#243 Mending the Misunderstanding

ByLukas
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We all live in a maze of mistranslations and misunderstandings about who we think you are and who others think we are.

Now, by lack of a way to know who we truly are, misunderstandings can be comforting, my friend; there’s no doubt about that.

But when you get so lost in the maze that it causes suffering, it might be time to start mending the misunderstandings.

Could it be that mending is nothing more than making another mistranslation about who we are that makes us happier?

After all, I can perceive myself as a struggling writer or a skilled wordsmith – both perspectives hold their truths.

It’s the power of our misunderstandings that molds our reality.

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    #98 The Socializing-Solitude Alternation

    ByLukas

    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 social media apps) without breaks from socializing numbs the whole bonding experience.

    Alternating socializing with solitude warms the heart.

    Inspired by Cal Newport’s excellent book Digital Minimalism.

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    #263 Stop, even if you could do more

    ByLukas

    Ernest Hemingway allegedly stopped his writing sessions in the middle of a sentence so he knew how to start his next session. He stopped writing, even if he could do more.

    Julia Cameron teaches to write precisely three pages of stream-of-consciousness journaling a day. Stop journaling, even if you could do more.

    I’ve gotten better results studying foreign languages 20 minutes a day for several months than rushing into a new language and studying it for 3 hours a day, then crashing and burning. I stop myself from learning, even if I could do more.

    Because burnout and overindulgence stifle progress, and in the long run, moderation leads to more.

  • #321 Maintain the momentum

    ByLukas

    You’re likely to encounter consistency challenges.

    After all, nobody feels motivated every day.

    Maybe you’ll have a day where you’re busy or not feeling great, and writing, running, or doing yoga, seems like the last thing you want to do.

    Luckily, you don’t need to feel motivated to write one sentence.

    You don’t even need to want to write to have words appear on the screen or paper.

    You just need to be reminded that you want to be a writer.

    And writers write, even if they don’t feel like it.

    And so it goes for runners, yogis, meditators, athletes, crafstmen, lovers.

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    #185 Priorities

    ByLukas

    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 more unpleasant tasks appear on your to-do list.

    Sometimes it makes sense to do the essential things first, even if that means you keep the unpleasant things on your to-do list.

    This is not a free pass to avoid unpleasant things and only do something you like.

    It’s about doing the things that matter, regardless of whether they’re pleasant.

    It’s about coming to terms with the fact that you’ll probably always drown in chores and busy work to do, then doing the important stuff anyway.

    Journaling question of the day:

    Where are you prioritizing and attracting things that make you miserable instead of doing the work that matters?

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