#59: Delicate Balance Between Hope & Action
#Charisma #Commitment #Commitment #Action
👋 Welcome to this week's Pursuit. My name is Amir, and each week I go over 10 hours of content in pursuit of living a meaningful, fulfilling and balanced life. I'm grateful to share my findings with you and hope I can have a tiny impact on your life. Subscribe now if you haven't already!
After 6-weeks in Africa, I've returned to the familiar comforts of Berlin. Namibia was one of the most unique trips I've taken, especially in terms of natural beauty and landscapes. For two weeks, we camped and traversed the country's gravel roads in a Lando (our tour operators insisted we not call it a bus).
The spectacle of a mother rhino and her calf quenching their thirst at a water whole on a stormy night, the thrill of dune-riding beside the ocean, and the awe of ascending a five-million-year-old, 170-meter sand dune at dawn - these experiences underlined my insignificance in the face of nature's vast timeline. Nature is ancient, wise, and continues without us.
Being without internet for two weeks kept me grounded in the present. I recommend that everyone disconnect from their phones for a few days during a trip, disengage from life back home, and immerse themselves in all the new experiences that traveling offers.
P.S. At the end of this post, you'll find the highlights of my photos from the breathtaking landscape of Namibia.
This week’s discovery:
🤩 Charisma = Warmth + Competence
🙅🏼 Afraid of Commitment
🙈 Shame: The Biggest Barrier to Vulnerability
🤞🏼 Delicate Balance Between Hope & Action
🗒️ A Quote I'm Pondering On
🎵 Music I'm Listening To
🤩 Charisma = Warmth + Competence
Charisma is a blend of warmth and competence. Highly charismatic people exude both likability and credibility. Having an imbalance of warmth or competence can hinder charisma. Too much warmth can lead to lack of respect, while too much competence without warmth can be seen as intimidating. The danger zone occurs when there is not enough signaling of warmth or competence. People in the danger zone are often pitied, dismissed, or underestimated. It is important to strike a balance between approachability and credibility. Competence without warmth can make people suspicious and hinder the perception of one's abilities. Charisma can be learned, and understanding the importance of warmth and competence in different situations is key to developing it. Nonverbal cues, such as nodding and tilting the head, can convey warmth and encourage collaboration. The goal is to make others feel welcome and respected, making them feel like the most important person in the room. Read more
🙅🏼 Afraid of Commitment
The uncomfortable truth is that you can never know if you’re on the right mountain. A certain amount of searching helps, but you eventually have to say, “This is the one and I’m gonna climb the shit out of it.” Our inner neophiliac doesn’t want us to commit because they cut us off from new things we could play around with. But the deepest long-term satisfaction seems to come from focusing intently on something, someone, someplace, rather than constantly jumping around to new ones. Read more
🙈 Shame: The Biggest Barrier to Vulnerability
Society has molded us to conform to certain expectations: men are expected to be strong and invulnerable, while women are expected to be perfect and flawless. But these norms come at a cost. Vulnerability asks us to expose our true selves, to acknowledge our setbacks, failures, and emotions. It's a daring act, one that goes against the grain of societal conditioning. For those striving to meet masculine norms, vulnerability is a challenge. Raised to believe that vulnerability equals weakness, they fear the shame that comes with being perceived as weak. On the other hand, women face the pressure to be perfect, always striving to do it all and do it well. They fear being perceived as imperfect. Shame, the fear of unworthiness and disconnection, becomes the biggest barrier to vulnerability. To embrace vulnerability, we must confront this fear head-on, daring to believe that we are worthy of love and belonging despite our flaws. Read more
🤞🏼 Delicate Balance Between Hope & Action
Success lies in mastering the basics and embracing the "boring" tasks that set one apart from the crowd. It's not about avoiding boredom, but about attacking those mundane activities with the intention of achieving excellence. In today's world, where the highlight reel reigns supreme, many people are lured by the allure of instant gratification and fail to see the value in execution. They want the end result without putting in the necessary work. Fear often holds them back, but one of the main obstacles is the failure to acknowledge their true desires. People get stuck in unfulfilling situations because they haven't honestly confronted what they truly want. Hope becomes a crutch, a false sense of security that allows them to avoid taking action. It's a delicate balance between hope and action. The difference between being interested and committed lies in facing the fear of rejection, the fear of losing face, and the fear of testing one's skills. Read more
🗒️ A Quote I'm Pondering On
Instead of always trying to be your best, ask yourself how to avoid being at your worst.
🎵 Music Tracks I'm Listening To
🎧 You’ll find mostly Ethnotronica, Organic House, World, Disco, and Organic Electronic here:
Previously on Pursuit:
