On Paul Graham’s Great Work
I recently read Paul Graham’s article “How to do great work.” In it, he writes “People who do great work are not necessarily happier than everyone else, but they’re happier than they’d be if they didn’t. In fact, if you’re smart and ambitious, it’s dangerous not to be productive. People who are smart and ambitious but don’t achieve much tend to become bitter.”
At times, I get the desire to do work. It comes internally. And when I don’t pay heed to it, it bothers me, swelling up from inside, souring my mood and pressing anxiety upon me. For a long time, I thought that it was a bad thing — something to be controlled and managed. And of course, at times, it must be, such as when I’m on vacation or perhaps purposefully taking time off to recharge.
But at other times, it’s simply an inner compass that’s telling me that I haven’t been doing much, or as much as my body needs. I have an internal pressure system that pushes me to “do”. I enjoy working on things, be it writing, learning, or reading. I need to feel like I am engaged in a job or I feel depressed and downtrodden. It’s something that’s been with me for a long time.
Perhaps even when I was a kid.
When I was young, I would definitely spend a lot of time among family and friends, and a lot of time doing random activities such as playing soccer, adventuring with my cousins, or running around and playing endless games. This is innate to the childhood experience. But I also remember having a desire to make things: Usually, it was weird little experiments in the kitchen, where I would mix all sorts of things to see the outcome. I was compelled to do this — it came from within me. And I loved it. The outcome was always subpar, but the process drove me.
At other times, I would paint or create robots out of paper. There was an internal desire to be creative, to experiment, and, something that I realized much later, to learn. I remember the joy I would feel when we were allowed time in school to read, and I remember when I checked out my first book from the library and read it in a few days. “Why hadn’t anyone taken me to the library before?” I asked myself.
And so, at this point of my life, I have a nice career and a sense of stability. Yet I’m pursuing passion and curiosity. I don’t want to let obligation drive me anymore as it has sometimes resulted in professions and activities that are not a good fit. When you read about the people who are giants in their fields and change the world significantly through their world, they all have a sense of passion and curiosity leading them. Einstein was obsessed with physics, and Elon Musk, Thomas Jefferson, Ghandi, Martin Luther King — They had purpose and passion (and perhaps necessity) propelling them forward.
So I guess that’s the point here (if there is a point). We all have different levels of risk tolerance. For me personally, I needed to feel that I’m on my feet before engaging in a pursuit of curiosity, join, and deep learning. And maybe now I can find the path that’s really meant for me.
