This article has only been possible thanks to the writer,
Brian Kim, for his Natural Burning Desire Subscriptions. These are my own notes
from studying this subscription.
The three types of Desires that make up a Burning desire:
Natural burning desire- an innate desire to do a particular
activity regardless of external pressures. It is something that you likely have
been doing your entire life and will continue to do regardless of what your
future goals become. An example from my life of a natural burning desire would
be the desire to reflect on life and understand myself. Before I began writing
articles and posting them on my blog, I was already thinking about my life, how
I wanted to live life and jotting down thoughts here and there.
External burning desire- a desire manifested from pressure
from our peers, society, and our life growing up. For me, throughout high school and even now in
college, I noticed and was attracted to girls but I didn’t feel the need to be
dating. But there certainly is external pressure and shame that I feel when I notice
other guys talking to girls and I know I’m not. The external burning desire in this
case would be the pressure to match up to the status of other guys by talking
to girls. If I went outside and did not see teenage guys and girls conversing, I
would be perfectly fine and feel no need to talk to girls.
Converted external burning desire- I am not 100% sure what
Brian Kim means with this desire but I think he means, it’s an external
pressure that motivates us to get over the hump and do the things we don’t want
to but we know are necessary to getting us to where we want to go. Perhaps an
example of converted external burning desire in my life is nursing school.
Nursing school isn’t fun. There’s a lot of studying, early morning classes, and
stress. But I’m doing it because I know there’s a good chance that nursing school
can allow me to live the lifestyle I want to live. There is also an external
pressure to go through nursing school because since I have already started, and
I know there would be negative external pressure from family, friends, and
acquaintances if I actually decided to say, “fuck nursing school” and drop out.
The thought of what I would do, potentially miss out as a way to allow me to
live life how I want, and negative feedback from people I know influences me
greatly to go through nursing school.
Notice how we need
all three burning desires to succeed in the long run. Without a natural burning
desire, but with an external burning desire, we can go far, but it won’t last
as long as if we had the natural and external burning desire. Without an
external burning desire, and only a natural burning desire, I would enjoy doing
something like a hobby but I will only go as far as my interest in the hobby
goes. An external burning desire gives our natural desire a vision, purpose,
and a mission to accomplish. Now if we had natural and external burning desire
but lacked the converted external burning desire, we would go very far but when
we hit a difficult obstacle, we may not have enough desire to keep punching
until we break through. Incorporating all three of these desires will allow us
to reach our greatest potential.
The need for all three desires is analogous to starting and
maintaining a fire. The start and maintain a fire, we need dry tinder and wood
which is comparable to having a natural burning desire as it sets the
foundation. Lighting the fire and maintaining it is analogous to having an
external burning desire which gives us the majority of the desire and fuel to
succeed in the long run. Keeping the fire dry when it starts to rain is
comparable to having converted external burning desire as it will allow us to
overcome things we don’t want to do but know we have to.
The three times in life when burning desire fades:
Let’s use the American grading system as a way to describe
the quality of life.
A level F/D life is a life we never could have imagined. It is
a life where we realize our life has gotten to the point where we are not
living our life in tune with our desires and values. It’s a life that when we
realize that we are living, we will not stand for it anymore. There is so much
pain in our lives at that point that things MUST change.
A level C life is one that can be described as being in no
man’s land. Our life doesn’t royally suck but it isn’t great either. The quality
of our lives is smack dab in the middle. Things aren’t as bad a level F life
but we aren’t exactly happy with our lives either. When we are in a level F
life, at least we feel that things MUST change. In a level C life, things are
not terrific but we can put up with the parts of our lives that bother us. The things
that bother us do not bother us enough for us to feel the NEED to change.
A level B life is one that is leaning towards life being
great. We’ve worked hard and achieved many of the things we want to accomplish.
We are content with our life. Things are pretty good. Only a few things bother
us and the things that we wish were better, we find ourselves decently fine if
it didn’t change. The problem with the level B life is a problem that occurs
down the road. The fact is that people do things to satisfy themselves. People won’t
engage in activities if they do not feel it will benefit them in any way. When people
live a level B life, life is good, but over time things become boring. It doesn’t
take that much to satisfy ourselves. Some of the best times of our lives are
spent around friends or doing things that are meaningful to us. For some, it’s
when they are having a deep conversation with a friend. For others it may be
playing a particular sport, and for others it may be going for a hike in the Sierra
Nevada. When we feel like we are pretty much satisfied with our lives, we start
to feel that something is missing in our lives. That something is a lack of meaning
or purpose. In other words, boredom. Life begins to feel lethargic and
meaningless. We pass time only to satisfy ourselves. It is only when we look
outside ourselves that we find new meaning in the things that satisfied us.
An example to give an idea of what I mean, imagine living a
good single life- whatever that may be for you. Without finding some other
meaning or way to contribute for a higher cause, we find a lack of meaning in
our lives. That is how we will get a level B life to a level A life.
It’s important to realize that what got us from one level
won’t take us to the next. We all have a desire to move forward and to
progress. I believe it is in our nature. Stagnation of water is a breeding
ground for disease. Stagnation of life breeds lethargy, boredom, and a meaningless life.
Comfort can be good. We all need to relax once in a while, but too much relaxation
is nothing but a slow decline of living. There is no such thing as stable in
life. We are either growing or regressing. When we “maintain”, we are really
regressing very slowly. We just don’t see the results of maintaining because the
results show themselves very slowly. For example, when I lift weights, and I’m
not that motivated to eat right and feed my body every three hours with the
proper macronutrients, I find myself getting weaker week by week. When I eat
every three hours and eat right, I can feel myself psychologically and
physically being able to lift heavier weights each week. There is no such thing
as maintaining. We are either growing or regressing.
Things to take away from Issue 1:
- The three types of burning desires
-
The three times when burning desire wanes
-
Why stagnation is a breeding ground for
lethargy, apathy, and boredom.
-
To advance higher from a level B life, requires
focusing on something bigger than ourselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment