The Easiest Life Imaginable
The easiest life imaginable is working at what comes naturally. You enrich life when you follow inclinations you were born with. But be warned, some innate inclinations harm us. Other expressions of your temperament need guiderails.
Seneca wrote in his letters, “The easiest thing in the world, to live in accordance with his own nature.” Difficulty is easy when you are born for it. Arithmetic is fun when your genius is math. Musicians are energized by working on hard music.
The easiest life imaginable:
Seneca wrote, “Therefore, man’s highest good is attained, if he has fulfilled the good for which nature designed him at birth.”
We enter the world with inborn temperaments.
Patrick Lencioni identifies six types of working genius. Gallup groups strengths into four themes. VIA lists six classifications of character strengths.
Go with:
Skillful leaders find ways for people to do easy things, even when those things are difficult.
Some people feel responsible naturally. Don’t tell them to reject responsibility. Encourage them to focus their sense of personal accountability on things within their control.
Some team members love learning. Don’t tell a learner to stifle curiosity. Encourage them to focus on learning things that bring immediate value.
Some leaders see danger. Others enjoy risk. Exploring every option offends gamblers and energizes the cautious. Consider consequences with risk-takers. Challenge the risk averse to focus on dangers that are likely to happen, not wild imaginings.
Some people fanatically finish stuff. Others chase shiny objects. Realize finishers are slow to begin and starters get bored quickly.
Expressing your temperament is the easiest life imaginable. What’s easy to one is frustrating to another. Encourage people to do what comes naturally. Protect them from the dark side of their inclinations.
What natural inclinations make life more difficult?
How can a person live in alignment with their inborn nature?
I have a similar viewpoint and call it “fulfilling our design.” I’ve humorously pointed to the four quadrant Microsoft Office logo and said, some of us are writers (Word) some are talkers (Power Point) some are numbers people (Excel) etc. Leadership then is helping others uncover their God-given gifts (their design) helping them optimize it.
Dan another great post. Love Seneca. I ask people who have worked awhile to calculate what percent of their work life they were excited and looking forward to the next day versus just going through the motions. I was lucky to have felt engaged two thirds of my work years, usually when my companies were in trouble! Crisis management teaches you a lot.
Have a happy and healthy New Year! Brad
I’m with you Brad. I often prefer Seneca to Marcus Aurelius. Following energy seems logical. Do stuff that energizes you. There are aspects of work that drain us, paperwork for example, but when we have enough energizing activities, doing the draining parts of work is worth it.
Thanks Ken. A belief in design indicates life has purpose. You and I are here for a reason. Finding and expressing it seems to be a good idea.
Following one’s primary natural inclination can allow other, less-seen natural inclinations to surface (and hopefully flourish). When fulfillment is found in a task one is good at, the desire is to reach that level of satisfaction again. Early on, MS Excel was my best friend because we spent a lot of fulfilling time together. This gave me the confidence to do more, allowing me to grow into another very different but fulfilling role where I discovered new natural talents.
I’ve found that for some, this will appear as a repetition of the same activities; for others, new pursuits will emerge. A leader’s challenge is to help others pursue those things that promote positive growth while recognizing that what is pursued may change over time. And to push people past repeated pursuits that no longer result in growth.