What’s remarkable is thinking about all the rules and laws we subscribe to without a single course on what they are. The tax code is the same. This idea that we need an expert to navigate these minefields is a bit boggling when you think about it. Humans have survived for most of history without such rules and regulations. Perhaps some is needed. But maybe we have lost something in the translation of complex systems into what they do to our everyday lives. Humans first. Not systems. While systems are essential, complexity is no substitute for community and culture. In fact, complexity becomes the perfect excuse to hide.
Everything feels risky. A risk manager will always find something unsafe. Even bubble wrap can be a choking hazard. So the key then is to identify it. Talk about it. Verbalize with someone. See if they see what you see. Next, we need to mitigate it. The temptation is to wait until the risk is gone. But that just isn’t possible. So we must decide how much risk I am willing to tolerate.
In climbing, we all need the reminder that if you relax, you won’t fall. The more tense we get, the quicker we are to pump out.
The only reassurance we need is the quiet kind. The one we whisper to ourselves.
Culture is what enables everything we do.
We also need infrastructure to organize.
Infrastructure without culture, however, turns into the bureaucracy.
And for most of the time, it is. How we treat ourselves each day makes that number more daunting. Part of the anxiety we feel comes from nostalgia. We yearn for a time that is gone—a time with less responsibility, where we could live. I will say the biggest hack to feeling younger is treating your body as such. Stay active. Eat well. Invest in your mental health.
Defeat isn’t a moment. It sometimes looms for years—even decades. And to rebuild after a defeat can be daunting.
Defeat is a process that we should better recognizea a long road. But the good news is, the holes are not so deep that you can’t get out of them.
I’ve been drawn to this idea lately and have been thinking about whether we are a defeated people who don’t recognize it.
The funny thing about security, happiness, joy, comfort, safety, and so on is that they may require a certain amount of money to achieve. But it doesn’t need millions of dollars either. The best times of my life were when I was most broke. And that certainly isn’t the case with children in the mix. However, the best memories didn’t require spending money either.
It’s worth taking note: why do I need more money at the moment? Is it to save for a house or new wardrobe or a vacation? All fine pursuits. But is it to make you happier? That’s really the million dollar question.
Important decisions can be a good thing. Maybe a new job that takes you to a new city. Starting a relationship or moving in with someone. And when “weighing” options, we tend to think in terms of pros and cons. Which has more weight? Perhaps we should ask instead, ‘How will one make me feel?’ Will this bring me dignity? Is it the responsible decision? Is this part of the arc you are building?
Analysis will help us do things better.
But better may not be the goal.
Enjoying the process might be precisely what the doctor ordered.
Our narrative can become so biased that hearing an outside perspective shifts our outlook. Because it is so contradictory to what we constantly say to ourselves (”I’m not good enough”).
For instance, someone applying for jobs can feel like a reject after receiving rejection letter after rejection letter. That doesn’t mean you are the reject. They are rejecting your process or your pitch.
We often conflate the two: the narrative and the reality.
Josh Allred's Blog 