For its own sake

What do you do for its own sake?

I heard a story from the always wise Anthony de Mello that stuck with me and nicely illustrates this idea.

There was a local orchestra of amateur musicians who would get together a few nights a week to play music. And they sounded horrible! It was a stretch to even call it music.

But that didn’t phase them one bit.

They were still having a blast by simply being in each others company and playing their instruments.

But then one night everything changed.

This new hot-shot conductor moved into town. And after hearing the awful sounds coming from the building, he decided to pop in unannounced to see what the hell was going on.

He was appalled at just how bad they played.

So he got this bright idea to offer a helping hand.

He convinced the group they needed him.

So he stepped in to provide what he thought was some much needed structure, with more regimented practice sessions.

All in preparation for a grand performance they could do for the town (perhaps even charge money for).

After months of dedication, they got better. Much, much better.

The performance ended up being huge a hit!

But afterwards, some of the band members were heard whispering backstage, “I miss the days when we weren’t any good but didn’t care because we were having so much fun playing for its own sake”.

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I love that story.

It flies in the face of the supposed “need” to always be improving at whatever we do.

For me personally, that’s basketball.

I’ve been playing for the past 25 years and ya know what? I haven’t improved a lick! And certainly haven’t made any money from it.

But that’s not the point.

I still feel that childlike spark every single time I step on the court.

I can’t help but smile whether I’m draining 3’s or chucking up air balls.

My wife doesn’t get it. And that’s ok.

We all have something we love to do that seems like a complete waste of time to others.

Good. Lean in. That means it’s authentic.

You aren’t doing it for outside approval.

You aren’t doing it because society values it.

You aren’t doing it to try to make money.

You do it because the act itself brings immense joy.

It’s so important to find your thing, whatever it may be, that you like doing for its own sake, totally unconcerned with how good you are. Without feeling the need to “win”.

Because when you do, you’ve already won.

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Your thoughts? Comments? Complaints? Please leave a comment below.