Insights
#193 How do you react?
You want to get the guitar piece exactly right but still trip up once in a while. How do you react? You want to run a marathon but can’t even finish half a marathon yet. How do you react? You want to explain how you feel but end up feeling misunderstood. How do you react?
#192 Your desired identity
Who you are and what you do consistently always coincide. After all, your repeated actions create your identity. But who you want to be and what you consistently do don’t usually coincide. Otherwise, you would already have become who you want to be. You want to be a writer, but you’re not consistently writing? Writing
#191 How to know your habit is here to stay
When you need to do it every daythere just is no other wayyou’re developing a habit, but it could still fade away. When you don’t need to do it every dayand you trust you’ll stay on track anywayyou know the habit is here to stay. Elastic discipline.
#190 The only future we can see
The only future we habitually see for ourselves is the one our past illuminates. The moment we take a flashlight, intentionally aim our gaze, and look at what lies beyond the shade of the past, we see what’s truly possible for us. It’s a counterintuitive process. It takes courage and energy. It’s what intentional living
#189 Cling and let go
If I want to act differently, I let go of the past. If I want to act the same way I always did, I cling to the past. Both clinging and letting go have their place. I could cling to a habit of eating healthily, or treating others with kindness. But maybe I could let
#188 Predictable pathways
Eating junk food for dinner. Because that’s what you always did. Having home-grown vegetables for lunch. Because that’s what you always did. Scrolling through social media apps for 20 minutes. Because that’s what you always did. Meditating for 20 minutes every morning. Because that’s what you always did. Working 15-hour days. Because that’s what you
#187 Causality on its head
You don’t have to feel certain to start taking action. You take action to start feeling certain. You don’t need to be calm to do yoga. You do yoga to become calm. You don’t need to have a quiet mind to meditate. You meditate to cultivate a quiet mind. You don’t have to speak Spanish
#186 The hour of misery
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
#185 Priorities
We all want to avoid doing things that make us miserable. Yet avoiding them often takes the shape of prioritizing them. “I’ll do this unpleasant thing first so that I can get to the fun stuff.” Unfortunately, it seems to be a rule that the more unpleasant tasks you cross off your to-do list, the
#184 Why bad work is necessary
Every day in which I write, I build my body of work. As I build my body of work, I also build a hierarchy of quality. Because every day, my writing will be slightly better or worse than the day before. That means that the more I write, comparatively, the more good writing I’ll do.
#183 3 letters that make all the difference
I can’t do this yoga pose – yet. I can’t speak Spanish – yet. I can’t keep my attention stable during meditation – yet. I can’t do this – yet. (Inspired by The Practice by Seth Godin. Highly recommended.)
#182 Uncertain future visions
I can say I want to run a marathon, write a book, or have a successful career – which doesn’t mean I’ll actually end up running a marathon, writing a book, or having a successful career. But if I’m serious about it, it does mean I’ll take daily steps towards that goal – daily actions