Chasing Doesn't Work...A Story about Money and More.
I have a great dog named Zeke. He’s a German Shorthair Pointer, which means he’s super intelligent, and super fast.
I have a great dog named Zeke. He’s a German Shorthair Pointer, which means he’s super intelligent, and super fast.
And that means that he has figured out that anytime I run after him with the leash yelling for him to come, we are playing this really fun game called “chase” that he always wins.
Obviously, this game is less fun for me, since usually if I’m chasing him it’s because I need to get him in the house, or in the car, or wherever. The more desperate the situation is, the harder I chase, and the harder I chase, the further I get from catching him.
Isn’t that interesting?
I was thinking about this game Zeke and I play, and it occurred to me that this is how it goes when I chase anything. Have you noticed this?
I was thinking about this game Zeke and I play, and it occurred to me that this is how it goes when I chase anything. Have you noticed this?
It can be a bunny, a deer, a child, an opponent in a soccer game, the biker in front of you who’s about to win the race. Chasing doesn’t work. It only makes catching the thing you are pursuing harder. Turns out, that even applies to nonphysical objects.
I’m thinking specifically about time and money.
Okay, money is physical… but you know what I mean. Financial security. Right? You know this is true. The more you chase that feeling, the more elusive it becomes.
Same with time.
Okay, money is physical… but you know what I mean. Financial security. Right? You know this is true. The more you chase that feeling, the more elusive it becomes.
Same with time.
Have you ever noticed that the more you hurry, the more you are late? The more we try to efficiently structure and maximize our time, the less time we seem to have.
All of this reminds me of that great Robert Frost quote: “the reason why worry kills more people than work is because more people worry than work.” You know what I think?
The reason why chasing kills more people than chilling is because more people are chasing than chilling.
Which is crazy, because chasing never works! The few people I know who seem not to be stressed out about time or money just seem to have this zen chillness about them.
Which is crazy, because chasing never works! The few people I know who seem not to be stressed out about time or money just seem to have this zen chillness about them.
You know?
They aren’t constantly checking their phones. They don’t complain about the stock market. They’re not worried about investing, or fitting everything in. They surf, ski, climb, relax, read books, hang out with their family and friends, take vacations.
They aren’t constantly checking their phones. They don’t complain about the stock market. They’re not worried about investing, or fitting everything in. They surf, ski, climb, relax, read books, hang out with their family and friends, take vacations.
You know, all that totally crazy stuff that chill people do.
It’s almost as if they’ve replaced the cult of busy with the cult of enough. And the crazy thing is, it seems like all you have to do to have enough is just to start believing you have enough.
It’s almost as if they’ve replaced the cult of busy with the cult of enough. And the crazy thing is, it seems like all you have to do to have enough is just to start believing you have enough.
And voila, like magic there it is.
I can’t help but wonder, what would it look like if we all just stopped constantly chasing the things we want? What if we just realized that chasing wasn’t working, and collectively decided to do something else instead?
I can’t help but wonder, what would it look like if we all just stopped constantly chasing the things we want? What if we just realized that chasing wasn’t working, and collectively decided to do something else instead?
When I want Zeke to come, all I really need to do is start ignoring him, and before long, there he is.
Could the same strategy work with time and money? Honestly, I don’t know. But I do know that chasing doesn’t work. So we might as well try something else.
Could the same strategy work with time and money? Honestly, I don’t know. But I do know that chasing doesn’t work. So we might as well try something else.
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