Chris Padilla/Blog / Notes

Iwata on What's Worth Doing

When it comes to answering the question "What's worth doing?", the internet can muddy it up a bit.

Plenty of good to the internet: Shared information, connecting with far flung people, and finding community.

And, it's also a utility that can deceive us into feeling infinite.

I was surprised to see Nintendo's former president Satoru Iwata wrestle with this in an interview he gave for Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shumbun that was published in the book "Ask Iwata."

"The internet also has a way of broadening your motivations. In the past, it was possible to live without knowing there were people out there who we might be able to help, but today, we're able to see more situations where we might be of service. But this doesn't mean we've shed the limitations on the time at our disposal.

...as a result, it's become more difficult than ever to determine how to spend the hours of the day without regret."

Wholly relatable. Very warm to see Iwata put this in terms of serving people. For creative folk, this could be anything from projects to pursue, audiences to reach, and relationships to develop. There's, I'm sure, an interesting intersection with another change in history — the ability to reproduce art.

"It's more about deciding where to direct your limited supply of time and energy. On a deeper level, I think this is about doing what you were born to do."

Less is the answer, and considering your unique position is what takes the place of overwhelming choice. What you were born to do can be a heavy question unto itself, but thinking of it as what you're in the unique position to do helps.

I'll paraphrase Miyazaki here: "I focus on only what's a few meters from me. Even more important than my films, that entertain countless children across the world, is making at least three children I see in a given day smile." Focusing on the physical space and your real, irl relationships, is likely to guide you towards what's worth doing.