Comments on: Stretch.

By: Patrick @ unwrapyourmind.com

Patrick @ unwrapyourmind.com — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 06:18:32 +0000

Jeffrey thanks for this. Since I always have been interested in so many fields the concept of stretching myself in lots of them, expanding myself through experiences is much better suited to experience true joy and happiness.

I too sometimes envied those who had their one goal and followed it to the exclusion of everything else, but I soon realized that this was not me, not my way of living.

And since I am a gemini, being a multiple interest type of person is birth given :-)

By: Patty - Why Not Start Now?

Patty - Why Not Start Now? — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:38:59 +0000

Hi Jeffrey – Stretch. What a beautiful way to define success. Your writing is so eloquent here, and I'm really loving it. I don't personally subscribe to the “one true calling” mantra, because I think human beings are much more complicated than that, a series of life long inner transitions. Layers and layers of depth to discover. And when you talk about climbing that ladder, I'm reminded of a Joseph Campbell quote: “He's gotten to the top of the ladder, and found it's against the wrong wall.” Not so much danger of that if, as you say, we substitute experimenting, learning, growing, struggling, exploring, dreaming, building, and tearing down for that old rickety ladder.

By: bradedgar

bradedgar — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:05:16 +0000

Hey Jeffrey,

It is funny how we all seem to be trying to do the same thing. I've been trying to setup a blog and really find my particular calling and niche and find what it is exactly I am passionate about. Day after day I think to myself what do I love to do and for some reason there is no one thing that completely satisfies me I don't think.

I think my true calling in life is to learn how to settle my mind, stay fit and healthy, eat well and as you put it, stretch and not only in the literal sense.

It looks like you have quite the inspirational site. Thanks for a great a post.

By: Melissa Gorzelanczyk

Melissa Gorzelanczyk — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:07:12 +0000

Stretch… I like that concept. If something seems too hard (for me it would be writing a novel), then you're probably on the right track for doing something great.

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:57:33 +0000

Andrew - thank you so much for commenting. I know exactly how you feel! I have so many different interests, and while I'm fairly good at many different things, I'm not outrageously talented in any particular one. That was frustrating to me for a long time; I envied people who had one spectacular talent to guide their lives.

But in the last few years, I've realized that even people with one spectacular talent have a desire to stretch themselves into other fields and interests. Often, their talent in one area actually makes it harder for them to find opportunities to pursue other paths.

"I've tried to be a good lemming. And I suck at it. I have wings. I'm not a lemming at all." Fantastic image. I love it.

Here's to the Renaissance Men and Women among us, and to people who have the courage to push the boundaries in many different directions at once!

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:52:34 +0000

I read a study which said that the freedom to switch topics within jobs or switch to a different job entirely is one of the most important things to Gen Y employees, while money wasn't nearly as big of a concern.

A colleague of mine left a high-paying job last year in favor of a job with a smaller startup, simply because that startup offered a much better work environment and room for growth. Just goes to show that the feeling of being able to stretch your limits is often worth much more than money.

By: Jeffrey Tang

Jeffrey Tang — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:49:08 +0000

That's something I hadn't thought much about – how stretching our boundaries also helps us understand how the people around us think and work and function. That's a great point!

By: Andrew Frenette

Andrew Frenette — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:15:34 +0000

Thank you, Jeffrey, for letting me know I'm not alone. I figured everyone but me was on that single ladder climbing higher and higher – pursuing their one true calling – while I was the lone wingnut attempting to pursue multiple interests. A lot of literature about business, marketing, (Hell, just surviving) says “pick a niche,” “do just that one thing,” “specialize….” And it never jived with me. Sure, I tried (15 years with one company), but I've come to realize in myself a sort of modern Renaissance Man (not that what I do remotely compares to the likes of, say, daVinci); I'm just a guy with a diverse spread of interests.

Despite my knowing that specialization and nichedom isn't really for me, I believed I should and so I pigeon-holed myself into a life I've grown to detest, just because the other lemmings are doing it. I've tried to be a good lemming. And I suck at it. I have wings. I'm not a lemming at all. Whoops.

Thank you for your advice – stretch. I'm going to have a really great stretch.

By: Ilham

Ilham — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:38:46 +0000

Jeffrey congratulations on this amazing article. What you talk about is exactly what all of us have forgotten and need to understand and learn in some respects. I can't think of a better example where this applies than to scientists. Most of the time, they are one of the worst paid people but love their jobs since they are able to easily switch between a topic of interest within their field.

I guess their choice is limited, that is to within their own field but they at least are free to switch what they are doing/researching.

By: qconklin

qconklin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:13:06 +0000

As usual good stuff Jeffery, I am a big advocate of stretching. As we push our boundaries and ideas farther then they are willing to go we see new opportunities and new definitions of successes. As we stretch our selves we become better able to relate to others because our expanded set of experiences help us understand were more people are coming from. When we have an idea were others are coming from we are more excepting of them and less hostile to there point of views. So stretch to find happiness and stretch to make the world a better place.