The Economics of Enjoyment

One of the most impressive things to me about BYU is the amount of talented people here.

Honestly, if you ever doubt human nature or the usefulness of people, go to a university – your opinion will be delightfully changed.

One would expect a church-sponsored school like BYU to be full of people that are driven, mature, and good. I’m sure that with those qualities, you would expect the students to be talented. Yes, I believe being religious and having the intent to do good to yourself and others leads to being a more talented, impressive individual. But I don’t believe that is the only source of talent.

For instance, I have met the occasional person here at this university that I would not classify as being driven, mature, and good. But they are ridiculously talented at what they do.

What then is the driving force for their talent?

One reason for it can come from experiences I have had in my life.

For those who know me, you know that I am quite talented in at least these 3 rather obscure fields – ultimate frisbee, drumming, and ballroom dancing. At times when my ego is quite inflated, I like to think that I am the only person alive with this unique set of talents.

Don’t worry, I know that is not true!

Well, probably not true.

But I find it interesting to reflect on why I am good at these things. Yes, the skills came from good mentors, seizing opportunities (given largely because my parents were willing to sponsor me), and consistent practice. But why was I willing to pursue these things?

It’s because I ENJOYED it!

This seems like a simple, obvious principle, but I believe it can have profound implications.

I loved drumming enough to be willing to sit in my room, sometimes for hours at a time, hitting eighth notes on my little drum pad to the rhythm of an Imagine Dragons song playing in my ear, just to work on my technique.

I enjoyed dancing enough to sacrifice hours of my week perfecting routines with my partner Emily and investing in private lessons with our coach so we could represent well at our numerous competitions each year.

I was obsessed enough with frisbee to go out in my backyard, oftentimes in the snow, to throw my 10 discs back and forth across the yard into my broken, battered storage bin targets – and even filmed some trick shots along the way (which will one day make me famous on YouTube).

And so you see, at the root of any of my skills is the passion I have for that specific discipline. And I can almost guarantee the same for all of you. And it is the same for these talented BYU students. The fact that they have chosen to pursue a specific discipline or hobby amidst all else that they could have done shows that they value it over what they gave up. And if they value it that much, then clearly, they enjoy doing it! That enjoyment translates directly into their level of talent and fulfillment.

So, let’s see what we can yearn from this simple insight.

Let’s say we have an equation:

E(D) + N = T

Where E is enjoyment,

D is desire or willingness,

N is natural talent

And T is total talent.

You can see that if either “E” or “D” is at a 0, they will cancel the other one out, and you are left with nothing but natural talent, which, when left alone, simply cannot outdo someone with

As enjoyment increases, so too does desire - and both lead to increased talent

enjoyment and desire – for, when enjoyment and desire are high, they multiply each other to create a significant amount of talent. As they rise, your willingness to practice improves, your confidence raises, and you are simply more desirous and able to achieve lasting success.

How can we apply this equation to other facets of our life?

Let me talk about charity here. When I say charity, I mean the presence of the love of God in our hearts, motivating us to help others. If we apply our equation, we can see that if you either do not enjoy helping others, or have no willingness to do so, you will have a miniscule amount of charity. But when you enjoy doing it, your willingness will increase – and likewise, if you really want to do it, then your enjoyment will also rise. They compound upon one another, and you find yourself with an abundance of charity given you by the grace of Christ.

And here, we can self-evaluate: do I enjoy helping others? Do I want to do it?

I almost failed to apply this principle just a few days ago.

I was walking back to my apartment after class. I had a limited amount of time before my next event that night, and I really wanted to make some soup for dinner before I left. My heart was fixed on that soup! As I passed the Wilkinson Center, I saw two people at the trunk of a car, trying to carry an abundance of breakfast foods. Immediately two thoughts raced through my head:

1. I should stop and help

2. But I need time for my soup

For a moment, I’m embarrassed to admit, I was paralyzed by indecision. As my Christlike soul fought the natural man inside of me, I was hit by this profound thought that I am sharing today – what do I want to do? I thought back to the times I had committed to serve others each time I partook of the sacrament on Sunday, and I thought of how much I liked helping people (I promise, I like helping people). I knew I had a desire to serve, and I knew how much I and they would like it.

So… I helped!

(Shame on you if you thought I wouldn’t)

But really, I almost didn’t. Luckily, I took the next 10 minutes to carry a few loads of muffins and chocolate milk into the building, was thanked heartily, felt good inside, went home, rushed to cook my soup, ended up being a little late to my event but that’s okay, and finished my day on a good note.

What a lesson to be learned! When we enjoy something, and are willing and desirous to do it, we have the power necessary to do it – and be good at it. That I believe is why university students are successful. Yes, natural talent helps, but it is no match for someone who enjoys it and desires it. And the same is true for everything we ever do in life.

Now, let’s have some personal thoughts for a moment.

What do I hate doing? How can I force myself to like it more, so that I will get better at it and thus like it more?

What am I not willing to do? How can I force myself to do it, so that I will get better at it and be more willing to do it in the future?

Yes, sometimes it takes force, but when we just grit our teeth and do it, we are happier and better people.

Let me end with a quote from Elder Neal A. Maxwell, quoting G.K. Chesterton, in a talk I read 2 weeks ago that in a lot of ways changed my life (click his picture for the talk.)

He says:

Neal A. Maxwell (click for a link to his talk)

“If we can be interested in others, even if they are not interested in us, we will find ourselves “under a freer sky, [and] in a street full of splendid strangers”.”

The economics of enjoyment, in my words, are as follows: That which we enjoy doing, we will be good at, because enjoyment, coupled with desire and willingness, create the motivation we need to become talented at anything – including matters of spirituality such as charity, faith, and hope. We will see ourselves and those around us as "splendid". And the world will be a better place.

Love you all!

Adam Simpson