Without a mirror, it’s impossible to see ourselves. (Okay, yes, we have cameras, and modern technology, but work with me here for a minute). Whether or not you have breakfast in your teeth, if your hair got messed up after your nap, or if it’s apparent that you literally rolled […]
Category: resilience
Approval
It’s tempting to want to get picked. After all, it’s a great feeling as someone is articulating their desire for you, your skills, your talents, your value. I’m not above this desire. Who doesn’t want to be chosen? But at the end of the day, the best thing we can […]
Limits to the Hiring Process
When reviewing candidates for a job position that got an overwhelming amount of applications, I realized how many rad people there are in the world. It makes me a bit sad that there’s only one position for so many amazing individuals, and this process has also helped me realize there […]
Hiding in Excellence
It can be tempting to continue to do what you’re excellent at – after all, our society generally ties excellence to value. Starting something new, unlearning old behaviors, or developing a new skill can especially be frightening because it’s likely we will not be excellent at it. But it’s easy […]
Chronomancer
If I had magic, I would definitely speed up time while doing tasks I didn’t like, and slow down or even freeze time when I was behind on work, or if I wanted to take a vacation in the middle of a tense situation. But since magic doesn’t exist in […]
Leaning Into Selfishness
It’s okay to do things for selfish reasons, especially if it also helps other people out. I donated $50 towards an organization that is raising money for suicide prevention advocacy mainly because it bought me raffle entries for rare vinyl toys that I want. It might not be the most […]
Fatigued
When we’re exhausted, it’s easy to want to give things up. And honestly, we probably should. It’s unsustainable to continue on things forever, especially if they’re sunk costs holding you back rather than things that give you joy. However, even when fatigued, there are probably things we shouldn’t be willing […]
Clairvoyance
We’d like to think that we were clairvoyant, and able to see the future before it happens. After all, who doesn’t love certainty? But at the end of the day, all we can do is maximize the amount of information and make better predictions. Certainty is an illusion, and the […]
The Cost of a Goal
When thinking about goals, we usually focus on the outcome that we’re looking for. We focus on shaping the goalposts in our mind, and perhaps even trying to visualize us in the champion’s circle. However, everything comes with a price, even if you can’t see it. To meet your goal, […]
Personal Record
Last night, I set a new personal record in Skee-Ball. The interesting thing about a personal record is that at its core it is completely devoid of any external comparison. Sure, you can make it about who has the highest personal record, but external comparison is something you can always […]