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  • #7 Persistence despite Resistance – Finding your True Purpose

    Does “true purpose” even exist?

    And if it does, how do we recognize it?

    Persistence despite Resistance may be a helpful indicator.

    Are you chasing your dreams because of what society wants you to do?

    Or are you chasing them in spite of what society wants you to do?

    Because even when social conditioning has molded your mind

    if the same desire or vision enters your head, time and again

    no matter how many others resist it

    no matter how much you resist it

    no matter how few people understand

    it might be time to embrace who you were always meant to be

    and do what you were always meant to do.

  • #13 Write & Publish. Then write some more

    Here’s a question Tim Ferris asks startup founders (and himself) when deciding to invest time and money into a new project:

    “If, in one (or two, or three) years from now, this whole project has failed miserably… Which assumptions you hold today were proven wrong?”

    Tim Ferris

    Answering the question first requires defining failure and success.

    For my project of publishing a daily insight on this blog success looks like this:

    Write & publish.

    Edit.

    Write & publish.

    Edit.

    Then write & publish some more.

    Good, bad, well-received or not, received or read by anyone at all, it doesn’t matter.

    Because first of all, writing is a creative outlet for me.

    Second: long as I write & publish consistently, I trust I will get better at writing and publishing.

    Finally: I trust that from all that sculpting away, day by day, will come better and better insights.

    A pretty low bar for success – which, counterintuitively, often leads to more progress long-term.

    Now we have established that:

    What are the assumptions that could be wrong if next year, it turns out I failed to write & publish every day?

    Here are some I can think of:

    • Writing and publishing every day is going to be a long-term fulfilling activity for me
    • I am truly fine with writing and publishing without anyone ever reading it
    • I am fine spending considerable time on starting a new project that I might never monetize
    • Writing & publishing every day really leads to better writing skills and interesting insights (although even if this assumption is false, it wouldn’t necessarily stop me from writing.)

    Will these assumptions be proven wrong?

    Only time will tell.

    Until then… I write & publish… then write & publish some more.

  • #370 Skipping the writing is not an option

    Once you’ve been writing daily for long enough, continuing to write is the easier option, more aligned with your habits and identity.

    Just like for most people, it feels more natural to continue brushing their teeth every day than to skip a day.

    But when you’re still building the writing habit, skipping the writing is the easier option.

    Which means it shouldn’t be an option at all — until it has become an option you’re not interested in anymore.

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    #313 Keep it Achievable, Pleasurable, Sustainable

    I’ve been publishing daily posts for 300+ days now.

    The secret?

    Writing less.

    • I don’t want to spend hours writing daily posts, so I keep them short.

    • I don’t want to drag myself to a 4-day writing session to create all posts for the coming week in advance (then not write for the rest of the week)

    • I don’t want to set writing goals that are painful to reach and make me feel burnt out.

    • I do want to write a little bit every day, so I prove to myself every single day that I’m a writer.

    • I do want to feel that writing that daily post is achievable and fun.

    • I do want to build momentum.

    Keep it achievable. Keep it pleasurable. Keep it sustainable.

    In other words: Tiny Trust Builders.

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    #110 Unexamined feelings

    I may say I am bored – but what do I feel?

    I may say I am angry – but what do I feel?

    I may say I am in love – but what do I feel?

    What does my body say?

    Can I examine my feelings a different way?

    Can I escape the tragedy of the spoken word?

    Can I resist unconscious categorization and re-learn to listen to what’s behind the language?

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