Kairos Over Chronos: The Secret to a Good Life

If you're anything like me, many factors influence your life decisions.

• Your parents
• Society
• Your friends
• The education system and your teachers
• Your economic background
• Media and trends

For a long time, I felt unfulfilled and knew the path I was on was not mine.

Imagine a life where Monday mornings are as exhilarating as Friday evenings.

Where the clock fades into the background as you become immersed in your tasks.

This is not a fantasy. It's the reality for those who have discovered the secret to living in "Kairos" time.

In a world that idolizes the hustle, it’s easy to fall into the rhythm of the relentless tick-tock of "Chronos" time. You know... the linear, clock-watching hours that dictate our 9-5 grind.

It’s a life where we're wired to function like factory workers. Never questioning, only executing.

This is a recipe for a life filled with longing or unfulfillment.

The big problem is that we often don't realize how this constant race against time drains us.

It’s a cycle of anticipation for the weekend that never satisfies.

Life is not just about the time we're off the clock.

It's about the moments we dedicate ourselves to something greater.

How do we break free from the chains of Chronos and embrace Kairos?

By getting into the Flow state.

Get in the Flow

When was the last time you dove into an activity so deeply that the world seemed to fade away?

There was perfect alignment between your task and yourself.

You lost track of time for that brief moment.

This is the essence of flow, a state where you're completely immersed in what you're doing.

Your whole being is involved. You are being challenged to use your skills to keep up.

You leave all thoughts, limited beliefs, and insecurities away.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi introduced Flow as the state of peak engagement.

It's the state where we find deep enjoyment, creativity and total immersion in life.

It's the intersection between your competence and fulfillment. You are not bored or anxious with the task at hand. It's not too easy or hard.

Kairos and Chronos are concepts intertwined with the state of flow.

Our lives are structured around Chronos time.

My life felt mundane because I was not challenging myself or pursuing activities that “put me in the zone”.

I did what everyone does:

• Work through my day job as a nurse
• Be dissatisfied knowing I could do more but not knowing what to do
• Numb myself to sleep with Netflix, Shows, and other escapes
• Spend all my money on things just because
• Rinse repeat.

That's the behind-the-scenes of us. It's a waste of our potential.

It sure was a waste of mine. I was broke, unhealthy, and unfulfilled. I was lost.

I switched the gears by designing a life with more activities that put me in a flow state.

I went from waiting for the hours to pass to engaging through my day.

I went from going with the flow to being in the state of Flow.

You must do the same.

Question and try everything. Select the few things that make time feel frozen and do more of it.

At work and after work. That's how you go from work-life balance to work-life harmony.

Look, we all have to pay the bills. You don’t have to quit everything and go all in your hobby like the internet tells you.

Stop being closed-minded and accepting that what you are told is true.

Not everyone should be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, accountant, etc.

First, find a career that suits your Kairos because you’ll be 10 times happier.

You'll also need to spend significantly less money to live because you'll find yourself needing less to feel good.

"A joyful life is an individual creation that cannot be copied from a recipe [...] and our best moments come from challenges that push us to our limits. - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

How To Find Your Dream Career

When did you ever stop to think about what matters to you?

• Your passions
• Your strengths
• What the world needs
• What is the world willing to pay for

Your Ikigai is the sweet spot or intersection of all these parts

Society does not create an environment that helps find your Ikigai.

It creates an environment that fosters conformity. It prioritizes the pursuit of financial stability at the expense of personal fulfillment.

Look around you. Everyone works hard with barely anything to show for.

The clock hits 5, we are too exhausted to pursue our passions or invest time in self-discovery/experimentation.

As a result, we numb ourselves until we pass out and repeat.

It’s a vicious cycle that leaves too many to wonder what could have been. We're on a treadmill, not a journey.

If this sounds like you, you must stop and design a new life.

5 Things to Question In Your Life

Prioritization

What are your top priorities, and do your current activities reflect them?

Assess how you spend your time. Is it on things that truly value and find meaningful?

Commitment

Are your commitments serving your well-being and personal growth?

Check whether they contribute to your sense of fulfillment.

Do they fill your schedule without adding value to your life? Do they drain you of your energy?

It could be toxic friends, partying every weekend, and so on.

Be honest.

Passion

When do you feel most engaged and alive?

Find the activities that bring you joy and a sense of flow. Then, find ways to add more of these experiences into your daily life.

The hours before and after your job are sacred. Don’t neglect them.

Presence

How present are you in your daily activities?

Being present can transform routine tasks into opportunities for deeper engagement and appreciation.

If you're always escaping with cheap dopamine, you'll find it hard to appreciate anything in your life.

Harmony

How can you achieve a healthier work-life harmony?

Reflect on how you can engage in activities that provide a sense of “Kairos” during your work days.

Find a career that you can enjoy as soon as possible. You will be curious and intrinsically motivated. You will seamlessly dedicate time to improve and learn.

You will outperform peers who are hanging by and it is only a matter of time before you make more money.

If it means to take a step back so you can leap forward, do it.

It is a huge opportunity cost to stay in a job you hate and that brings zero fulfillment.

It goes way beyond money and ripples into all parts of your life.

High-performers often love what they do so they do not need balance.

They've already created harmony between their work and life.

That is what you should strive for.

Redesigning Your Life

To immerse yourself into an activity and experience Kairos time, you must first become aware of the life you're currently living.

Are you actively engaged, or just passively getting by? It’s not laziness that drives you to escape; it's a day filled with draining tasks and a lack of fulfilling ones.

Once you flip this script, you'll find energy you never knew you had.

Next, identify activities that bring you joy and those that feel like a chore.

Your first step is to find your Ikigai — the sweet spot where what you love, what you're good at, what you can be paid for, and what the world needs, intersect.

Unless you come from money, you will have to endure your 9-5 for a while before you can quit so try your best to enjoy it at least.

You don’t have to LOVE it but find enjoyable tasks. They do exist. Put your thinking cap on and explore everything with an open mind.

The good life is as simple as immersing yourself in activities that make time stand still and resonate with your soul.

Find you Ikigai and go all in. It’s only a matter of time before you make money doing what you enjoy… even with a 9-5.

People demonize 9-5’s but they are great. If you found a career that fits your Ikigai, then you’ve figured it out.

By embracing the concept of Kairos and pursuing a life of flow, you can transform the mundane into the extraordinary.

You'll discover that you don't have to abandon your responsibilities to live a life of engagement and joy.

It's about finding the right activities that resonate with you and make time stand still.

This is the path to a happier, more fulfilled you—a person who is intrinsically motivated, skilled, and who experiences days that are rich and full.

Take a moment to reflect on how you spend your time and what changes you can make to prioritize flow and Kairos time in your life.

The journey to a more fulfilling life is not a sprint; it's a marathon.

Pace yourself, be patient, and stay committed to your passions.

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