Author: Craig Constantine

What came before →

Published August 20, 2023  ·  All posts on Aug 20  ·  ,

I have several projects where there’s no end-game. (I’d argue all of my passion projects have no end-game.) The process of doing the creative work is the entire point. Do the thing, because doing the thing is some combination of “I enjoy it”, “I can rationalize the necessary parts I don’t enjoy” and “it’s making the world a better place.”

So you start. You do these trivial first actions, because they’re so stupidly easy, and then you’re working on the task. You’re inside the compound. You’re no longer trying to “get started.” Most of the resistance is gone, it’s clear enough what to do next, and it feels good to continue.

~ David Cain from, The Right Now List

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Rest. Reflect. Recalibrate. …was a wonder-filled takeaway from Trust Yourself by Melody Wilding. There was a little diagram of those three in a circle: Rest pointing to Reflect pointing to Recalibrate pointing to Rest. I am forever and ever imagining my projects as some sort of steady-state of affairs. Start the thing and then “just” do the thing. Forever. Forever? No. “What came before?” is, for me, the wrong question. How am I honestly feeling about whatever-it-is right now? That’s right. That just is. That’s how I am today. Okay, what comes next? Do I need to rest, reflect, or recalibrate?

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Resistance →

Published August 20, 2023  ·  All posts on Aug 20  ·  , ,

If you have decided that you can’t do art until you quiet the voice of resistance, you will never do art. Art is the act of doing work that matters while dancing with the voice in your head that screams for you to stop. We can befriend the lizard, lull it into stupor, or merely face it down, but it’s there, always. As soon as you embrace the lizard (not merely tolerate it but engage it as a partner in your art), then you are free.

~ Seth Godin

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19 — Running →

Published August 19, 2023  ·  All posts on Aug 19

This entry is part 28 of 46 in the series Level 52 countdown

Back home to my usual flat lollipop loop. Little lighter, little faster than last time. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Tomorrow: Bouldering at our local spot.

Growth →

Published August 19, 2023  ·  All posts on Aug 19  ·  , ,

You are under no obligation to remain the same person you were a year ago, a month ago, or even a day ago. You are here to create yourself, continuously.

~ Richard Feynman

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20 — Travel day →

Published August 18, 2023  ·  All posts on Aug 18

This entry is part 27 of 46 in the series Level 52 countdown

This is what my brain felt like after a long day of traveling. Solid workout in itself. So happy, and so lucky to have gotten this trip in! Tomorrow: Running back at home.

Make a point →

Published August 18, 2023  ·  All posts on Aug 18  ·  ,

I write because it requires me to think. There’s no particular reason why I need to publish what I write. Having targets for what to write, and on what schedule to publish it, simply keeps me accountable. I am certainly better off for having done the writing and the thinking.

Make your point, make it clear, and get out of the reader’s way.

~ Morgan Housel, from Useful Laws of the Land

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By reading what others have written, I’ve found myself standing on the shoulders of giants.

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The blast of a trumpet →

Published August 18, 2023  ·  All posts on Aug 18  ·  

Make your own bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

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21 — Walking in London →

Published August 17, 2023  ·  All posts on Aug 17

This entry is part 26 of 46 in the series Level 52 countdown

Final day before heading home. Found these two neat buildings; note the color of the glass windows on the left one. Tomorrow: A day of traveling.

Direction →

Published August 17, 2023  ·  All posts on Aug 17  ·  ,

A step backward, after making a wrong turn, is a step in the right direction.

~ Kurt Vonnegut

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22 — Tree work →

Published August 16, 2023  ·  All posts on Aug 16

This entry is part 25 of 46 in the series Level 52 countdown

This rather large tree (much too heavy for us to lift) had fallen onto the roof of this building. It took two us, and some Quadrupedal on a slippery roof to get it trimmed, properly felled, and then off the roof without any damage. Tomorrow will be more walking in London.