by Owen | Apr 12, 2020 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I’m Working On: Staying Healthy (As Possible)
It’s incredibly easy to be unhealthy right now. My gym is closed and working out at home isn’t quite cutting it. So inevitably I’ve had to rely on tightening up on my nutrition. Food has always been a dangerous variable in my life. I’ve struggled with body dysmorphia for a long time. And while I’ve been able to cope, a crisis like this makes it very difficult to keep a clear head. There’s never an apparent fix to ED and dysmorphic disorders. I find journaling and daily runs/walks help a lot. But of course, the demon always comes creeping back to the mirror. The best we can do right now is try to keep a clear mind and be lenient with ourselves. Things won’t be the same, we will slip up, and that’s okay. It’s important to remember that this is just a moment in time. We will be able to get back to our routines and our “optimum” routines. Forgive yourself now so you can come back strong later. Do what you can, and be comfortable with change.
What I’m Struggling With: Focus
I can’t seem to focus on anything for longer than 20 minutes. Doing any kind of long-form work or activity is somehow out of reach. My work has plummeted, writing feels like a chore, and my reading habits are jumpy at best. I have a feeling everyone else is going through something similar. Somehow the only things that feel normal are things that I have put away until recently. Suddenly video games are providing the most comfort — the craziness of the outside world outmatches fantasy for once. Usually, I would chide myself for spending so much time playing games and watching TV but I’m not sure I can afford to be that hard on myself right now. I’d love to get a bit more writing done and be a bit more productive but I also don’t think I can afford to ask too much of myself. A little every day is the most we can ask of ourselves right now. Choose alive time when we can, and forgive ourselves if we need a moment to choose comfort.
A Quote I’m Thinking About
“I have learned to be a friend to myself Great improvement this indeed Such a one can never be said to be alone for know that he who is a friend to himself is a friend to all mankind”
Seneca The Younger
by Owen | Apr 5, 2020 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I’m Reading: Moneyball by Michael Lewis:
Every time I think I’m done with Lewis’ work I keep coming back. Worse. I keep putting other books down to pick up the next. My reading habits haven’t fared well during the shelter in place. I can’t seem to pick up new books or dense topics. Lewis’s work, however, has been a good anchor for my habit. It’s just the right balance of interesting and fun to keep me going (without going insane).
What I’m Struggling With: Liminal Time
We are all approaching the breaking point of this COVID-19 shutdown. Just about everyone I’ve talked to has started to go just a little bit stir-crazy and its picking up fast. The issue here, at least for me, seems to be all of the liminal time. I’ve never been particularly good at doing nothing. I tend to bounce from activity to activity and I always need to be doing something (something I’m working on), so these last few weeks have been particularly agonizing. For now, I’m doing my best to maintain habits as best I can and find activities that balance relaxation and work. I’m turning to philosophy where I can. Perhaps after all of this, we can all be a little more comfortable with downtime. We might all be better for it.
A Quote I’m Thinking About:
“Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.”
Marcus Aurelius – Meditations
This is particularly pressing for most college students right now. Any future (in the short term) we had prepared for is now as foggy as it’s ever been. Remember, we can’t predict or fear the future. All we can do its confront it with the tools we have, and do our best to come out the other side better than we went in.
This Weeks Posts:
by Owen | Apr 3, 2020 | Impromptu
You are wrong about a lot of things. Most importantly, you are wrong about your own abilities. Chances are you can do much more than you believe. The only way to improve then is to prove yourself wrong.
We plan every day more or less the same. The same workout schedule, the same work time, the same everything. Every day. The same. While routine is a great tool, we need to be careful not to trick ourselves. The danger here is assuming our method is also maximizing our effort. And while that may be true at first, we will always grow into the space we give ourselves. Before long, we’ve become comfortable. And comfort is the enemy of progress.
“I always run for 3 miles, so why run any more?” “I’ve never written more than a page.” “We only publish on Fridays, so there’s no way we could publish again on Monday.”
All of these are lies of comfort. When we start to talk like this, we know we’ve become complacent. The biggest impediment to growth and progress is what we tell ourselves. We are almost always more capable than we believe ourselves to be.
To get back on the path of progress, we need to break these patterns. We must prove ourselves wrong. Feel like going for a 30-minute run? Run for 35. Usually, write a page? Do a page and a half. A little more every day.
It’s going to be tough at first, but it’s going to feel amazing to conquer new territory. Before long, these further limitations will become comfortable again. And once again, we will need to prove ourselves wrong.
Don’t believe the voices in your head or the limitations you think you have. There’s always more in the tank if you dig deep enough.
Scared? Good. That means you are on the right track. Fight against your intuition and push yourself. You are wrong. And it’s worth everything to prove that.
by Owen | Apr 1, 2020 | Impromptu
When we look back at the great writers, innovators, and artists of history, we tend to believe they shot to the top in a burst of inspiration and genius. But that’s necessarily true. Yes, some ideas may pull to the top out of nowhere — we have the Orson Welles and the Picasso’s. But often, they are born out of the inertia of small, incremental steps.
The author Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art (one of my top 5 books), wrote for nearly three decades before his first novel The Legend of Bagger Vance was published.
“Hallelujah,” Leonard Cohen’s most famous song was released 15 years into his career. Even then, it took nearly two decades more to find popularity, being re-written and covered dozens of times before landing on the verses we know today.
The impressionist Cézanne produced thousands of works in his lifetime. Nevertheless, he only found financial success well into his mid-sixties.
Some of us may be lucky enough to stumble upon that one incredible idea or talent. We should all be so lucky. But we can’t count on these moments. True masters and innovators are built on small steps and the momentum they create. As Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his New Yorker article: “Sometimes genius is anything but rarefied; sometimes it’s just the thing that emerges after twenty years of working at your kitchen table.”
We must continuously seek to produce and experiment. When we create daily, we slowly build up momentum, and the more consistently we create, the more our inertia helps us. Creating today means it’s easier to create tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day. Focus on creating every day and let the inertia guide you to your goals.
by Owen | Mar 30, 2020 | Impromptu
“What Are You Learning?”
You should always be able to answer this question. You should even be excited to answer this question. It’s the question we should be asking ourselves every day. How and what we learn determines everything we do. Our passions, our outlook, and our future.
Learning extends beyond the blackboard and the classroom. It doesn’t end after you cross the stage to get your diploma. That piece of paper doesn’t mean you are done. In fact, that piece of paper is granting you the freedom to learn anything you want — and that’s the most liberating thing in the world. Once you take learning into your own hands you have given yourself the agency to be in control of your own development. No more syllabi or curriculum. Just learning for the joy of learning — and your own development.
The best leaders, designers, artists, and entrepreneurs are always learning. Some intersect and some don’t. The more you learn the more you grow and the more you see how much there is to grow into. You can never learn it all. But in a way, that’s a humbling fact. Carve a space. Find your interest. When you dig down you find the things you’ve always wanted to learn, start there and see where the road of learning takes you.
What’s something you’ve always wanted to know? A topic you missed out on in school? A skill you always wanted? All of these are available to you. It may take some hard work. But it’s worth it. Pick up that instrument or that book. Sign up for an online class, or seek out mentors. Teach something to someone else.
The resources are there. All you have to do is be eager to learn and consume. Chances are you already know what it is. So why are you waiting? The best time to start is now.
What are you learning today?
