#61: Imperfection & Gift of Growth
#EmbraceImperfection #BeYourOwnPermission #KnowYourLimits #EmbracePresentMoment
👋 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!
This week’s discovery:
🌿 Imperfection: A Fresh Perspective
😓 Recognizing What You’re Not Good At
👨🏼🎨 Becoming Your Own Artist
🏏 You Are Playing a Game - Alan Watts
🗒️ A Quote I'm Pondering On
🎵 Music I'm Listening To
🌿 Imperfection: A Fresh Perspective
It’s a rather beautiful way to look at imperfections. They are not ‘bad’. They are merely weeds to be plucked and sown back into the earth to nourish the plant. We don’t need to judge ourselves for our imperfections. Rather, we should be grateful for them as potential sources for future growth. The negativity comes from obsessing over some end or some level of achievement. If we focus on embracing being beginners and being excited about where we can go instead of where we are or are not, then perhaps the judgment can be quieted. And so perhaps this is the way out for my fellow self-flagellators: be excited about where you are and where you can go. Weeds are a gift. Pluck them with vigor, and don’t berate yourself for their existence. They will pop up again in new places and with new leaves you haven’t seen before, but if you can smile while you clear them, they don’t have to be a burden.
😓 Recognizing What You’re Not Good At
One of life’s biggest challenges is figuring out what you’re good at. But something else can be even harder—figuring out what you’re, frankly, not so good at. Coming to terms with your shortcomings, or the things you can’t quite excel at, is an incredibly valuable skill. That’s because you don’t have to be good at everything. In fact, in this era of professional specialization, it can be much more advantageous if you’re not. The best way you can become valuable is by not doing everything, but, instead, by doing something really well—and by knowing your own limitations.
👨🏼🎨 Becoming Your Own Artist
There’s this feeling that you need to hit certain milestones to give yourself permission to state that you are a specific thing. Art is one of those domains where your identity is constructed the moment you decide to embody it. When you believe that you are what you aspire to be, then the creative landscape opens up to all kinds of possibilities. With that said, it’s important to emphasize that last word: possibilities. Embodying an identity reveals the possibilities, but it’s only through sheer action and repetition where you actualize those opportunities.
That’s both the beautiful and daunting thing about art. The only permission you require is that which you give yourself, and the only roadblock you face is that which you’ve placed yourself. Only you can decide when you’ve become an artist, and only you can overcome the self-doubt that prevents you from being what you believe you are. But if you regularly face that obstacle and forge ahead, then that very motion creates a beautiful feedback loop: You grow confident that you are what you’ve declared, and that energizes you to create things that further reinforces that confidence.
🏏 You Are Playing a Game - Alan Watts
Life is like a game, with its own set of rules. Yet, society treats us as probationary members of humanity, failing to acknowledge this truth. From the moment we enter the education system, we are constantly being prepared for the future, caught in an endless cycle of preparation. Our constant focus on what lies ahead robs us of the ability to fully enjoy and embrace the present moment, leaving us in a perpetual state of frustration. We are misled into believing that pleasure can be bought with money, but this is a fallacy. True pleasure and fulfillment come from personal discipline and the ability to live in the present. We have been conditioned to perpetually postpone our happiness and fulfillment, always living for tomorrow. Let us break free from the constraints imposed upon us and create our own rules, embracing the game of life with a profound understanding of its intricacies and the power to shape our own destinies.
🗒️ A Quote I'm Pondering On
To the person in a strong position, every change is an opportunity. To the person in a weak position, every change is a struggle, just to stay in the game. Win the decade, not the day.
🎵 Music I'm Listening To
You’ll find mostly Ethnotronica, Organic House, World, Disco, and Organic Electronic here:
🎧 If you appreciate the music I carefully select and haven't followed my Spotify playlists yet, now is the perfect time to hit that follow button and join me on this musical journey! 🎶
🌒 Pano: Danceable and electronic obscure songs
🌓 Sisy: Ethnotronica and organic house
🌑 Berghain: Dark, minimal techno and tech house
🌕 Heide: Groovy soul and disco house
🌞 Sonntag: Afterhours shit
🌎 World: From Latin jazz to Turkish psych
🌚 Super Slow: For your intimate moments
Previously on Pursuit:
