Blueprint >> Emotional Labor

Disclaimer: This document is in raw form as I process and distill 4 years-worth of my personal development notes. Expect some typos and cryptic language for now. I will be updating frequently and polishing up.

Prescription: Understand emotional labor. Lean into emotional labor.
Related Concepts: Mastery, Deliberate Practice, Resistance, Be World Class, Be a Creator

What is Emotional Labor?

The mental, emotional anguish involved with of getting something done.

Why is it Important?

Avoidance of emotional labor is responsible for your lack of results.

Emotional Labor Videos

[coming soon...]

Emotional Labor: Key Points

Emotional labor is what keeps you from succeeding. Most of us don't appreciate how hard it is. It takes emotional labor to grow yourself, to journal, to write a book, to learn a new skill, to apply for a prestigious job, to do research for starting a new business, to read a book, to entertain an radically new idea, to negotiate a deal, to give a speech, to lead a team, to follow a diet, to meditate, to make a tough decision, etc.

Emotional labor creates scarcity and value in the marketplace. The reward behind a task is usually proportional to the amount of emotional labor that goes into it. Things that require little emotional labor are not valued in the marketplace because they are commonplace. If it's easy, everyone can do it, it's common, and it isn't worth much. If it's hard, few will do it, it's rare, and it's worth a lot.

Emotional labor can be used as a principle. If you want to create happiness and success, do the things that are emotionally difficult. Long-term happiness and success cannot be built without emotional labor, and in fact, unhappiness and failure generally stem directly from avoidance of emotional labor.

Examples of emotional labor:

• Getting a six-pack is hard because it requires emotional labor. It's also emotional rewarding precisely because you had push yourself to get it.
• Building a successful business is hard because it requires emotional labor. It's also emotionally rewarding precisely because you had to push yourself to get it.
• Getting a degree is hard because it requires emotional labor. It's also emotionally rewarding precisely because you had to push yourself to get it.
• Running a marathon is hard because it requires emotional labor.

Most of life's problems and neuroses develop when we try to avoid emotional labor. 2 We will do whatever we can to avoid emotional labor. That's why people are fat, broke, sick, addicted to drugs and TV, stay in abusive relationships, and stay in dead-end jobs. That's why people are always looking for the shortcut, the magic pill, the most time-efficient technique. Our brains are wired for efficiency, but ironically this leads to huge problems.

Extremely convenient and practical to have a laptop for your Commonplace book. This way you can journal from anywhere in your house, office, outdoors, and traveling. No need to share and sync files. Feels more like a notebook. You will be much more likely to jot down ideas when you don't have to sit at a dedicated PC.

Actions

• Insight: getting things done is inherently difficult. Normalize your expectations. Valuable things are necessarily hard.
• Insight: deliberately choose to do that difficult, emotionally demanding things. Lean into your fear.
• Where in your life are you resisting emotional labor? Make a list. You're going to have to start leaning into it. Stop running away from the fear, it's only drawing out your suffering and killing the awesome results you could have.

References

1. Linchpin, Seth Godin
2. The Road Less Traveled, M. Scott Peck