Special Olympic Edition Post

If ever there was a time to learn about passion, it’s from watching the Olympics. Can anyone doubt the passion of an Olympic competitor? Going for the gold includes substantial sacrifice and training for years just to compete. As I see each athlete taking the stage whether part of a team or individually, I wonder what kept them going. Was their satisfaction in the journey of training? No, it was in the destination. They wanted gold, or a medal, or at least to represent the country.

Pains and feelings of giving up are natural. They don’t signify a lack of passion; they’re merely human response. The body wants to give up… but pushing it makes it stronger. Same with the mind, it will reach its limit and need support from others. Both body and mind are stretched to the point where eventually they have standing potential.

What does this mean for us? It means passion is not about continuous enjoyment… at least not in the long run. I may have made a fatal mistake presuming that the two must coincide fully. The intense training and testing of your passion is what makes it stronger and proves its existence. It’s almost like a Catch-22 though. You have passion for something. You will give up other things for it. And it leads you to pain and times of trouble. But for getting through those times, you show your passion all the more. If you give up, then it was not your passion? I’m not sure I can answer that.

This is quite an eye-opener for me. Not in the revelation sense but more as a difficult reminder. I like something but the moment I find discomfort or resistance, I stay where I am at. Not trying to overcome it… or push myself. I have a particular threshold that if it’s overly uncomfortable, I won’t do it. Now is that the best approach? Of course not… it is going through the pain that allows us to grow. To what extent…? That may be the hardest question yet.

To be honest, the Olympics have inspired me to change some things about the way I am living my life.

The Journey vs. the Destination

It’s the age-old dilemma: do you take the $100K now? Or risk it all to open a $1 million case that has a 10% chance of being there?

I have seen two philosophies or two ends of the spectrum in life.

Type-S – One side believes in the now. He/she may say things like, “What is fun to do now?”, “You only life once.” or “I can sleep when I’m dead.” It is present-focused and tends to be unconsciously swayed without mind to consequences. The decision-making can be classified as risky and rash but is advantage when needing to be assertive or act fast. This may be a thrill-seeker but prone to extreme heartache or deep depression. The gains can come in greater steps but they are less predictable and may or may never come. This, however, also means that when losses come they are equally steep.

Type-L – The other side believes in the distant future. He/she may say things like, “What will the world be like in 10 years?” or “How should I spend the rest of the week?” There is some direction and generally involves quite a bit of thinking and planning. The decision-making can be slow but is usually well thought out. He/she likes to get advice and make mostly conservative and less drastic changes in life. Certainty is a god here. Any guarantee that fails to live to its promise will corrupt any trust that was once held. Gains and losses are incremental and almost imperceptible but over time may be significant.

The “S” stands for short-term and the “L” stands for long-term. I got the idea from basic investing. Me? I take both approaches. Although I’d say I’m only 25% Type-S and 75% a Type-L. Most of my investments are long term but being young (and ignorant), risks are more fun and often not properly thought out.

NOW WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING???

Ok, understanding your type does have a purpose… just trust me. What this means is here: The Type-S will most likely care about the journey and the Type-L will most likely care about the destination. Now, let’s be clear, being rich is not a destination… it’s a desire. The destination would be a goal and something specific, like being rich from starting a business in a shoe shop in NYC. It’s tangible and could be someone’s dream. The journey is what things are like while trying to reach the destination. It’s strange because although I am more on the Type-L side, I see myself making many actions for the short-term payoff. Perhaps this says something about my dedication or the exactness of my destination. Not to undermine the Type-S, because the danger of the Type-L is to lose his/her vision of the destination and get caught up, so to speak, in something else. Here are typical scenarios for each type.

Type-S – Will take what is best now, and/or do what sounds good at the time.
Type-L – Is willing to work a near detestable job in order to save up for something else.

To give another illustration, when sorting through job offers, my primary concern was that combination of the work and the city had to be enjoyable. I knew that I was only guaranteed the now. Any promises that in several years being able to move somewhere didn’t mean much. There was no certainty in that unless I had it in a contract. Thus, my risk-taking was inhibited and I made the safe decision.

A few last things… (1) If played correctly, short-term investments may prove beneficial in the long-term, (2) one’s destination may change (3), people are different types in different aspects/stages of their life and (4) the people you are with affect your journey greatly. I would write more extensively about these but I feel that they are fairly axiomatic. If curious feel free to let me know.

In conclusion, as much as we try to classify and understand them, people are complicated beings. Let the complexity of the original question not be overlooked. One might expect a Type-S to take the $100K immediately and splurge. But he/she may also try for the million, being a risk-taker. Whereas the Type-L may like the certainty of the $100K, he/she may consider the fact that the overall payout odds are equal and how much more could be done by going for the million. Talk about unpredictable.

Note: Originally, I had intended to split this section into two. However, it was consolidated to "The Journey vs. the Destination" since the anticipated parts were ultimately both answered. "True Motivation" was covered in the 6/27 entry. And "Sacrificing the Present for the Future" was covered well here.