#4 When the best story in the world has already been written…

ByLukas

When the best story in the world has already been written… why do I write?

Because writing is not a choice – and neither is telling stories.

Because stories are never finished.

Because the best stories in the world are written over and over again.

Because a story well-told depends on who you’re telling it to.

Because we all tell the same stories anyway, but that one little change, that one new interpretation can make the difference between touching someone or missing the mark.

But what IS the best story in the world?

I don’t know.

I do know they don’t have to be very elaborate to have impact:

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

Ernest Hemingway

When someone, sometime, stumbled upon six words that can evoke so much… How can I NOT continue my own search for stories and the words to tell them?

P.S.: Credits to Jony Mitchell for writing the best song in the world.

P.P.S: Extra credits for singing the most heartfelt version even after suffering a stroke and having to relearn to talk and sing.

P.P.P.S.: Credits to The Tallest Man on Earth for showing that a new interpretation can make even the best song in the world reach new heights, and providing the inspiration for this post.

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    #8 Musenküsse

    ByLukas
    klimt-the-kiss-musenkuss
    Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss (1907-1908).

    der Musenkuss (German) The kiss of the Muse

    Creativity becomes much easier if you see it as a game of finding new ways of describing what has always been there.

    Observing, rather than inventing.

    It’s liberating. Because now the game changes from pulling ideas out of thin air to a game of discovery. Observation. Paying attention. Building upon what’s already discovered, then connecting the dots in way nobody else has.

    Most of all: listening, when the muse finally arrives and visits you for a kiss.

    There’s this voice in my mind
    Impossible to ignore
    And yet I fill my head with noise
    Drowning out
    What deep down I know to be true
    Do I even want to admit
    That this song in my heart
    Is not about me
    But about you?

    P.S.: I’ve observed the same principle in language learning (and wrote a book about the consequences of this mindset shift).

    Which begs the question…

    Where else would we do better if we observed a bit more, rather than trying to invent from scratch?

  • #394 Remind yourself of the future

    ByLukas

    There is no way to predict the future.

    But thinking about where you would like to be in the future can help you make better decisions today.

    Want to be a writer in the future? Better write today.

    Want to run a marathon? Better run today (or eat better, or rest, or stretch…)

    Remind yourself of the future, not for the sake of precise predictions, but for the sake of the present.

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    #180 Progressive Insight

    ByLukas

    Performance gap: the frustrating gap between how you know something should be done in an ideal world and how you currently do it. 

    One implication of the performance gap: you don’t have to master this skill today.

    Another implication, maybe even more important: your idea of how something “should be done” is probably wrong anyway.

    Because as you practice and gain mastery, you’ll also gain progressive insight: a more nuanced intellectual understanding of the skill you’re practicing.

    What I thought was a “good” yoga session six months ago, I now see as a session full of misalignment and cramped muscles.

    What I thought of as a solid piece of writing six months ago, I now see as an argument full of holes and points of improvement.

    Sometimes, progressive insight is just about more nuances.

    Sometimes, progressive insight shows that your initial intellectual understanding completely missed the mark.

    There’s only one way to find out: practice: Sculpt away, day by day. 

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    #186 The hour of misery

    ByLukas

    Not all tasks and activities we must do feel fulfilling or rewarding. There’s no way out of busy work.

    But we can avoid prioritizing and attracting it to the expense of work that matters.

    Enter the hour of misery.

    One hour of busy work and chores a day.

    60 minutes. Not more. But also not less.

    If, after 60 minutes of misery, you feel like you should do much more, it’s time to realign priorities.

    Delegate.

    OR come to terms with the fact that you’ll never finish the pile of busy work tasks – then carry on with the important stuff anyway.

    After all, tomorrow’s another day.

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    #80 Replacing sensations with words

    ByLukas

    First I feel.

    Then I learn to categorize those feelings with words – until at some point, I don’t feel sensations anymore. I feel words.

    I say I’m angry – but what does being angry feel like again?

    I say I’m happy – but which sensations rush through my body?

    I say I’m sad – but does sadness always feel the same?

    With sensations comes nuance.

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