Being a tall person, from very early on I’ve been assigned tasks like cleaning the fan, picking fruits, etc. It is not something I willingly chose to do but most times I am the one, out of all of the people around, who is most suitable for these jobs.
This division of labor is also seen in early hunter-gatherer tribes. Men, generally having greater body strength were assigned high risk hunting and warfare. This dividing of tasks was about caloric efficiency, since nursing mothers could not hunt and risk getting killed.
Across cultures we see similar social framework. From Hinduism’s Varna system to Plato’s “noble lie” of metals in the blood was aimed at preventing incompetency.
If everyone chooses to be a poet there would be no food or we wouldn’t survive if everyone is forced to take up swords either.
Now looking at this at a personal level, we see that we are evolved to do things which would help us survive and are “easy for ourselves” (not to be taken into the perspective of laziness). Therefore, in a way, human mind, it can be said, always prefers convenience. This is known as “Ambiguity Aversion” (not to be confused with risk aversion) (also read : Ellsberg Paradox).
"And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of ?"
~ Shakespeare, Hamlet
Thus it would be safe to say that each one of us is inclined naturally towards a particular niche. In each person’s life there is at least one thing which they find easier compared to others or simply are more efficient than others in that particular job. And from our personal experiences, we can notice that, it is not necessary that we are good at things which looks fascinating to us but mostly we enjoy things in which we are more efficient than others regardless of whether the reason is appreciation from others, end goal, or simply the process of that particular thing.
Hence, we often term that thing as our “interests”. We confuse interests to something we think we will enjoy doing in long term. Therefore, in this sense, these things are not necessarily our “interests”. Often times we are told to “find” our interests or find things which we “like” doing and that is why most people fail in doing so.
I like to think that interests are always cultivated or developed. We have to find things which are the easiest for us, help us survive, and help us get on top of all the chains. Of course, there is no substitute for putting in the hours and the process always turns out to be boring.
Thus, all our life energy should be spent in recognizing our Swabhaav (BG:3-35) and following our Swadharma. Because, it is only when the action itself becomes the reward, it is possible to achieve the flow state like water which finds its own way by choosing the path of least resistance.
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुण: परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् |
स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेय: परधर्मो भयावह: ||