I learnt quite a few things during my stint at Velocity. My favourite philosophy that was really articulated and expressed to me was the idea of JFDI. What is JFDI, you ask?
What is JFDI and Why
Just. F******. Do. It.
It is a very simplistic idea, but I think that this philosophy holds a lot of value. We often spend so much of our time bogged down by worries, fears, concerns etc. and we try our best to minimize the risk that we face.
Yes, risk minimization is a great thing, but often times we end up with information overload – we take on too much irrelevant stuff and end up being inefficient in our decision making, our choices, our actions.
That’s where I think the idea of JFDI is great. When you want to do it, DO IT. Don’t be bogged down by fears of failure or difficulty or worries, but instead, challenge yourself to be better. (Of course, the caveat is doing it smart!)
The Easy Path
I had a discussion with a good friend last night about our choices and paths. We ended up talking about our peers who had dreams and things that they wanted to achieve. However, they were afforded opportunities that took them on a different path from those dreams – somewhere that was safe and stable, but not necessarily what they dreamed of. Some of them are happy now, but some of them are frustrated too.
While it is really personal choice, I think that taking the path of least resistance is also taking the path of least learning. In taking risks, we fail more, but it affords us the chance to learn from both our failure and success. Bound within our safety net, we can only relearn what we already know, and fail to see anything outside that little bubble.
So I’m really trying to incorporate JFDI as a philosophy in my life – if I have an idea, act on it. Try to make it a reality. If it fails, at least I tried!