Why You Shouldn't Keep Your Options Open
A message for creative and ambitious individuals
"There are so many things I want to do. Choosing just one of them would be limiting my potential. I want to keep my options open."
Yeah... Let me know how that works out for you.
Listen, I'm not judging you. Probably everyone reading this can relate to the opening statement. I know I can.
It's easy to think that choosing one specific path would limit all that you could be.
But this is one of those life paradoxes: You make your freedom real by limiting yourself.
It is a misconception to think that the more options you have, the more free you are.
That's not real freedom; it's an illusion of freedom.
You have actualized your freedom when, from a range of options and possible paths, you choose something. Then, you can use your freedom and potential in full capacity.
As Shunryƫ Suzuki says in Not Always So,
"It is a big mistake to think that the best way to express yourself is to do whatever you want, acting however you please. This is not expressing yourself. When you have many possible ways of expressing yourself, you are not sure what to do, so you will behave superficially. If you know what to do exactly, and you do it, you can express yourself fully."
And this part about behaving superficially is especially important. It will sting the people who need this message the most: creative and ambitious individuals. The last thing they want is to lead superficial lives. But they often end up doing so because their wide range of interests drags them in too many different directions.
So how about this reframe: By following a single path, you are not limiting your potential.
You are limiting distractions and the unnecessary dispersal of energy and attention.
This, in turn, creates more freedom and space for you to express your full potential.
However, when you "keep your options open" and try to follow many paths at the same time, you are all over the place. You are everywhere and nowhere.
I believe in this being true and important so much that I have decided to expose my drawing skills.
What keeping your options open looks like:
What choosing a path and sticking to it looks like:
Itâs clear that becoming an artist isnât the path I was supposed to choose and stick to. But I hope this visual representation helped drive my message home.
Lastly, here is my challenge for you:
Show me someone expressing their full potential while keeping their options open.
Maybe you can even find an example of two. Exceptions to the rule.
But I will show you countless examples of people expressing their full potential by following a single path. And God knows how many examples of potential that was wasted by avoiding commitment.
Most importantly, which one of these examples are you going to be?
Thank you for reading.
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I believe Da Vinci was the guy who kept his options open. He was able to gain insight in so many fields that still hold value to this day such as painting, architecture, medicine, biology and even military engineering. Nevertheless, he was never the âgreatestâ at any and he was known for jumping from one unfinished project to the next. However, Da Vinci was a freaking geniusâŠ
Well put! This brings to my mind Senecaâs analogy âIf a man knows not which port he sails, no wind is favorable.â in the sense that one must focus on the destination to achieve the desired result.
Thank you.