Two weeks ago I wrote about the importance of knowing your “why” and having a “North Star”.
I still believe this to be true, but recently I came across a quote that suggested the opposite is just as important. The quote is from Ali Abdaal’s CEO coach Eric Partaker in an episode of his podcast. He said:
“When you are driving from Los Angeles to New York at night, you only need the headlights to show you the next 100 meters of road, not the full distance.”
This is the opposite (although not entirely conflicting) to the idea of needing a North Star, which I have wrote about and subscribed to, but this new idea also made a lot of sense and resonated to me.
This made me reflect - what other ideas do I believe in have equally true but opposite counterparts?
Exercise is good, but too much of it can lead to fatigue or injury.
Exposure to sunlight is good for our skin and body, but too much sunlight can lead to skin cancer.
You get my point. Things are often bad when they are taken to the extreme, even if they are supposedly good for you.
I think I have the tendency to subscribe and run away with new ideas that resonates with me with my blinders on, without recognizing that the opposite of this idea might be just as valuable.
But how do I know what to follow when two pieces of opposing advice is given to me?
Is it more important to follow the North Star, or is it more important to concentrate on what your headlights show you?
I had trouble answering this question as I thought about it.
I think all that I can say is that both perspectives are valuable, and it is up to us determine which one is needed at the time. It is also important for us to be open to either or both at all times.
Take what you need and leave the rest behind.
I want to take a moment to thank all of you guys who read what I put out each week.
In all honesty, I feel really disorganized whenever I write one of these. It feels like I’m putting not fully coherent, loosely organized ideas onto a page. I don’t know who will read these or find any of this valuable or entertaining.
Thank you for taking time to make sense of and piece together all these ideas I have.
I am most thankful for those of you that have resonated with what I wrote, and have interacted or told me encouragements of how much you enjoy reading these. You guys truly make my day.
Something to think about:
What are advice you hear that are equal but opposite?
Love,
David He