Josh Allred's Blog

The more attached we become to specific outcomes, the higher our expectations becomes. This is why expectations are the killer of joy. The answer to this is to not be attached to anything. But that, of course, is not possible. A parent becomes attached to a child at birth. And that is why when that bond breaks, it hurts. The stronger that bond, the harder it hurts.

So, do we live a life of attachment or not?

This is what I’ll say: Learning to accept things as they are, when to let go is an incredible skill to hone in this life.

Before the Renaissance, it was understood that genius was a separate Muse that came to us.

So when the art was good, the genius was acknowledged as part of the work. You didn’t get full credit, but you also didn’t have to be ashamed of the work falling short.

But that has all changed now.

And we don’t give credit for inspiration in a world where everyone is branded.

The problem in a hyper-charged individualistic culture is that we are not very good at acknowledging others when we are focused on our own journey of self-actualization. The line then we can draw is somewhere between the space of the individual and the group.

No one goes through adversity thinking, “Wow, I would sure like to repeat that again.”

Yet, the lessons learn can carry throughout your life.

What’s difficult then is to not make things a big deal every time something “bad” happens. We just don’t know what’s good or bad for us. What will be learned. What course correction it makes.

What we can count on is that humans are adverse to change. We can’t stand it. And change is the constant.

We get so wrapped up in our own stories and narratives that we forget that others have felt the same way we do.

Everyone has felt loss, grief, loneliness, dissatisfaction, disappointment, depression, sadness, anxiety, pain, suffering…

You are not alone. The bravest thing we can do is to acknowledge this fact.

What we find detestable is what we define as less than human.

The culture pushes us to optimize everything.

As a result, we become aware of how we “spend” our time.

Leisure is no longer leisure.

If our brains are always turned on, then it becomes wrong to ever turn them off, which has a negative effect on us.

It is important to know who you are talking to and have someone in mind who will pick up your piece.

Writing might still be one of the hardest skills anyone who teaches needs to hone, even in the digital AI sphere.

Once we clarify our words and ideas, we can put them into action for others to see.

You are more than a resume. A resume is a tool for interviewers to sort out candidates, an excuse to point out what’s missing, not what’s there.

Instead, we need to point to a large body of work—a lifetime of projects or portfolio showing the work you do.

I finally had time to organize all my projects under one roof, and I was also surprised to have forgotten some of the hits along the way. It’s a good reminder of what you have accomplished and a signal of what you are doing next.

7 years of projects (and counting):

Meet Josh Allred

The difficulty in being content is with the constant bombardment of seeing more.

More clicks, more likes, more money, more experiences…

Once we achieve so much convenience, we become conditioned to think faster and more is better.

What’s left isn’t the next buy but what we create.

While capitalism is built on scsrcity, what isnt scarce is in what you create.

The combinations of keystrokes is indeed endless.

It’s impossible for humans to focus on two separate thoughts at the same time. We can switch between them quite rapidly but cannot hold them simultaneously.

We can also use this to our advantage. Perhaps the best tip I have ever heard on sleeping is to put on something that can occupy that space of thought while trying to sleep or when you wake up in the middle of the night.

Some people will put on old television show episodes, but for me, the best thing has been listening to audiobooks by Pema Chodron. If you have a partner you don’t want to wake, use headphones and have it cued up before going to bed.

Remember, there’s no button to force sleep. You can’t control it or turn it on. You must perform it by “faking it until you make it.” It’s an act of surrender. Looking at the time, looking at the screen, stressing about the process, or worrying about how little you are getting…all make it worse. Sleep is truly the practice of letting go. This is a very difficult lesson for all of us.