Something I’ve noticed… No matter how “life changing” something is supposed to be, the best case scenario is that it makes a small, marginal difference in the right direction.
I think when we hype things up, we tend to be disappointed when it didn’t completely change things. But I think we can shift our perspective and notice how the small changes add up over time.
There are so many things I've learned over the past couple of years, particularly from playing chess, reading LOTR, going to an Alpha course, listening to more health podcasts, and spending time in deep discussions with mentors and close friends.
Maybe at some point I'll go into detail about each of those, but for now, here are some simple mentalities and practices that have made marginal differences for me.
- Be known as someone who’s willing to learn, not someone who is smart or right
- Go slow, don’t rush
- In music, “stay behind the beat” - rushing is the first sign of musical immaturity
- In chess and strategy, “make slow, developing moves” - this is often better than trying to play a counter gambit, and it’s better for your own learning in the long term.
- Don’t ever let yourself be in a hurry
- There’s a time and a place for everything, but try to reserve hurry for truly urgent situations
- Spend 20 minutes in the sun at the beginning of the day
- Stop “holding on for the next Rivendell” and find meaning in the dark part of the journey
- Ruthlessly search for points of agreement when you’re arguing or debating with someone
- Love only feels genuine when you are known. LISTEN.
- Think of your mental or emotional struggle like it's a fictional story, write the metaphorical solution, and transpose it back to a logical solution IRL
- TODO: take a 20-60 minute nap at least 3 times a week
- TODO: spend the first 20 minutes of your day in the sun
- TODO: spend 5 minutes per day with your bare feet in the grass