Skip to content

Category: Archives

The full collection of explorations.

Sitting With A Raging Mind

Published on January 9, 2022

Sometimes, meditating might make you feel anxious.

Of course!

…Because you’re choosing to confront an anxious mind that’s full of clouded, mudded, raging thoughts.

Here’s the thing: the means to settling an anxious mind isn’t done by stirring it up with more information, stimulation, and distraction—it’s done by giving it the space it needs in absence of those things.

Sitting with the discomfort is the means.

And what you might realize, is that your raging mind—like a child raging with a temper tantrum—does eventually relent to the space, boredom, and non-stimulation of a good timeout.

The only question is, can you be firm enough to put your mind in timeout or will you continue to let the child of your mind rage?

The Magic Of Perspective

Published on January 7, 2022

Yesterday, my hometown got 18 inches of snow.

All at once.

And when I looked out the window—all I saw was work.

But, when I looked out the window later that day, I saw a boy across the street jumping and playing in it.

And I didn’t see work anymore.

I saw magic.

Not In A Hurry

Published on January 5, 2022

Not in a hurry is an excellent sign of being committed to the process.

Being in a rush is an excellent sign of being committed to the destination.

Being committed to the destination without being committed to the process is an oxymoron of sorts. Because arriving to a destination isn’t possible without undergoing the process.

Which is precisely why so many people fail to arrive at their destinations.

They’re in a rush. They’re forcing things along. They’re definitely in a hurry.

The general goal seems to be to arrive without having to go through the work of traveling.

Which, of course, isn’t how arriving works.

What if, instead of trying to rush, force, hack, hurry, or expedite your way to a far and away destination—you found ways to make the goal more about enjoying the process?

Because the thing about rushing is that it implies you don’t want to be where you are or doing what you’re doing. It implies you’d rather be somewhere else (in a future fantasy scenario).

And the reality is, we’re going to spend the sweeping majority of our time traveling and only but a micro-fraction of it arriving. And to spend anything more than a moment in a state of misery, contempt, or hate is wasteful—let alone a few years (or *gulp* decades).

And so the question you should ask yourself is: am I enjoying the pace of my process or am I actually just rushing to arrive?

Because being in a rush might counterintuitively prove to be far more wasteful than not being in a hurry after all.

Sacrificing Sleep To Gain Time

Published on January 4, 2022

Sacrificing sleep to “gain” time usually ends up in more time lost than is ever gained.

Sure, you might bank an extra hour when you get 7 hours of sleep instead of 8, but what isn’t considered as readily is the time lost when trying to make up for the side-effects of sleep deprivation.

When you add up all of the time spent taking excessive (caffeine) breaks, complaining about being tired (both to others and in your own head), and trying to chop down the tree of your work with a dull axe—the mismatch can be quite eye-opening.

When asked what time she wakes up every morning, founder of The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings) and absolute legend in the writing world, Maria Popova said “Exactly 8 hours after I went to bed.”

She went on to explain that the sloth and mental cloudiness that comes from suboptimal sleep simply can’t be made up during the day in caffeine or whatever else. The bottom line for her is that she always produces higher quality work in a more efficient time when she gets proper rest.

…It’s the adding of time to sleep that can actually result in more time saved in the end.

While this isn’t exactly breaking news, here’s my reality: I’ve been trying to bank an extra hour or two by sleeping for 6 or 7 hours instead of 8 for years. And to no avail.

My body almost always forces me to stay in bed for 8. It’s stubborn as hell. Or maybe, I’m the one who is stubborn as hell and am finally starting to hear my body.

Lost At Sea

Published on January 3, 2022

If your ability to create (or do) is dependent on your need for inspiration, you’ll never fulfill your potential—especially not in today’s world.

Here’s why: distraction is the enemy of inspiration.

And if I had to pick just one word to describe the modern age we’re living in, I’d probably choose: “Distracted.”

Prior to the information explosion that came with the internet, modern gadgets, and social media—”waiting around” for inspiration was actually probably a great strategy.

Because here’s what I know about inspiration: it comes when I’m undistracted. It’s when I’m showering, staring at blank screens, meditating, walking my dog, driving, and/or sitting bored.

And “waiting around” prior to the information age probably consisted mostly of the things on that list. Today, however, “waiting around” consists mostly of… consuming distractions.

It never ceases to amaze me how quick I am to pull out my phone when I sit down in a public place alone—like when I’m waiting for my dinner party to arrive or when I’m waiting at the doctor’s office. The urge is almost unbearable.

And not just for me, but for the other phone-scrollers in the room. Or so it feels.

We’re addicted.

And because we’re addicted to distraction, we’re equally in conflict with inspiration.

This isn’t to say that we won’t get inspiration from the ocean of information that we consume—because we certainly may.

It is to say, however, that it isn’t being properly utilized. We need to do a better job of coming out of the ocean to regroup, reorganize, and reflect upon our findings.

Otherwise, we’ll continue flapping around, following treasure signs, and getting more and more lost at sea.