March 2024
The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life.
“All that we don’t know is astonishing. Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing.” - Philip Roth
“When you know what needs to be done, inaction increases stress. You feel a lot less stress when you do the things within your control that move you closer to your objective. Action reduces stress.”
“I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try.” — Roger Ebert
“It’s not the honors and prizes of life which ultimately nourish our souls. It’s the knowing that we can be trusted, that we never have to fear the truth, that the bedrock of our very being is good stuff.” - Mister Rogers
The beginner chases the right answers.
The master chases the right questions.
A truth unsaid can still be felt.
What needs to be discussed, but hasn’t been said yet?
Clear the air.
Doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.
This is a beautiful idea, but often other people simply don’t have the same needs you do.
Rather than focus on what will change, focus on what stays the same.
“If you know something’s going to work, it’s not worth working on. It requires no courage. It requires no faith. It requires no skin in the game. Whether you’re a spy or a teacher or a spouse or a painter or an abuela or an astronaut or a monk or a barista or a board-game designer, the bits that matter are the bits you make matter by putting yourself on the line for them. The unknown is the foundry where you forge your chips. Everything important is uncertain. Sitting with the discomfort of that uncertainty is the hard part, the wedge that can move the world.”
“A lack of routine causes more problems than poor choices. Routines turn desired behavior into default behavior.”
What is something you want, but you haven’t asked for?
“What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it.”
Your worst day is a chance to show your best qualities, to stand out, and to learn an enormous amount about yourself. Very few people plan or prepare for what they’ll do and how they’ll act during those times. Those who do might well end up turning their worst day into their best.
“I believe the way toward mastery of any endeavor is to work toward simplicity; replace complex technology with knowledge. The more you know, the less you need. From my feeble attempts at simplifying my own life I’ve learned enough to know that should we have to, or choose to, live more simply, it won’t be an impoverished life but one richer in all the ways that really matter.” — Yvon Chouinard
We need to redefine “problems” into opportunities.
Problems are an opportunity to create value. Problems are an opportunity to strengthen relationships. Problems are an opportunity to differentiate yourself from others.
Every problem is an opportunity in disguise.
Talent and potential mean nothing if you can’t consistently do things when you don’t feel like doing them.