to crack the shell of your resistance.

Colorful paper collage with connected shapes like constellations on dark blue background by Alex Mitchell.

Part 2. You’re in the process of making a beautiful life.
In Part 1 of this series (Curiosity Did Not Kill The Cat), we look at what it means to express your genius. And we touch on how curiosity helps you thrive (BIG idea number 1).

In a nutshell, you’re here to expand your creativity. The first step is to own your desires. And when you pursue your curiosity you’re well on your way to sharing your gifts with the world.

Today, let’s explore BIG idea number 2. You’re in the process of making a beautiful life.

Your process of making a beautiful life is your personal journey of transformation. It’s your becoming. And as you become more and more yourself, you thrive. So let’s define thriving:

Thriving is owning your desires and living your values.

Having said that, let’s define desires and values:

Your desires are your gifts to receive and give.

Your desires are your gifts to receive because they guide you to become who you want to be. And your desires are also your gifts to give. Because you give yourself away in the process of becoming who you want to be.

Your values are how you want to show up for yourself and for others.

Living your values is about prioritizing your vitality so you can show up and do the things that matter most.

The funny thing about values is that you can’t hide them. Your behavior is always a reflection of your values no matter what you might say.

And this is one of the biggest reasons it’s so damn hard to change your habits. Because unless you truly value and identify with the reasons behind the changes you want to make, your new habits simply won’t stick.

Oh, at first you might be convinced you can willpower your way to making lasting change. But at some point, your willpower will burn out. Because you’re using your discipline in the wrong way.

Discipline is not what you think it is.

We think discipline is about forcing ourselves to do things we think we should be doing to get what we want. But it’s actually a whole lot simpler than that:

Discipline is remembering what you want so you can thrive.

What you want, what you desire, is based on who you want to become. In comparison, what you think you should be doing to get what you want is based on how you value difficulty as a measure of your worthiness.

You believe you need to bust your butt and prove yourself to be worthy of what you want. Without realizing it, you’re valuing difficulty as a measure of your deservedness. All the while, completely ignoring the fact that you’re already worthy.

And because your narrative of feeling unworthy is deep-rooted and well-practiced, remembering what you truly want for yourself is damn hard work.

It’s ironic, isn’t it? It’s way easier to struggle and argue for your limitations than it is to trust in yourself and own your desires.

Discipline is for focusing your attention.

Your objective is always to focus your attention on who you want to become in the process of getting what you want.

And since ultimately what we all desire is to feel good, you need to ask yourself:

Who do I need to become to feel good?

“People say we’re all seeking a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I believe we’re seeking an experience of being alive.”
- Joseph Campbell

Colorful paper collage with a maze-like patchwork of bridge shapes on yellow background by Alex Mitchell.

Part 3. Why your job is just a fabulous excuse.
Okay, so when we're doing what we most love to do, we're expressing our genius. We could all be doing the same thing, but every one of us would express our genius in a unique way.

In the end, it doesn’t even matter what you do. No lie.

The only thing that matters is how you show up.

And here comes the fun part. The reason it doesn’t matter what you do is because you’re not actually doing it. You’re letting it happen.

Let your genius flow through you.

Your fun, your joy, your love for life, is your becoming.

It’s a process where you’re the creator and the ultimate project is not your career but YOU. As in, you’re the creator and the creation. So that:

• There is no job that’s wrong for you to be doing

• There is no career move that’s got you going down the wrong path.

• There is no missed opportunity that’s holding you back.

Nope, that career path or life project of yours, it’s just a fabulous excuse to let your genius flow through you. Smile.

Remember, your genius is your creativity. So you want to nurture your creativity.

And to bring more creativity into your life, you don’t need to become a more creative person. You only need to give yourself permission to play.

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”
- George Bernard Shaw

Creative play is a means to express yourself for the sheer pleasure of being alive.