Dedication and Devotion – ElPropósito3 min de lectura

Photo by Daniel Llorente on Unsplash

One of our most defining human traits may be our drive to set goals and objectives and fight for them until we reach them. What makes a life guided by objectives so profoundly different from simply drifting? Part of the answer lies in focus and in how we use our time. A focused mind is more likely to produce more and better ideas, both to reach a given objective and to find resources it may not have had before.

Working hard toward an objective has its own demands, especially as it unfolds. The tricky part is sometimes framing it, and there are plenty of tools for that. However complex a result may be, there’s always a better way to frame it from the start, and it should usually be strongly aligned (if not 100%) with a specific Purpose. How an objective is conceived shapes how its journey unfolds and whether it’s achieved. Vague, poorly structured objectives carry very little of the essence of the expected result, so the starting point is blurry from day one and generates little or no passion to fight for it.

Dedication and devotion to a result go hand in hand with the passion and sense of purpose behind it. The odds of success rise as the expected results improve and add to our wellbeing, a wellbeing rooted in who we are more than in what we do or have. When the expected result carries that dose of meaning, it holds a unique ingredient that works "magic" in the hardest moments on the way to an objective or goal.

Willpower and the drive to work every day on what we set out to do also depend on our habits. Good habits give us a broad, solid platform for reaching our objectives, and since energy and time are scarce, habits keep us "in shape," physically and mentally. When it comes to building habits, the first big step is becoming deeply aware of how much good habits matter in our lives.

The main power a person or an organization has lies within. A person taps into it by realizing they can achieve what they set out to do, or as Mario Alonso Puig puts it, by "finding evidence, however small, to show yourself that of course you’re intelligent, a good person, capable and creative." For an organization, using all its strength and potential to achieve its aims depends on aligning the purposes of all its people with its own central, essential purpose.

Warm regards,

Rodrigo Baccaro

• P.S. This week’s VELA (what I was Watching, Listening to, Reading and Learning):
• What I was Watching: Bicentenario Independencia Guatemala. A very special and beautiful video celebrating the independence of my glorious Guatemala, the land of eternal spring
  – What I was Listening to: Los hábitos de la gente extraordinaria. I listened from start to finish without interruption, which I rarely manage. It’s so interesting and compelling that every argument and lesson is well worth hearing
  – What I was Reading: Beyond Order. Jordan Peterson’s follow-up to 12 Rules for Life. Another great work, admirable for the simplicity with which he frames his arguments and, above all, explains them in a uniquely reader-friendly way
  – What I was Learning: How "normal people" can train like the worlds best endurance athletes. A video that breaks a lot of myths and assumptions about how great athletes train, what they do and what they don’t. Very good

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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