The "ShotGlass" Theory
Ok, so you’ve got a great life, living on a 2X income and the bank is starting to fill with your savings…now what?
Timothy Ferriss in his book; The 4-Hour Workweek (page 51) raised an excellent point about the purpose of setting goals and how they were what made life great. I’d like to further explore this idea but first here’s what he said…
Let’s assume we have 10 goals and we achieve them – what is the desired outcome that makes all the effort worthwhile? The most common response is what I would also have suggested 5 years ago: Happiness. I no longer believe this is a good answer. Happiness can be bought with a bottle of wine and has become ambiguous through overuse.
There is a more precise alternative that reflects what I believe the actual objective is. Bear with me. What is the opposite of happiness? Sadness? No. Just as love and hate are two sides of the same coin, so are happiness and sadness. Crying out of happiness is a perfect illustration of this. The opposite of love is indifference and the opposite of happiness is – here’s the clincher – boredom.
Excitement is the more practical synonym for happiness, and it is precisely what you should strive to chase. It is the cure all. When people suggest you follow your “passion” or your “bliss,” I propose that they are, in fact, referring to the singular concept: excitement. The question you should be asking isn’t, “What do I want?” or “What are my goals?” but “What would excite me?”
Thanks Timothy, you raise an excellent point.
So is the answer to a great life to just do exciting things all the time? I think I would find it difficult to be excited all the time, so I’m going to make it a complete rule by adding a second element: satisfaction.
But how often do we need to feel excited or satisfied? This is a great question. I suggest we live daily. Today is what matters most. Sure tomorrow is important, but today is urgent, and sometimes “urgency trumps importance.”
I’d like to suggest that we need excitement and/or satisfaction daily. Further, I think that the key to having a great life is 2X income and something exciting and/or satisfying. But why do we need daily excitement and/or satisfaction?
I believe excitement and/or satisfaction is like a vitamin. A vitamin usually needs to be taken regularly to maintain good health. It does not accumulate. Furthermore, you generally can’t have too much of a vitamin. All you need is enough. If you have too much it (usually) does no harm, and the body takes only what it needs.
I want you to imagine a small shot glass with “The Good Life” printed around it like a logo, and all you need to do is fill your shot glass with just one shot of either excitement or satisfaction daily to feel like you’re getting the most out of life. You might have two or more shots of excitement in one day, and we often do, but all you will ever need is one.
I think we measure our lives by how much we do, not by how long we live and a ‘shot glass’ a day of something exciting or satisfying is enough for us to feel like we are leading as full a life as we can that day.
Would it explain why some people do not feel the need to search for ways to make money constantly? Yes, it does, because they are probably getting their little shot of excitement or satisfaction in other ways.
Let’s look at some people and see if they lived their lives on the shot glass principle.
Mother Theresa: satisfaction or excitement? Satisfaction (probably).
What about a skydiver or an athlete? I’d guess mostly excitement with some satisfaction at the end.
Teachers? Most teachers teach for the passion of teaching.
Why do “Rich People” still teach? Could this also explain why some “rich” people stop to help and teach others? Do you think just because they have lots of money that they don’t need a shot glass of excitement or satisfaction every day just like everyone else?
Some small thinkers wonder why, “If someone is so rich, why would they sell me a course or book on money making?” If you think of this from a shot glass perspective, you will see it makes perfect sense that someone would stop and teach (no matter how rich or poor they are).
Helpers like to help.
When you achieve 2X (and I believe you will, now that you know about it), you’re not going to just sit at home and watch TV all day. You might for a while, but eventually you’re going to set a new direction for yourself and head off again all excited about your new project. Why? Because you need a shot glass every day no matter how much money you have, or even if money is not important to you.
Could this also explain the behavior of some people who buy a course on how to make money, get all excited that day, but don’t follow through with it after that? Yes. This can all be explained with the Shot Glass theory.
How? Well, when they buy the exciting new money-making course (or WSO) that night, are they excited? Yes. Let’s agree that their shot glass was filled (with excitement) and consumed that night, but what about the next day? Can you imagine anything that might come along in their life that might fill the shot glass with something exciting or satisfying (that day) that’s NOT related to the course (or WSO) they bought last night?
Can you see why it’s perfectly valid for them to have bought the course, and it’s also perfectly valid and understandable why they didn’t follow through with it the next day?
I believe that each day is a universe unto itself, and each day requires a fresh shot-glass full of excitement or satisfaction. This is why it doesn’t matter really how much you achieve or when you achieve it. It really only matters that you live as full a life as you can every day.
Any further growth/excitement/satisfaction for that day (two exciting or satisfying things might happen in one day) is just a ‘cherry on top’ and makes life interesting – but it’s not essential. That’s why some people are very happy with their lives just the way they are. If they get a daily dose of that, then they are living a full life. There’s no need to achieve mighty things to feel fulfilled, and besides…goals are lame.
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SirDrewski -
Thanks
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Mr Bill -
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Anthony Gibson -
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Mr Bill -
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Anthony Gibson -
Thanks - 1 reply
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Mr Bill -
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