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The Yin and Yang of Fulfillment
Why we need to cultivate our simple existence like we do our productivity.
My first idea was to write about the Yin and Yang of Productivity, but I purposely decided to replace it with Fulfillment. Here’s why: I’ve become increasingly disillusioned with rigid productivity culture — not productivity itself — but a culture that raises a person’s productivity above all else.
And ultimately, centering productivity didn’t quite fit with the overall concept of Yin and Yang. The more I learned about Yin and Yang, the more that productivity seemed to be only part of the Yang component, which cannot exist fully without the Yin. Productivity alone is not the whole ticket.
What is Yin and Yang?
Yin and Yang is the idea of complementing natural forces. It is a fundamental concept in Chinese philosophy dating from the 3rd century BCE or earlier. Yin is typically thought of as feminine, dark, receptive, cold, and passive while Yang is masculine, light, active, warm and active. If Yin is the moon, then Yang is the sun.
