Insights
#108 The Unexpected Complement
Unique value often lies in seemingly strange combinations. The beekeeping lawyer. The pro soccer player with an astrophysics degree. The theologist waking up early every morning to go surfing. The public servant spending their evenings performing at the local stand-up comedy bar. The motorcycle repair shop owner writing philosophy books. The chess champion with a
#107 Making the same decisions over and over again
First I decide to write every day. That one decision liberates me of the burden of a daily decision: should I write or not? After all, the decision has already been made, and now is not the time to negotiate. True freedom is freedom from the burden of making the same decisions over and over
#106 Pick your freedom battles
Most people don’t really want the freedom to do anything they want, in other words, a life without constraints. They want the freedom to set their own constraints. To decide, “I want to spend my time writing,” instead of saying, “I am supposed to become a lawyer because that’s what we do in this family.”
#105 The Fulfillment Formula
My sense of fulfillment comes from taking daily actions that are aligned with a personal philosophy and a purpose I intentionally determine. As life unfolds, my purpose can change. My values can change. I can feel over the moon, dreadful, and everything in between. My daily actions can change (and they certainly won’t always be
#105 This is how you make the future yours
When it comes to habits, our actions in the present make future present moments more (or less) likely. Do I journal today? That’s a vote for my journaling identity – which increases the likelihood of another journaling moment tomorrow. Predictive power. Do I check Instagram today? That’s a vote for my Instagram-browsing identity – which
#104 This is not a poker game
All in on getting fluent in a foreign language?That’s a 6-12 month game, at the minimum. All in on learning an instrument?Count on a multi-year (or multi-decade) game. All-in on getting in shape?That’s a life-long game. This is not a poker game. You’re not trying to impress anyone. There are no opponents to deter. Not
#103 Show me one daily action
So you say you want to be a writer?Show me one daily action that proves that’s true. So you say you value connection with family and friends?Show me one daily action that demonstrates you do. So you say you want to learn a foreign language?Show me one daily action. Show me you’ll follow through. Show
#102 When dreams turn into certainties
Elon Musk has the rock-solid belief that someday, he’s going to put people on Mars. He doesn’t hope for it. He believes it’s inevitable. Whether his belief becomes a reality or not is irrelevant. What matters are the actions and grit his faith inspires in him and everyone working with him. That’s the rock-solid determination
#101 It’s all about the actions
Achieving an outcome without the daily actions that lead to an identity shift is empty and unsustainable. I may want to publish a book. But if someone writes the whole book without my input and I put my name on it in the end, do I deserve to call it my book? I have a
#100 There are by-products. And then there’s what matters.
The moment you stop doing things for what they can give you, and start doing things for who you become through doing them, is the moment you get everything you ever wanted. Lukas Van Vyve I don’t write a blog post every day just to have a pile of posts on the blog. I write
#99 Why bother to journal?
Stream Of Consciousness writing isn’t about what you write. It’s about the very fact that you’re writing. Nobody cares about the words on the pages. Nobody will read them anyway. Neither should you. This is not a novel. This is not a love song. This is not a poem. This is but an externalization of
#98 The Socializing-Solitude Alternation
Appreciation arises from contrast. How can I enjoy food without knowing what it’s like to be hungry? How can I appreciate the beauty of a painting without comparing it to something I’ve experienced as ugly? How can I appreciate social connections without being familiar with solitude? (Not loneliness. Solitude.) Constant connectivity (especially shallow connections through