Find Your Building Blocks
There's beauty and power in that evolving, organic process.
Last night, I attended the inaugural meeting of a local book club started by my friend Diana. At first, I was a bit sceptical: "Another book club? Really?"
I am already in six book clubs, but I am the type who will root for my friends when they are on their growth journeys.
Diana had always loved getting lost in a good book. There was something magical about being transported to different worlds and seeing life through other characters' eyes.
But recently, she found herself in a rut. She was buying books and filling her library, but she wasn't reading them and found herself returning to the same books, mainly the Bible or faith-adjacent; while enjoyable, she craved more diversity in her reading selections.
That's when the idea struck her—why not start a book club? She could use it as an excuse to explore different genres, authors, and perspectives and make some new friends along the way.
She called it the "Friends Building Blocks" Book Club.
I love the idea of building blocks. The simple act of showing up each month with an open mind and a beginner's curiosity expanded her perspective profoundly.
I think I have always had the mentality of building blocks, and if I can break it down, here is how I suggest you do it:
Get endlessly curious about topics and projects that intrigue you, not passions
Embrace an ethos of constant experimentation, iteration and "foxiness" across disciplines
Intentionally adopt new habits, routines and workflows that slowly expand your skills and self-awareness
Look for the hidden intersections where you're deriving energy, flow and meaning
Use those as anchoring "building blocks" to construct a more fulfilling existence progressively
With each block you intentionally lay, you're not just stacking skills and experiences but also self-knowledge about who you are and what energises you. Over time, the cohesive shape of your unique path materialises.
There's beauty and power in that evolving, organic process.
You should start not from certainty or a perfectly defined passion but from curiosity, self-awareness, and a disposition to keep experimenting and sampling what intrigues you.
