Local significance. Taking time to think. Thinking practice. Imperfection done beats perfection never seen. What can you learn? Where do your opinions come from? Embracing the chaos.
“You have power over your mind—not outside events.
Realize this, and you will find strength.”
– Marcus Aurelius
1. “You are a small collection of stardust within this vast universe”
The Garden You Can Touch – Lawrence Yeo – (More to That)
Some folks take that “small collection of stardust” statement as a sign of their insignificance. And indeed in the scope of the universe, humanity, and time, we’re pretty darned insignificant. Last week, a takeaway pointed out how freeing this realization can be.
Yeo suggests we look closer.
So next time you feel overwhelmed by the world, remember to look within and tend to the garden you can touch. It is through this small oasis where real and lasting change is born.
Don’t underestimate the impact you can have here and now.
Do this: Think local.
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2. “Deep thinking is like weightlifting for your brain.”
Deep Thinking: The Most Important Thing to Boost Focus – Darius Foroux – (Blog)
Foroux asks the question I think many of us struggle with: Why can’t we focus? It’s no secret that attention spans seem shorter than ever, and our ability to stay with one thing for more than the length of a TikTok video is in rapid decline. Most even blame those videos, or social media, or many other external attention-grabbers.
Foroux’s take is slightly different.
Most of us don’t have a focus problem; we have a thinking problem. Our days are packed with doing and reacting. We seldom pause to ask good questions and then sit with them.
Certainly, attention span plays a large role, but it’s not enough. We need to take the time to focus and think.
Do this: Set aside time to think. (Journaling is one approach, but whatever works for you.)
#thinking #focus #attention-span
3. “Forcing vague feelings into specific words”
Why You Should Write Every Day (Even if You’re Not a Writer) – JA Westenberg – (Blog)
A wonderfully serendipitous piece I encountered shortly after writing up the previous takeaway. It focuses on writing as a path to clearer thinking.
Writing every day is less about becoming someone who writes, and more about becoming someone who thinks.
Even if you never intend to publish a single word ever, the act of writing forces you to think, and think more deeply. That alone makes it worth every moment you might devote to the practice. And I use the word “practice” on purpose.
… clarity is a skill, and like most skills, you get better at it by practicing.
Writing – every day – is practicing thinking clearly over and over until it becomes almost natural.
The smartest, clearest thinkers I know happen also to be some of the most regular, and even prolific, writers I know — even if their words never see the light of day.
Do this: Practice thinking. And by thinking I mean writing.
4. “You just need to give it a shot now”
You have to do the living yourself – Oliver Burkeman – (The Imperfectionist)
The internet is full of folks promising the next best tool or technique to make you more productive, happier, and who knows what else. All those are fine as far as they go, but they overlook the simplest step required to make a change: ya gotta do it.
… building a meaningful life is much less about discovering the right set of practices or habits than it is about cultivating the willingness to step up moment after moment and just do more of the things that matter, for the projects and people and causes you care about most.
Even the imperfect is more effective than the perfect if it’s something you’ll actually do. I’ve sometimes referred to this concept in technology — the “best” backup, for example, is like the best exercise: it’s the one you’re willing to do, regularly.
Do this: Step up and do.
5. “What can this teach me?”
The Art of Resilience: How to Bounce Back from Anything – Leo Babauta – (Zen Habits)
One question I would ask myself when looking for new opportunities at work was “What can I learn?”. I’d use that as one part of my decision-making process. Resilience is, in a sense, having that question foisted on you … or perhaps more accurately, having the opportunity to ask that question presented to you.
You’re going to feel frustrated, discouraged, inadequate, defeated, or powerless at some point.
The trick (or rather, one of many ideas in the essay) is to re-frame those absolutely inevitable setbacks. I like the “what can this teach me” approach.
Do this: Be open to learning from everything.
6. “A collection of downloaded opinions”
Building a mind that can’t be fucked with – Stepfanie Tyler – (Bad Girl Media)
This takeaway captures so much of what’s going on these days. We “hold” opinions not because we examined an issue, or because we came to some conclusion. No. It’s like we downloaded it directly from our feeds into our mind.
Someone on their feed or in their media ecosystem told them what to think, and they just… started thinking it. No interrogation. No testing it against their own values or experience. Just immediate absorption and regurgitation.
I’ve often focused on items relating to thinking, the importance of thinking, and the cost of not thinking, and this is just another example of how that all plays out.
Can you, for example, actually defend the opinions and positions you rally around so loudly? If someone asks you why you believe something, do you have an answer?
Do this: Think for yourself, otherwise you’re just a mouthpiece for someone else’s opinions.
7. “Not to resist chaos, but embrace it.”
Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World – Anne-Laure Le Cunff – (ebook)
One challenge I face regularly over at the day job is peoples’ resistance to change. Nowhere do things change faster, it seems, and cause as much chaos as in the tech world. Resistance is not only futile; it’s self-defeating.
Studies show that constantly trying to fight and fix the things that go wrong in life can lead to chronic stress, and that one of the hallmarks of psychological well-being is the ability to fluidly adapt to change—not to resist chaos, but embrace it.
There are many pithy pieces of advice I’d give someone just starting out in life, I suppose. “Learn to embrace change” is near the top of that list, if for no other reason than that it really does lead to a happier, less frustrating life.
(The book is about adopting an experimental mindset, something else I’d put on the list, but clearly it delves into many related areas. Highly recommended.)
Do this: Embrace change.
Random Links
What I’m reading now
- Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World – Anne-Laure Le Cunff
- The Road Less Stupid: Advice from the Chairman of the Board – Keith J. Cunningham
- The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One 1929-1964 (Audio)(re-“read”)
My Reading List – everything I’ve read since 2021.
My Sources Page – the common sources I scan/read regularly.
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