We love everything these days.
We love that movie.
We love that burrito.
We love that sweater.
We love that idea.
We love that beer.
We looooooooove those shoes.
We love things we’ve never touched, seen, or experienced with our own eyes.
We love things in order to fit in but rarely to stand out.
We love things in order to portray passion but rarely to profess purpose.
We love things in order to emphasize to someone but rarely to empathize with someone.
We love things so we don’t have to defend the reason behind why.
We love things because we feel we have to.
We love things so the world will notice.
We love to tell people what we love.
We love because it’s easy. Liking something is much harder.
We like to do something even when we do it on the bad days.
We defend things we like.
We’ve thought about things we like.
We don’t liiiiiiiiike anything. We simply like it.
When we like someone, we’ve thought about why.
We like the shoes because they fit our feet.
We like things in silence.
We like things that make us happy.
We like the things we do when no one is looking.
We live in a world where it’s all or nothing and where liking something just isn’t good enough. People want to know if you love it or hate it. They’ll make you pick a side. The love/hate debate is what sells newspapers; it’s what drives the water cooler chatter, and it’s what endless radio talk shows are fueled by.
Don’t fall for it.
Instead, choose to like or dislike something:
- Because you’ve thought about it for more than a second
- Because you can defend it
- Because you’ve experienced it
Your days will mostly be filled with things you need to like and be at peace with rather than the things you say you love and start a revolution for.
Love is sporadic. Like is consistent.
Love is what starts any number of projects you have, but like is what will take you through to the finish line. Love takes the first dramatic bite, but like finishes the cookie.
By all means, know what you stand for, care passionately, and follow your gut, but don’t jump from loving one thing to the next simply so you can be the loudest or the most radical.
If you’re expecting to love something everyday, you’re going to crash and burn eventually. If you can live with it, push forward, learn, question, and struggle but still like it enough each day; success will find its way in the end.
Got anything in your life that you need to love less and like more?
Bassam Tarazi is the creator of a motivational framework (Colipera), the author of The Accountability Effect, and the co-founder of the international workshop and adventure for side hustlers called The Ignition Lab. Bassam conducts goal setting classes, corporate workshops, and one-on-one coaching. You can follow him on twitter @bassamtarazi.
