The fear of being left behind: kiasu.
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Notes
Kiasu (similar to FOMO, but worse): a “grasping insufficiency that drives many people forward”:
- Scarcity wielded to make people buy more, work harder
- Based in fear and insufficiency
Instead, trust yourself to know we’re on a path leading where we want to go.
Outcomes you can’t control don’t work as fuel: not replenishable, leaves a residue.
Thoughts
I’ve been trying in a more sustained way to figure out what exactly “The Practice” is—or, more accurately, what my practice should be, given that there is no single “practice.”
It seems like it should be obvious. And maybe it is: maybe I’m overthinking it as a means of avoiding it. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that.
Nonetheless, I’ve not really developed anything that is recognizable to me as a practice.
This complaint has little to do with kiasu, but that last insight about using outcomes outside our control as “fuel” feels like it should bring a practice into focus.
What outcomes might I, or do I, focus on that are outside my control? I think the reception of the work would fall into that category, as that is uncertain (by definition, the work might fail). I suspect that I am more afraid of failure (whatever that means), though, which means that this isn’t kiasu; it doesn’t fuel me—indeed, it probably does the opposite.
My sense is that a practice is a set of actions that make up some sort of routine (perhaps, in some cases, even a sort of ritual) that leads to creative work that can be (and is) shipped. I can even imagine what that might look like for, say, a writer—hell, I’ve read about lots of those. But for some reason—likely a mix of fear, fixed mindset, and Resistance—I can’t (or won’t) consider what that would look like for me. (Maybe the “work” isn’t as clear in my mind as it might be for writers? But that doesn’t really ring true.)
Ugh.
This series is meant to capture my thoughts as I work through Seth Godin’s The Practice. It’s a book with over 200 (very short) chapters, which I hope to work through and, I further hope, to implement over time.
If you’re interested in more of Godin’s ideas, or my thoughts about them, you can check out this collection of posts. Note that if you’re more interested in the former, you should probably get Godin’s book and read it yourself; my notes will be both incomplete and idiosyncratic, and my thoughts will relate to my own experience.
But if my thoughts resonate with you, or if you think I’m just silly, I welcome your comments.