This post reminds me of “No Surprises” by Radiohead.
The challenge I often encounter is the fear of mucking it up. I fall victim to it as much as many others I know.
The antidote to the uncertainty surrounding “will it work” is a recipe. In the tea world this looks like brewing parameters (“brew like this for a perfect cup”); in life, it looks like the traditional path as you’ve described.
The recipe will produce a predictable result, even if it’s not the one we really want.
If people fear an over-brewed cup of tea, we can imagine how much more they fear messing up their life.
This is indeed a great topic. However, taken to heart, I fear that it would eliminate a third of the volumes in my local bookstore and perhaps an even greater percentage of the “best self” content on Substack.
As the great rowing coach Steve Fairbairn once wrote, each person has to find their own way to get power on the oar.
Great analogy Drake! Another one is golfers - see how many different types of swings there are to generate power...and Usain Bolt was told he had the wrong body type for sprinting 🤔
Another great topic, and I like that you didn't make it dual: follow or not follow a recipe for life. I especially liked point 1. recipes fail because they are too generic. We've all heard the clichés: make up your own rules, follow your own bliss, etc. But an even better piece of advice is: follow the recipe *but* customize it according to your own circumstances. However, that takes mental effort, drive and courage, and - like you said - people prefer mental shortcuts, they prefer to be told what to do and follow the "3 easy steps".
Why do many people prefer not to think when thinking is so interesting?!
This post reminds me of “No Surprises” by Radiohead.
The challenge I often encounter is the fear of mucking it up. I fall victim to it as much as many others I know.
The antidote to the uncertainty surrounding “will it work” is a recipe. In the tea world this looks like brewing parameters (“brew like this for a perfect cup”); in life, it looks like the traditional path as you’ve described.
The recipe will produce a predictable result, even if it’s not the one we really want.
If people fear an over-brewed cup of tea, we can imagine how much more they fear messing up their life.
This is indeed a great topic. However, taken to heart, I fear that it would eliminate a third of the volumes in my local bookstore and perhaps an even greater percentage of the “best self” content on Substack.
As the great rowing coach Steve Fairbairn once wrote, each person has to find their own way to get power on the oar.
Great analogy Drake! Another one is golfers - see how many different types of swings there are to generate power...and Usain Bolt was told he had the wrong body type for sprinting 🤔
Another great topic, and I like that you didn't make it dual: follow or not follow a recipe for life. I especially liked point 1. recipes fail because they are too generic. We've all heard the clichés: make up your own rules, follow your own bliss, etc. But an even better piece of advice is: follow the recipe *but* customize it according to your own circumstances. However, that takes mental effort, drive and courage, and - like you said - people prefer mental shortcuts, they prefer to be told what to do and follow the "3 easy steps".
Why do many people prefer not to think when thinking is so interesting?!
Thanks Monica, good points! I like what you say about customising a good format