The Full Stack Leader

Early in his visit he asked a senior monk, who had been living in a similar cabin for over fifteen years, if he ever got tired of walking the trail connecting the residences to the main building. “I’m only just starting to learn it,” the monk replied mindfully.

From the book So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by Cal Newport.

In this story, a novice asks a master why he isn’t impatient for a new path. Isn’t this same path boring, tired, old?

I’ve felt a mix of these emotions when walking the familiar paths of life and work. Sometimes it feels like the first time. Other times I get an itch to jump ahead, straight to the end.

Whether noticing this as a metaphor—or with all five senses alive—when I walk with full awareness I’m reminded that there are bumps, jumps, nettles, berries, and flowers here that I have yet to fully see.

There is more here to experience!

There is depth and joy in each step.

The learning itself is a reward. Not jumping ahead; not leaping into action; not trying to find a new path when things get uncomfortable on this one. When things are uncomfortable is when I’m most awake and primed to learn (again).