Stop trying so hard. Achieve more by doing less. | Bethany Butzer | TEDxUNYP
TEDx Talks・13 minutes read
The speaker shares their journey from chasing external success to prioritizing internal well-being, highlighting the importance of aligning goals with personal values for authentic success. They advocate for a shift towards downstream effort, emphasizing mindfulness, non-attachment, and introspection to achieve more by doing less and focusing on inner work over external validation.
Insights
- Prioritizing health and well-being over external success, the speaker identified the distinction between upstream effort, driven by external validation and burnout, and downstream effort, centered on personal values and psychological flow.
- Authentic success, defined as aligning goals with inner values, involves making life decisions based on feelings and values, emphasizing mindfulness, non-attachment, and the Taoist principle of "wu wei" to achieve more by doing less.
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Recent questions
What types of effort were identified by the speaker?
Upstream and downstream effort.
How did the speaker define authentic success?
Aligning goals with personal values and feelings.
What indicators were highlighted as signs of engaging in downstream effort?
Psychological flow and synchronicity.
What advice did the speaker give regarding the necessity of upstream effort?
Question its necessity and reassess values.
What philosophy was mentioned in relation to downstream effort?
Taoism's "wu wei" philosophy.
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Summary
00:00
"Authentic Success: Embracing Downstream Effort"
- The speaker spent most of their life striving for success, winning academic awards in high school and achieving a PhD in psychology after 10 years in university.
- They pursued success in the corporate world and as an entrepreneur, eventually landing a job at Harvard Medical School.
- Despite external success, the speaker struggled with self-doubt and perfectionism, leading to years on antidepressants and therapy.
- They shifted focus to prioritize health and well-being, realizing they were addicted to achievement and approval.
- The speaker identified two types of effort: upstream effort, characterized by pushing and burning out, and downstream effort, focused on the journey and process.
- Authentic success was defined as aligning goals with personal values and feelings, emphasizing the importance of inner work.
- Engaging in downstream effort involved making authentic life decisions based on values and feelings, even if they went against societal norms.
- Evaluating the results of decisions involved discernment to determine if one was moving upstream or downstream.
- Psychological flow and synchronicity were highlighted as indicators of engaging in downstream effort, leading to authentic success.
- The speaker advised questioning the necessity of upstream effort and reassessing values to align with downstream effort, emphasizing the importance of quitting or altering paths that no longer align with personal values.
14:09
"Downstream Effort: Achieving More by Doing Less"
- Many people exert significant effort towards goals that lack personal meaning, while the concept of downstream effort suggests a different approach emphasizing mindfulness, non-attachment, and being over doing, as seen in Taoism's "wu wei" philosophy.
- Encouraging introspection to understand one's motivations, the speaker highlights the importance of prioritizing health, well-being, and authenticity over external validation, ultimately advocating for achieving more by doing less through a shift towards downstream effort.
