Nostalgia is a powerful feeling. One of the city council members wanted to put a recreation center in the middle of an open-space park next door, and once the word got out, that person lost their re-election. A miscalculation. Not because building a recreation isn’t necessarily a bad idea. It has its pros and cons, I’m sure. It’s because that park hasn’t changed since the 1950s. And that feeling for those who have been here a long time is a reminder of a time that was. Not every improvement is an improvement. Sometimes the right improvement is not to keep changing things. But to leave things precisely as they are to remind us where we came from.
If you’re struggling with social media, I have found it helpful to delete the app from your phone.
But not everyone is willing to do so.
So, another choice to create friction.
Log out.
Move the app off the home screen.
Require face identification.
Please put it in the hidden folder so the temptation isn’t there.
Just creating more steps can short-circuit the auto-response to pick up the phone and scroll.
It seems to me the adventure doesn’t begin when you decide to go. It always seems to start when everything begins to go wrong. We live a life of such comfort and security. And we think our trips should go down the same way. This is never the case.
Climbing isn’t just about strength. It certainly is a huge component, but it isn’t the only one that matters. So does your technique and your technical know-how. There’s a head game too. You can be very strong and have the know-how, but if you don’t have the head game, well, you won’t get very far. You can’t ignore all the facets of climbing, and that’s why it is so interesting to do. Life is similar. You can be powerful in a couple of areas, but when you ignore one, it will eventually cap your ceiling.
Emotions change from moment to moment. A lifetime of emotions can be felt in one day. Joy, awe, inspiration, anger, sadness—it’s all right there with us every day. I’ve been thinking more about this, and one thing that has helped is better sleep. I know it isn’t a sexy option. But the better my sleep, the better the next day is set up to be for wrestling with these emotions. Somehow, I feel more of the positive ones, too, and less of the petty ones.
Nothing good starts from a place of anger. Anger is a manifestation of entitlement. And we often believe we deserve something that isn’t present in the moment. Be honest with the anger.
Holidays are a happy time of year for some. And for others? It is the hardest time of year. It’s surprising to me how scared we get to reach out to someone—even just a text. Have the courage to say, “I was just thinking of you. Merry Christmas.” The worst that can happen is to spread cheer. The best-case scenario is that you can reunite with something that was once.
Distance is a matter of perspective. Great distances feel greater when we haven’t done it before. Ancient Mariners crossing the sea. Albert the Monkey is going into space. Neil Armstrong stepping on the moon. MER on Mars. And once it’s done, it seems reasonable to do it again. In fact, it seems shorter.
Much like when Roger Banister ran the sub-four-minute mile, or Phillip Petite walked a high line between the twin towers, the mental hurdles are often just as challenging to overcome as the logistics.
Perhaps then, quiet confidence that you can do something that has never been done before is the greatest asset anyone can have. In the age of AI, I see a lot of fear. And maybe it’s time to see the quiet confidence of these new tools at our disposal again.
“I think most artists feel a lot happier discussing the process of what they do rather than what the hell it means…I know so many painters who title their works after they’ve done them, which is a real giveaway, you know.”
This David Bowie quote is a fascinating perspective. That an artist without an endpoint didn’t have an intention to start. Bowie is obviously a genius—one of one. I also slightly disagree that you sometimes don’t know what you want to say, but you have something in you that must be worked out. I think we get so wrapped up in the process that we forget the most essential thing: start. And see what happens. Not every piece of work is a masterpiece. And plenty will be disregarded, put in the trash, or stuffed in a drawer. And in chopping wood and carrying water, however, sometimes inspiration hits us like a freight train.
Wile E. Coyote sometimes thinks he can fly. Until someone (usually The Road Runner) points out he can’t. Then disaster strikes.
Confidence often works the same way. There’s magic in that moment before people burst our bubble. It turns out our culture is full of bubble poppers.
Josh Allred's Blog 