Enjoying What You Do Is Not Optional
The story of Pàng Pàng and the village children
Efficiency in the human context isn’t about speed. That’s for robots and machinery.
It’s about achieving your goals with the least amount of effort, and enjoyment is the best measure of that.
— Joe Hudson
The most potent way to increase efficiency is to find ways to increase joy.
If you enjoy what you do, it’s not as hard to do it — right? Think of focusing on a video game versus your homework. Think of running for 1 hour straight versus playing a game of basketball. Think of reading a textbook versus a storybook.
This is the very secret to both; (1) a pleasant life, and (2) a productive one.
But nobody thinks to focus on joy when trying to be more productive. No. They look to productivity hacks, spreadsheets and focus drugs.
What a completly backwards conclusion!
There is only one way to get more results with less effort. It’s not a hack, or a trick or some magical pill you swallow.
It’s a way of life.
A life that is created by consistently asking oneself, as Joe Hudson puts it:
“How can I make this 10% more enjoyable?”
The Story of Pàng Pàng and the Village Children
An original story by Eren Candansayar
Many moons ago, there lived a Chinese man by the name of Pàng Pàng. He lived in a bamboo forest far away from civilisation with his brother, sister and his nieces and nephews.
Pàng Pàng had the heart of a saint, but the stomach of a lion. In fact, he ate so much that he was three times the size of everyone else in his village. He was so big that he couldn’t fit through doors, he’d lose his breath walking up only a couple of steps and even needed his clothes specially made to fit him.
Pàng Pàng’s family grew concerned for his health — especially his nieces and nephews, who loved to play games with their uncle. They would be heartbroken should anything happen to him.
But after years of pleading, they finally convinced Pàng Pàng to pay a visit to the village doctor.
“What is the thing you love most in your life?” — the doctor asked.
“Without a doubt, it’s my nieces and nephews” replied Pàng Pàng, “There is nothing I love more than to play games with them.”
“Well then, if you would like to see them grow old — you must begin to exercise. Every day, you must lift 15kg above your head 1000 times. This is your only chance. Choose not, and you will not be alive this time next year.”
Pàng Pàng, startled by the bad news, decided to follow the doctor’s advice if it would allow him to be with the children he loved so dearly.
But sadly, no matter how much he wanted to, he could not bring himself to lift the weight over his head 1000 times. He tried with all his might, but the challenge was simply too great.
One day, his nieces and nephews came to Pàng Pàng and said, “Uncle, since you will not live much longer, will you throw us up in the air like you used to when we were young? Please!”
Pàng Pàng smiled and a tear rolled down his cheek.
“There is nothing I would rather do, little ones.”
So from sunrise to sunset, Pàng Pàng threw his nieces and nephews in the air and caught them some 1000 times without even breaking a sweat.
And before he knew it, every day, for the next 40 years, the children — and later, their children — would return to their uncle Pàng Pàng, who would throw them in the air and catch them 1000 times.
It’s clear we must do more to get more — and nothing is easier to do than things we enjoy
Efficiency, we would all agree, is measured by how much you get out versus how much you put in.
And Joe Hudson’s beautiful idea says that if you do something joyfully, you have to expend less to extract more.
It’s as if you squeeze the lemon with less might, but somehow you are left with more juice.
What is more efficient than that?
This is the closest thing we have to magic. Doing things joyfully is essentially creating energy out of thin air. Pure power within joy. Pure creation. The work of the “God” within us all.
The lesson?
if you’re trying to quit a bad habit — say, smoking — don’t just sit there and whip yourself out of it. Think about how you can make that experience more enjoyable:
→ introduce a healthier alternative
→ distract yourself with hobbies
→ gamify the sober streakif you’re trying to lose weight — instead of crushing yourself with awful rules and routines, how can you make the diet and exercise enjoyable?
→ find exercises you like to do
→ create fun, healthy meals you can’t stop eating
→ spend time with friends who are on the same journey
I will not further complicate this advice.
To get more results out of less effort, you must make the process more enjoyable.
And to do so, you can ask yourself the question we alluded to earlier:
What would this be like if it was 10% more joyful?
And with that answer, change everything you do to be more enjoyable.
Use it to remove the pain points, and double down on the good bits.
Avoid the things that zap your energy, and follow your natural inclinations and gifts into things that light you up.
If you create an enjoyable life, you’ll become irresistible to the powerful forces of opportunity, success and reward.
Remember — 10% more enjoyable.
Sincerely,
eren
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