#123 Never again

If the storm ChatGPT is causing shows us one thing, it’s how unoriginal most of our thoughts are.

AI builds on a massive library of what others have learned before.

(Individual) humans build on a much smaller library of what others have learned before.

If we merely do what others have done before, in some fields, AI has caught up to us already.

What happens we build on what others have learned before, and combine it with what we learn ourselves (in other words, practice and skill building)?

Now we’re talking about innovation: we’re doing things that haven’t been done before.

And even then, one day, AI will possibly also innovate and do things that haven’t been done before.

Sheer “processing power” is not a game we can win.

The true question here:

If raw intelligence and “brain processing power” isn’t what makes us truly, uniquely human, then what is?

Living a balanced life doesn’t mean living average experiences.

It’s more like a barbell, or a seesaw, where you go all in on complementary actions.

Work hard, rest hard.

Write with total focus, then fully let go when you’ve hit your word target.

Work out with full intensity, then let your body fully recover.

So when you’re out of balance, the solution is not to come closer to the middle.

Instead, you start doing less of what you’re already doing or add more of the polar opposite of what you’re already doing.

Figure out your polar opposite pairs, and give them both the attention they deserve. That’s how you dance the barbell balance of life.

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.

Does a day end, or does a new one start?

Does the end of a book chapter signal termination, or does it serve as a gateway to an unexplored continuation?

Maybe we don’t need to arbitrarily mark endings and beginnings in lives that consist of an uninterrupted flow.

Maybe we’re just a tiny plot in a story spanning billions of years.

Maybe we don’t grasp the bigger story anyway.

Maybe it’s all the same.