Finding Satisfaction in the Details of NowWith us living so close to the sea in a town that has lots of sidewalks and paths, I like to take daily early morning walks to get the day started right. If you regularly follow me on LinkedIn, you may have noticed this, as from time to time I will post pictures of the ocean along with a quote or short post to get people inspired. By the way, there is a bit of a strategy to sharing these types of posts on LinkedIn, as I have noticed that LinkedIn's algorithms consistently rank this type of content and image high on their scale for wider distribution. I regularly get more likes and engagement with posts with an image of the beach than others.So, pro tip, if you are looking for a quick engagement hit to get some connections to come out of the woodwork, think oceanscapes and brief messages. But I digress...Over the last few months I have gotten into listening to podcasts on my walks. I'm pretty open, but I am really interested in in-depth interviews where there are good, engaging hosts who consistently have guests that can tell entertaining stories. My current main go-to's are Howard Stern's full length interviews on the SiriusXM app (he gets some great guests who are willing to open up and share personal details about themselves and their careers, and unbelievably, some conversations last almost 2 hours), Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade (mostly SNL alumni as guests) and Smartless, hosted by Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes.On a recent Smartless episode, actor Tony Hale (of Veep and Arrested Development fame) was the guest. His past work and familiar relationship with both Jason Bateman and Will Arnett made it a particularly smooth and easy flowing episode.At some point the conversation turned to what kinds of roles make him the most satisfied and was there any level of success he was looking to achieve from them. For some reason his answer stuck with me -- it was something like:I've come to realize that you need to find satisfaction and goodness in the things you are doing in the current moment. If you can't do that, how will you know what that feels like when you get what you want?My paraphrasing is not doing the full answer justice, but you get the gist. It was a genuine, thoughtful, profound response from someone who has obviously put some time into reflecting about the measure of success.We all have fallen into the trap of chasing the things we believe will make us happy at one point or another. For some it is money, or titles, or material things. Maybe it is achieving a certain picture or ideal we have in our minds for ourselves, our family or loved ones.Our obsession with the notion that "if only I had this" can be all consuming and cause us to ignore what is going with us and those around us in the present moment. Our focus is on finding happiness and satisfaction from that thing that we want that doesn't currently exist and not what we actually have in the current moment.And that is where the ironic twist comes in -- if you can't appreciate the goodness in what you have NOW, how will you know how to see it and fully appreciate it when you get what you want? Isn't this the problem many people have when they finally achieve something they always wanted? Their response is a hollow "Okay, I did it. Now what?" They never get to feel that true feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction because they have never allowed themselves to feel it in the moment along the way.For some reason I found myself thinking about this comment from Tony Hale for hours after my walk. I recalled times in my own life that I missed things in the present because I was obsessed with chasing something in the future. The real key is to take the time to find satisfaction and goodness in the details of what is happening to you now -- it will make the payoff that much better and richer when success happens in the future. As I have gotten older, I have made it a point to try to be more mindful and present in what is happening to me in a given moment. But this was just another great reminder that doing so is not just good for us now -- it will pay dividends down the road and teach us how to really feel and appreciae that big success when it comes our way at some point in the future....Now that I have made podcasts a part of my routine, I am open to ideas on how to expand my repertoire -- shoot me any good podcasts you like when you have a chance!In the meantime, check out the links below. If you are looking for a career change and might find satisfaction in exterminating vermin, the city of New York may be your next employer. I'm here to support whatever your hopes and dreams may be, Friends. XOXODave
Friends of Dave #312: the rat czar of NYC
Friends of Dave #312: the rat czar of NYC
Friends of Dave #312: the rat czar of NYC
Finding Satisfaction in the Details of NowWith us living so close to the sea in a town that has lots of sidewalks and paths, I like to take daily early morning walks to get the day started right. If you regularly follow me on LinkedIn, you may have noticed this, as from time to time I will post pictures of the ocean along with a quote or short post to get people inspired. By the way, there is a bit of a strategy to sharing these types of posts on LinkedIn, as I have noticed that LinkedIn's algorithms consistently rank this type of content and image high on their scale for wider distribution. I regularly get more likes and engagement with posts with an image of the beach than others.So, pro tip, if you are looking for a quick engagement hit to get some connections to come out of the woodwork, think oceanscapes and brief messages. But I digress...Over the last few months I have gotten into listening to podcasts on my walks. I'm pretty open, but I am really interested in in-depth interviews where there are good, engaging hosts who consistently have guests that can tell entertaining stories. My current main go-to's are Howard Stern's full length interviews on the SiriusXM app (he gets some great guests who are willing to open up and share personal details about themselves and their careers, and unbelievably, some conversations last almost 2 hours), Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade (mostly SNL alumni as guests) and Smartless, hosted by Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes.On a recent Smartless episode, actor Tony Hale (of Veep and Arrested Development fame) was the guest. His past work and familiar relationship with both Jason Bateman and Will Arnett made it a particularly smooth and easy flowing episode.At some point the conversation turned to what kinds of roles make him the most satisfied and was there any level of success he was looking to achieve from them. For some reason his answer stuck with me -- it was something like:I've come to realize that you need to find satisfaction and goodness in the things you are doing in the current moment. If you can't do that, how will you know what that feels like when you get what you want?My paraphrasing is not doing the full answer justice, but you get the gist. It was a genuine, thoughtful, profound response from someone who has obviously put some time into reflecting about the measure of success.We all have fallen into the trap of chasing the things we believe will make us happy at one point or another. For some it is money, or titles, or material things. Maybe it is achieving a certain picture or ideal we have in our minds for ourselves, our family or loved ones.Our obsession with the notion that "if only I had this" can be all consuming and cause us to ignore what is going with us and those around us in the present moment. Our focus is on finding happiness and satisfaction from that thing that we want that doesn't currently exist and not what we actually have in the current moment.And that is where the ironic twist comes in -- if you can't appreciate the goodness in what you have NOW, how will you know how to see it and fully appreciate it when you get what you want? Isn't this the problem many people have when they finally achieve something they always wanted? Their response is a hollow "Okay, I did it. Now what?" They never get to feel that true feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction because they have never allowed themselves to feel it in the moment along the way.For some reason I found myself thinking about this comment from Tony Hale for hours after my walk. I recalled times in my own life that I missed things in the present because I was obsessed with chasing something in the future. The real key is to take the time to find satisfaction and goodness in the details of what is happening to you now -- it will make the payoff that much better and richer when success happens in the future. As I have gotten older, I have made it a point to try to be more mindful and present in what is happening to me in a given moment. But this was just another great reminder that doing so is not just good for us now -- it will pay dividends down the road and teach us how to really feel and appreciae that big success when it comes our way at some point in the future....Now that I have made podcasts a part of my routine, I am open to ideas on how to expand my repertoire -- shoot me any good podcasts you like when you have a chance!In the meantime, check out the links below. If you are looking for a career change and might find satisfaction in exterminating vermin, the city of New York may be your next employer. I'm here to support whatever your hopes and dreams may be, Friends. XOXODave