In constant revolt, we take on new challenges that others can’t see or are too preoccupied to try.
The mother of invention is necessity, with the brave and curious making that tiny start.
The endeavor to do is to learn, not just about ourselves but how we can influence other people.
Fight predictability and slothfulness. Chase life all the way to the edge.
Uncertainty is where all the good stuff happens.
We never stop, continuing a streak of a thousand days.
Each day, rain or shine, we either pop with energy or force it.
Consistency is not neutral.
The exactitude of life requires a sense of urgency. And the daily routine is his space to be creative and thoughtful.
How one navigates the tension between doing and knowing is less important than showing up and doing the work.
The only schedule worth keeping is one that begs for us to do it all over again tomorrow.
One of the greatest myths of our time is that silence is golden. But complete silence will keep you from working effectively. It may even put you to sleep.
J. K. Rowling left the solitude of her own home to write the Harry Potter series in a coffee shop amid the cacophony of people chatting over grinding espresso machines.
The noisy environment inspired her to get to work. Studies show that just enough sound creates an ambient environment conducive to working by drowning out any other unpredictable racket in the background.
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Studies also show that learning to play an instrument makes it easier for children to learn how to read. Additionally, the “Mozart Effect” is said to improve concentration and study habits. Surgeons often use popular music during operations to relax both the patient and themselves. Muzak takes the awkward silence out of the elevator.
The right type of noise is critical to working effectively. In fact, many CEOs expect disruptions in the form of email and calls to ensure the business is actively operating. Silence is the antithesis of productivity.
In order to stay motivated and remain productive, we need perpetual sound rather than peace and quiet. Sound is productive. Rather, it is the silence between the notes that can be the most disruptive.
I know that I stopped thinking about extreme grief as the sole vehicle for great art when the grief started to take people with it. And I get it. The tortured artist is the artist that gets remembered for all time, particularly if they if they either perish or overcome. But the truth is that so many of us are stuck in the middle. So many of us begin tortured and end tortured, with only brief bursts of light in between, and I’d rather have average art and survival than miracles that come at the cost of someone’s life.
Hanif Abdurraqib, They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us
We need a certain level of functioning optimism to operate in a world of zero guarantees.
Past results never assure future returns; all that we have is playing the lottery of luck.
We’d all like a map, so we don’t feel lost in the myriad of life.
But the uncertainty keeps us alive. And a life well-lived is that which doesn’t become stale. Vitality is fragility.
The specialness of life affirms life if we can prevent myopia from sneaking into our thinking.
All we are asking for is a chance to be in the driver’s seat.
Attention works like a loose gate. We can’t always control what information sneaks in, nor can we parse the data so it makes sense coming out.
We grind away at the information life throws at us, some of it tangible and worthwhile but most it nonsense.
Like a Google search, the stuff worth keeping is like finding a needle in a haystack. When we discover something of value, it sticks. We share the knowledge with others, recasting it as our own.
Yet, our minds remain terrible aggregators. Who’s in charge, the thinker or the thought?
It’s impossible to unhear and unsee things — conversations, teacher’s lessons, tweets — without getting sucked into the commercialization of attention. The public sphere promotes mindless chatter, so rationalization sinks to the bottom.
The race to become synchronized with the mainstream prevents the interrogation of ideas. The noisy flood of information buffers thought until finally, the chaos settles to the bottom. And pieces of clarity return, unstuck from the confident idiots.