Life Balance

First, balance →

Published April 19  ·  All posts on Apr 19

Well, I trust that if I’ve got a night’s sleep, if possible, and have had something to eat, and have worked on the part, I can kind of just show up. It’s of course a case-by-case basis, depending on the part and the scene. But just put some attention and some good honest effort into trying to solve the puzzles of the scene and it will work out, without overly trying to inflate my condition, my inner thinking and feeling — without overly abusing myself.

~ Jeff Goldblum, from Jeff Goldblum – The Talks

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I do love that the first item on that list is sleep. But yes, absolutely, there’s magic in preparing, and then letting go of that preparation. In thinking: I’m prepared, smiling, and looking forward to this adventure.

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Conduct of life →

Published December 2, 2024  ·  All posts on Dec 2  ·  ,

Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind, and spirit. The man who preserves his selfhood ever calm and unshaken by the storms of existence—not a leaf, as it were, astir on the tree; Not a ripple upon the surface of shining pool—his, in the mind of the unlettered sage, is the ideal attitude and conduct of life.

~ Charles Eastman

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What will change your mind? →

Published August 14, 2024  ·  All posts on Aug 14  ·  ,

What are you working on? When will you change your mind? What can you learn, what can you challenge?

~ Seth Godin, from What are you thinking about? | Seth’s Blog

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As is often the case, Godin asks really good rhetorical questions. Me? In recent weeks I’ve been challenging myself to shift my focus to longer timeframes. I’ve reached a level of sophistication where—give or take—what I do on any given day does not matter; I don’t go off the rails. What I do, is get anxious about “all the things” when I get lost thinking about too many things.

Instead of hyper-focusing on the right-now, I need to zoom out. What I just accomplished moves me towards a goal. Yes, even if I just blew off some scheduled thing to go play outside; That moves my health forward energizing me for another day. And each day making some progress is just exactly the right thing to be doing.

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Separation →

Published July 9, 2024  ·  All posts on Jul 9  ·  

[O]ne of the most fundamental struggles for any leader—in business, in organizations, or in public life—stems directly from the separation that most of us feel between who we are as people and what we do as practical professionals.

~ William Isaacs

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The cake is a lie →

Published April 10, 2024  ·  All posts on Apr 10  ·  

I’ve tried everything. Lists, timers, project management systems, Pomodoro, time blocking, dashes, scheduling, time tracking… everything. It turns out: There are things I enjoy doing; they get done. There are things I don’t enjoy doing; they are a struggle. This is the way.

This lie is often called “work/life balance.” And it’s a deviously demotivating false dichotomy. A narrative designed to stigmatize work and trivialize what work is really all about. It reduces transformation to a mere transaction.

~ Cierra Martin from, «https://www.gapingvoid.com/must-we-hate-our-jobs/»

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There’s no need to struggle against my nature. It’s futile and that way lies madness. What remains is to reign in my Idea Monster. I also do not need to attempt everything I can possibly imagine that might be fun or productive. Essentialism is the middle road I steer towards more and more. This is the way.

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Experience →

Published November 10, 2023  ·  All posts on Nov 10  ·  

Experience is not what happens to you; It is what you do with what happens to you.

~ Aldous Huxley

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Prioritize →

Published October 15, 2023  ·  All posts on Oct 15  ·  

I’m struck by how, except when you’re young, you really need to prioritize in life, figuring out in what order you should divide up your time and energy. If you don’t get that sort of system set by a certain age, you’ll lack focus and your life will be out of balance.

~ Haruki Murakami

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The actual work →

Published October 8, 2023  ·  All posts on Oct 8  ·  ,

The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life.

~ Jessica Hische

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Part two →

Published October 4, 2023  ·  All posts on Oct 4  ·  

It’s time to accept that I’m definitely in part two of my life. I’m done pretending that living to 100 is realistic. (Although, I’m open to being surprised.)

Now on my Artist’s Journey I barely drive to the grocery store.

~ Steven Pressfield from, Writing Wednesdays: After the Wilderness

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The thought rattling around in my head is: What are the differences between parts one and two? And I think the central thematic difference is activity versus passivity. In part one the hero expended tremendous effort bashing their way towards the objective. In part two the hero has realized it’s time to play a supporting role.

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Able to hear myself →

Published October 3, 2023  ·  All posts on Oct 3  ·  ,

I would like to spend the rest of my days in a place so silent—and working at a pace so slow—that I would be able to hear myself living.

~ Elizabeth Gilbert

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