Nobody really knows what life is going to be bring.
But almost all of us are going to fine either way, not matter what life brings.
Without stress about what life might throw at you, what would you do?
What would you create?
Where would you go?
Who would you choose to be?
Intellectually understanding that the perfect speech includes a strong opening, humor, a dramatic demonstration, rhetorical elements, and emotional appeal doesn’t mean your next speech will contain those elements right away – and that’s okay.
You don’t have to master this today.
Intellectually understanding the nuances and body positioning of a yoga pose doesn’t mean the next time you stand in that pose, you’ll perform it perfectly right away – and that’s okay.
You don’t have to master this today.
Intellectually understanding verbs, tenses, or case systems in a foreign language doesn’t mean you’ll be able to use them correctly in conversations right away – and that’s okay.
You don’t have to master this today.
Turning intellectual understanding into internalized knowledge and skill is a slow, layered process:
If the storm ChatGPT is causing shows us one thing, it’s how unoriginal most of our thoughts are.
AI builds on a massive library of what others have learned before.
(Individual) humans build on a much smaller library of what others have learned before.
If we merely do what others have done before, in some fields, AI has caught up to us already.
What happens we build on what others have learned before, and combine it with what we learn ourselves (in other words, practice and skill building)?
Now we’re talking about innovation: we’re doing things that haven’t been done before.
And even then, one day, AI will possibly also innovate and do things that haven’t been done before.
Sheer “processing power” is not a game we can win.
The true question here:
If raw intelligence and “brain processing power” isn’t what makes us truly, uniquely human, then what is?
You see how few things you have to do to live a satisfying and reverent life?
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
But what are those few things that lead to a satisfying life?
Do we decide ourselves, or let others – or society – decide for us?
We don’t get lost because we don’t know where to go.
We get lost because we want to know so desperately where to go.
First we start going.
Then we figure out where to go.
When chasing fame leads to your own kids not remembering your name.
When chasing love leads to fear of being alone.
When chasing success leads to loneliness.
It may be necessary.
It may be good.
It may be worth it.
As long as you’re aware there’s always a sacrifice to make.
When you’re having a busy day and life gets in the way, writing one word can make all the difference.
One minute of running makes all the difference.
Thirty seconds of meditating.
Ten seconds of stretching.
One second of envisioning who you want to be.
That’s all it takes to change how you feel about yourself and who you are.
Because now, instead of giving up, you’re still on track.
It’s that easy.
