#98 The Socializing-Solitude Alternation

ByLukas
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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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    #203 What makes your aspirations valuable

    ByLukas

    An aspiring writer who doesn’t believe writing is a valuable skill in our current society and focuses on building a traditional career instead.

    An aspiring runner who doesn’t believe running is a good use of their time in our current society and goes out for drinks every night.

    An aspiring classical musician who doesn’t believe society will ever appreciate their art – and goes into pop music instead.

    If you want to turn aspirations into achievements, you’ll have to decide for yourself what’s valuable, even if it goes against what society and tradition prescribe.

    So to make writing a valuable skill, write.

    To make running a good use of your time, run.

    To make the world appreciate your classical music, practice classical music.

    To make anything worthwhile, show that it’s worth your while.

    Because going against the mainstream is not just necessary to achieve your aspirations – it’s what makes your aspirations valuable in the first place.

  • | |

    #145 The practice becomes the identity

    ByLukas

    I write every day until I’m a writer.

    I paint every day until I’m a painter.

    I practice the guitar every day until I’m a guitar player.

    I love my family every day until I become a family person.

    I prove to myself that I can take one daily action aligned with who I want to be.

    And before I know it, the practice becomes the identity.

  • #546 The easiest path to where you want to go

    ByLukas

    The easiest path is to miss all days – you never get going in the first place so you don’t know what you’re missing.

    The second easiest is to never miss a day – you’ll get where you want to go with little detours, even if you pay the cost of discipline.

    The hardest (and most common) path is to miss a couple of days here and there – now you run the risk of getting lost.

    We all miss a day sometimes – so we all get a little lost once in a while.

    So what do we do?

    We remind ourselves why we got started.

    We remind ourselves where we’re going.

    We remind ourselves that we’ve been lost before – and that we can always get back on track.

  • #154 When results have become irrelevant

    ByLukas

    When technology and AI outpace us and we can’t be the best, smartest, fastest, strongest on the planet anymore – will we still care about our economic output?

    When results have become irrelevant, what are the things I will still want to do?

    Maybe we’ll rediscover value in our actions themselves and the pleasure and pain they make us feel – happy, sad, useful, worthless, brimming with purpose, overflowing with self-hatred…?

    Will I still write just because I enjoy writing, even if AI could write a better-researched, more insightful book than I ever could?

    Will I still learn a language just because learning a language makes me feel good, even if I could use an instant translation device to talk to anyone in the world?

    Will I still spend my days in an office cubicle if that’s a painful prospect?

    An era of soul-searching is coming.

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