Zen and the art of balance

I’ve always been a person to do things wholeheartedly. This was the case when I started writing rap music at the age of 12, it was the case when I got into rowing, it was the case when I got into investing. When something grips my interest, it grips me by the balls and won’t let go.

Balance is not a words I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. I’ve always been a firm believer in the idea that either something was worth doing 100% or it wasn’t worth doing at all.

Lately though, I’ve come to a different conclusion. I’ve slowly but surely come to the conclusion that if I want to have all my ducks in a row I need more than a single duck — meaning if I want live a meaningful life, it can’t just be composed of a single thing. It can’t just be one thing one hundred percent and all other things zero percent.

To give you an example I’m familiar with, let’s talk about rowing. In rowing, if you pull too hard it’s actually counterproductive. What you want is a smooth, steady rhythm composed of effort and rest in almost equal measures — I figure that is a very handy analogy for life. At least the life that I want to live.

What’s more, I’ve found the best results in my life when I’ve aimed for balance. Whenever I’ve gone all-in on something I’ve quickly burned out. The fun went out of it. It became too serious. I became too serious.

About it.

And that made all that was good about it not good.

Effort. Rest. Balance. Moderation.

Not all-out power.

Simple. Obvious.

Yet for some reason difficult to grasp.