Month: December 2024

The first hunter-gatherers worked hard to perfect the craft. Then, humans developed traps and better tools—with some innovation and domain knowledge that was passed down, opening the door for less physical and emotional labor.

The same happened with farming and industrialism. Over thousands of years, we have invented ways to substitute physical labor for emotional labor. In this modern age, we are seeing the cracks and limits of this decision.

So, we invented AI to manage this. But many worry what does this mean for humans now?

When work is no longer physical or intellectual, what then do we use to define it?

The reason why AI is so useful for writing an email AND why we are so happy to allow it…

It’s because AI is good at replacing mediocre work.

AI can write a mediocre book but not exceptional. Not yet at least.

And so little by little, AI writes an email or puts together a business plan or writes out an itinerary for a trip…that’s just good enough.

We can no longer just work in a sphere of good enough. Soon, that work will be obsolete.

Resilient people can have a really bad blind spot:

They have so much belief in their abilities, to navigate hardship, they don’t see quitting as an option.

Persistenting is a valuable skill.

Learning when to quit, however, needs to be developed as well.

When you play a board game with a six year old, you don’t play to win. You play to simply play.

Rock climbing is similar. Every new climber gets enamoured by chasing grades or projects. But in the end, you play to play.

A hyper capitalistic society has taught us that winning is everything. Its a “dog eat dog” world. “Only the strongest survive!”

What we can do is be upfront what kind of game is this you are playing? Infinite or finite? For fun or for money?

When we struggle to figure out how to move forward, we often default to what we know best.

We avoid what is unfamiliar, uncertain, or unknown and what is untested or unproven.

Perhaps we should double down on what we do best. But things are likely so stagnant because we are not engaging in the work of Resistance.

Art is a series of choices.

And what stops us from being an artist is we struggle to make those choices.

Took often, we allow someone else to make them for us.

Driving down the road without paying attention and narrowly avoiding an accident should make us stop texting and driving. Consequences, indeed, shake us into compliance and can change behavior.

The unfortunate thing about change is that we rarely do something radical without something radical happening to us. Perhaps the thing we must understand about ourselves is then why it is so hard to break the habit of complacency. Where have we become so used to driving without thinking?

Most neighborhoods (whether intentionally or not) are designed to isolate us. We have to commute to most jobs, fences draw the lines, Amazon and DoorDash eliminate the need for grocery shopping, Zoom allows us to skip seeing our coworkers, and many simply don’t engage in civic duties outside of presidential elections.

There’s less and less reason to talk to your neighbors.

When we don’t engage in the community, we feel less of a need to be part of it, which further isolates us.

When the community fails, community problems also fall by the wayside. We become complacent in trying to keep up with the pace of the digital world; we assume the basics should work properly, like institutions and ideals (such as democracy). And then, it fails. (Slowly then suddenly.)

This means someone else must come in to solve our problems—something larger, less personal, and more disconnected—someone who doesn’t know how things are done around here. And rarely, does that mean we are happier with the results.

A new study suggests that venting doesn’t reduce anger. Instead, it is calming activities such as meditation.

This makes sense when you consider your own personal experiences. So the question is, why do we vent, then?

We think venting makes us feel seen, but venting doesn’t change our circumstances. I suspect that most venting sessions are for us to work out how we feel, which means we are venting for the wrong reasons most of the time.

The things that people are willing to knock on your door for, give you a call, or pay to see you—are the problems you are good at solving.

Sometimes, we can think, “I’m not a good problem solver.” We don’t say, “I’m good at solving a particular problem.”

Remember…

The chef who caters to the holiday meal, the mechanic who changes the oil, and the Amazon driver who delivers packages are also skilled at solving problems.

We are all in the problem-solving business.