Week 35, 2023
I have been pulling the Massive Action Society together, and it is a lot of moving pieces. A lot of systems need to be "just so" so that everything happens the way it is supposed to. I am trying to channel my inner Oliver Burkeman. He mentioned this strategy on The Drive podcast last week. Instead of being focused on the outcome, anticipating and hoping and angling... try to be curious. "I wonder what will happen."
The Happiness Peaks Theory
Here is a slightly deeper look into the two different mindsets from our "Happiness Peaks" email. This is the secret that makes hard-work stop feeling like work. This is not magic, this is a science-based theory, and it's strongly related to how our body chemistry works. Look closely at this chart. It's a visual representation of the evolution of happiness over time when you allow instant gratification to take control of your life. The Instant Gratification Junkie How does it work? Imagine you play video games for 3 hours. You will obtain peak of happiness while you are playing—no problem with that. But then... The peak happiness disappears, and you begin to fall below your base level of happiness. Dopamine exhausted. ...
Week 34, 2023
Your life has meaning. You know that to be true, even if occasionally you deny it out of depression or a macabre sense of humor.
And so, why struggle, why strive, when "none of it really matters anyway" ?
I think it is because you have to try, for it to matter.
Maybe it is the historical "fish struggling up onto the land" inside of us, that makes us need struggle or maybe it goes back further than that... Entropy is increasing, everything is falling apart, but life wants to try to pull order from the chaos. Life needs to feel like it is capable of pulling order from the chaos.
Striving, struggling, trying, scraping, any synonym for grappling... MAKES IT MATTER.
And so, why struggle, why strive, when "none of it really matters anyway" ?
I think it is because you have to try, for it to matter.
Maybe it is the historical "fish struggling up onto the land" inside of us, that makes us need struggle or maybe it goes back further than that... Entropy is increasing, everything is falling apart, but life wants to try to pull order from the chaos. Life needs to feel like it is capable of pulling order from the chaos.
Striving, struggling, trying, scraping, any synonym for grappling... MAKES IT MATTER.
Week 33, 2023
One person reacts to a devastating event by using it as the fire for their boiler, and another reacts to a small slight by being totally devastated. I suppose neither is wrong, each just is... and there's wisdom in Marx's quote: "From each according to their ability, to each according to their needs."
Week 32, 2023
I believe that chasing dreams IS holy magic in a sacred place. I want to shake all of the joyless people working an angle, and tell them "WE NEED YOUR FULL CREATIVITY AND ENROLLMENT HERE!!!" Please, this week, regardless of the cost/benefit calculation, bring your full self to whatever you are doing. It will help make the world a more interesting place for all of us.
We are launching the 66 Day Massive Action Society in September. The 66 Day M.A.S. is my attempt to help you squeeze a bit more juice out of life for a minute. It's a sprint to accomplish a big project, and/or a streak to help you change a habit. It is 66 days of a daily action, defined by you, to accomplish a goal, defined by you.
Week 31, 2023
It takes a lot of energy to change directions. All the grooves, and habits, and routines are tugging you back to the into the rut of the old you, and you MUST keep working until you are free of the gravitational pull of the old stuff and into the orbit of the new you.
You can do it. You just have to do it, and then keep doing it.
You can do it. You just have to do it, and then keep doing it.
Week #30, 2023
Many times we find ourselves waiting for other people to decide things that will shape the course of our possibilities and opportuntities. Creating opportunties on your own terms involves choosing the work over ego. What are you willing to give up, and what are you willing to take ownership of so that you can control your own opportunities?
Week 29, 2023
There is no telling who any of us will become. You do not need to be defined by all the failures and successes that have come before this moment in your timeline...
Week 28, 2023
Growth is the theme this week. I am a relentless promoter of YOU, and what you can accomplish. I believe so much in nearly everyone's ability to change their situation that I start to sound like a broken record at times. But... talking about it is the easy part... That's what I mean when I say that changing your life is simple, but it isn't easy. The plan is simple, but the execution is going to be uncomfortable.
Week 27, 2023
Your path is your path
And while it may be informed by the good and bad choices of all those who came before you, you (and you only) bear responsibility for your path.
And so own it, make peace with it, rip the band-aids off, look your weaknesses and shortcomings in the eye and just keep growing.