Month: November 2024

From an outsider’s perspective, we can look at someone going through a hard time and think, “What are they waiting for?” The thing is, most of us know what we are going to do when faced with a difficult decision. Often, we delay making the decision, hoping things will change. What we are waiting for isn’t more data or circumstances to change. We are waiting to get more comfortable with the uncomfortable path ahead.

We should feel responsible for our decisions. However, the more accountable you feel, the worse you feel when you make a mistake. The inverse is also true. It’s a seesaw. The thing to think about is how much control does one give in order to feel better about themselves?

Triggers and cycles are important understand. There are good triggers that get you out of bed or on the treadmill. And there are less than desirable triggers like a doom scrolling addiction.

All of these triggers lead to an action. So when we are sitting down getting ready to do our best work, we can find the triggers that lead us to something productive. We can put the phone away before we sit down. We can put a record on that inspires us.

Find the triggers that send you to the places that you want to go.

The idea here is not to give up. It’s not over.

When the book is rejected, write another.

When the career doesn’t work, find another.

The scale of the problem can become so overburdening that it can cause us to shrink. “I am just one person; what can I do?”

To this, I say, grab a shovel. Get to work. Find something somewhere to contribute.

In a world that continues to become more complex, sometimes the answer to the problem isn’t to simplify it but to close the gap in understanding. That systemic problems are not individual. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t responsible for doing better.

It’s incredible how much better we would feel if we could only contribute. If you are worried that democracy is failing, join a movement, donate a few bucks, volunteer, and go to sleep knowing you are doing your part.

Spending time worrying about the problem never solves it.

When Taylor Hawkins suddenly passed, that was the end of Foo Fighters as we knew it. Of course, they added Josh Freeze to step in and try to fill the shoes of Hawkins. The band continues on in a new way.

Separate from that, you had NOFX play their last show on October 6 this year. They knew the day had come that it was time to retire after a 40-year run.

The point is, we never know when the last time we will do something is. The last day of high school is a known thing. But the last live show? Maybe that is uncertain. And perhaps you won’t get there.

We don’t always get to choose to say goodbye. Therefore, it is a privilege. We focus on so much of the negative aspects of getting older, but we don’t see how lucky we are to be in a spot like that.

In a society that prides itself on economic growth, it becomes natural to ask what you do to contribute to this.

The thing is, most of us have a job that we don’t actually take pride in. It’s a means to pay bills and sustain this standard of living. There is no pride in working on Monday, like when your team takes the field on Sunday.

We then elevate these jobs by discussing social capital or taking pride in what your paycheck can purchase. But for many, we become even embarrassed to talk about what we do because it provides no status in money or making a difference. These are most jobs, however. Because no one grows up saying I will be a bank teller. You become one because one decision led to another, and the opportunity sprung. This only further pigeonholes us to be creative in what we do.

Worst, it is reported that many workers are only productive for less than three hours a day. This means over a 40-hour standard work week, you are spending your time pretending to work. Making it even harder to find that meaning we all seek.

People want to make a difference. People want to fill needed. A job in a capitalist society doesn’t provide anything more than a punch clock. What we “do” has to evolve further than where we sit between the hours of 9 and 5.

Most forget that selling out was a big deal in the 1990s. Punk had become radio-friendly. It had perhaps never been easier for any band to sell out under the guise of the next Nirvana. Here’s a contract to sign for anyone who could play three cords.

I have always admired how the legendary punk band Fugazi handled their business. Selling tickets for five bucks. Turning down major headline festivals. Not signing the million-dollar contract.

Fugazi simply chose what kind of band they wanted to be instead of letting the market dictate. They could have made a more poppy record, but we probably wouldn’t remember them. At least not in the way we see them today. Because the metric they chose to care about wasn’t money or fame. They decided to make a difference in their music.

What you are aiming for will change the direction to go.

Only when you are emotionally or physically overwhelmed will you understand your limits.

The limit, it turns out, is usually much further than we realize.

When we think we can’t possibly take another step, but then we do. Or thinking that I can’t go on, yet the next day comes, and you get out of bed. Feeling like you can’t go to work one more day, and then you do.

When faced with adversity, we often choose to keep going. We just don’t give the credit where credit is due.

The past is easy to look back on and learn from because “knowing what I know now ” But it can also make us sure in the present, too.

However…

Looking into the future, we only operate in ambiguity. A space reserved with our imagination.

This drives us crazy because we are so anchored in certainty.

It’s why we stay at a lousy job longer than we should–we know what we are in for.

Only when we move to this space of risk, uncertainty, and exposure do we get to look back at the choices we made through the eyes of “knowing what I know now.”

…

Going forward, the question we get to ask is, “What will I learn then?”