by Owen | Jun 9, 2020 | Impromptu
In the past two weeks, I have watched so many people fall into the snares of hate and denounced the intentions of Black Lives Matter and national protests. Friends, scholars, students, and intellectuals alike, as if from nowhere, have turned their backs and denied the value of human life and connection. People who have always spoken up, from all sides, are now eerily silent.
Arguments erupt in the supposed search for truth, but end up somewhere in the distance. Scrolling through comments and twitter threads, I’ve seen every kind of rationalization, ranging from the half-baked “If it wasn’t for the property damage…” to delusions of a Marxist coup d’etat. Pleas of support and change are met less with clear thought than with egregious and tangential bullying. There are guilty on both sides.
But how do we pull back the curtain on a falsely rationalized “truth?” Do you trudge along and hope they come to their senses in the wake of change? Or do you stand up and educate them on their own misjudgments? I’m for the latter.
The growing divide is less an argument for truth than an intervention on its denial. A view only possible through privilege. Those who come out on the other side, understand themselves in a new way and contribute to change. Meanwhile, the rest pull further into delusion.
The reality is that deep down, everyone, even those in denial, knows what the right thing is. Delusion is a shield. The war to be waged is not with truth, but a confrontation with our own denial. As Marcus Aurelius wrote nearly two thousand years ago: “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” We know what is right, there is no argument to be had, only a willingness to listen and confront our own faults.
The path forward is one of action and intervention. Choose to confront the denial around you and inside you at every turn. The truth is there, as long as you are open to it.
Resources to help you with your own intervention can be found here or here
You can also donate to bail funds here and support the Black Lives Matter Movement directly here.
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?
by Owen | Mar 27, 2020 | Impromptu
“Are we going to be okay?”
That seems to be the question on everyone’s mind right now. But it’s a much harder question to answer than we think. Because it depends on what you are truly asking, and if that’s the question worth asking at all.
If the question is “Are things going to go back to normal?” then the answer is a definite and unqualified no. Things will absolutely be different. A crisis like this will always instigate change. And that’s the key.
“Normal” may be behind us, but we have the chance to decide how our new normal will look. How we act in these moments shape the outcome of our new lives. If we ignore the facts and act irresponsibly then we are sacrificing the possibility of reform and positive change. But, if we choose to react with intention, focus, and generosity, then we have a chance to come out of this better than when we entered
So are we going to be okay? Well, that’s up to you. Ask yourself instead: “How can I make things okay?” or even “How can I make things better?”
by Owen | Mar 13, 2020 | Impromptu, Philosophy
Yesterday I opened up my calendar and hit delete on every project, event, and class I had scheduled for the next two months. Everything had been canceled because of COVID-19. It was a frustrating moment. Nevertheless, I had also known it was coming for a few days. Deep down, I had prepared myself for this loss. And I knew more may come. But, I knew I could move-on. In this time of spreading infection, it may be scary to consider the worst-case scenario. But this counterintuitive practice can be our best tool.
The ancient Stoic philosophers knew that almost nothing was within their control, only how they reacted to situations. Armed with this understanding, they lead with the practice of Premeditatio Malorum — or the premeditation of potential evils and troubles. Knowing they could only control their reactions, they sought to prepare themselves for the things they feared most. To do this, they considered the worst-case scenario. They visualized the negative outcomes of their decisions and the future. By taking the time to expose themselves to the idea of these losses, they sought to quell their fears and temper their reactions. If they were prepared for the worst-case, then they were also ready with the best response — and in turn, muted their fear.
Seneca The Younger, a pillar of stoicism, took this idea even further. Despite being one of the wealthiest and most respected men in Rome, he regularly practiced poverty. Every month, Seneca would take days at a time to live as if he were poor. He would wear the cheapest clothes, eat only the crusts of bread, and sleep on the floor. He experienced what it would be like if he lost everything. A fear we all have. While it may seem masochistic, this practice kept Seneca in control. By exposing himself to the worst-case, he also revealed that he could survive, and even be happy despite his loss. In practice, he exposed the irrationality of his fear and prepared himself for its arrival. As he wrote in his letters:
“We should project our thoughts ahead of us at every turn and have in mind every possible eventuality instead of only the usual course of events…Rehearse them in your mind: exile, torture, war, shipwreck. All the terms of our human lot should be before our eyes.“
It may be depressing or anxiety-ridden to consider the worst-case scenario — what and who we might lose. But taking the time to reflect on these fears gives us the power to arm ourselves for the outcome. If and when our fears do come true, we will be all the more prepared to react as our best selves.
