Bonjour bébé!

 

Whatever the opposite of schadenfreude is – and a quick, non-exhaustive google search tells me that it’s mudita, the Buddhist concept of joy; especially sympathetic or vicarious joy, the pleasure that comes from delighting in other people's well-being rather than begrudging it – that’s what I had when I got the notification this week that Brené Brown had guested on How To Fail with Elizabeth Day.

 

I love that podcast for many reasons; a lifelong unhealthy relationship with fear and failure being just one of them! Another is for Elizabeth herself: I think she’s a brilliant interviewer, a truly empathetic being, and just seems like she’d be such a great pal. She makes me feel very #seen, and gives me much hope for being an enthusiastic woman in the world: in her episode with Glennon Doyle, she excitedly gushed that she’d die of happiness if she ever got invited to a dinner party with Glennon, Elizabeth Gilbert & Brené, and I thought it was just about the most relatable piece of audio I’d ever heard. And now, here she was, with a beautifully insightful and awe-inspiring interview with Brené herself - as the kids say, we love to see it!

 

ANYWAY. This isn’t a whole piece about Elizabeth Day (though I could write one, I’m sure) - but about something Brené mentioned on this episode. This, in turn, was something she’d heard from James Clear – you know the one, the author of Atomic Habits, the once-in-a-generation seismic book. And it was thus:

 

 

I haven’t read Atomic Habits – it’s on my list this year (and scroll down for what I am reading currently) – but this idea really got me thinking. So often, we think of enthusiasm and passion in terms of depth. Naturally, these generally occur in bursts, such is the nature of life and having other responsibilities (like work, sleeping, eating, you know.) Becoming the Mastermind of a certain topic; locking ourselves away and binge watching the new season of our favourite show the second it comes out; attacking something with such intense, immediate ferocity that we leave a mark on it forever.

 

But what about little and often? What about never getting to know a subject in depth, really, but always picking up new facts here and there? What about watching one episode a week – like, god forbid, the olden days of terrestrial TV – even if they dropped all at once? What about showing up for something in regular chunks, that might not make a difference straight away, but when piled up would probably stretch to the moon and back?

 

So often we think of passion as red-hot, immediate, all-encompassing, all-consuming. And at the start, it often is, as the novelty and excitement are at the forefront. But enthusiasm can also show up when we get used to the thing in our lives, and start acknowledging and appreciating its abundance. When we pick the subject up and set it down within the rhythms of our lives, integrating it rather than forcing it.

 

James Clear is, of course, largely talking about it in terms of making a habit stick, and my split ends and stubby nails will tell you that I’m not very good at those; but I really think there’s some wisdom in in this instance too. 

 

We’re no less an enthusiast if we don’t approach things intensely: showing up is still showing up, however we do it. In the tale of the hare and the tortoise, not only does the tortoise win the race, but he enjoys it too, right? Just call me Aesop Kime.

 

Anyway, that’s just something I’ve been musing on this week, and I hope you enjoy it too! I'd love to know what you think - remember, you're always free (in fact, actively encouraged) to hit reply on these!

 

P.s: VORACIOUS stocks are low!! If you've been considering it, now's your chance. Plus, remember merch will be restocking next week - for a reminder of how that whole shebang works, click here.

 

Here's a little window into what I'm enthusiastic about at the moment…