Don't Like It? Get Better.
Week 64: Why We Tell Stories of Monsters
Preamble
Firstly, I’d like to thank everyone who shared last week’s newsletter, I truly appreciate it. I also appreciate those who reached out with thoughts, ideas, and feedback. It’s invaluable to me and I deeply appreciate you reading and sharing your thoughts.
Philosophical Dad Stuff
I used to scour the interwebs; searching for direction, seeking to optimize, and outsourcing a lot of deep thinking.
I’d ask questions like this:
What should I do with my life?
How can I advance in my career?
How much should I save for retirement by age milestone?
What are 50 places I should see before I die?
What foods help us live longer, sleep better, run faster, jump higher and have better sex? All at the same time preferably? You know….for a friend.
I used to fill entire memory sticks full of the thoughts, aspirations, hopes and dreams of other people.
I told myself I was collecting information for when it would be useful, like digital hoarding or something.
Over the years, I’ve realized one or two things. One of which is that very few things in life are actually prescriptive.
In reality, the best plan is the one you actually do.
The best diet is one you actually follow. The best workout plan is the one you actually do. The best financial plan is the one you actually stick to, and so on.
I recently remembered these old archives and have been reading through them.
Now being years older and hopefully wiser, it felt like a time capsule sent to my future self, sent to a time and place when I could actually use this knowledge instead of bragging about my digital document collection like it mattered for something.
Potential energy is not the same as kinetic energy.
That being said, there were items on my old daily lists that are no longer suitable these days.
Not because they’re no longer important, but rather because those behaviors are now so ingrained there’s no reason to track them; they’re as natural as breathing.
Most of those advances were in circumscribing harmful passions, building essential disciplines, and creating superior habits.
Looking back at what went into the struggle for this progress was massively cathartic.
Lao Tzu once said “To conquer others is strong, to conquer yourself is mighty.”
It actually got me fired up. It got me feeling more confident. It got me feeling…mighty.
And it reminded me that we don’t tell our kids stories of monsters to frighten them, we tell them such stories because they involve a hero or heroine who shows us monsters can be defeated.
Live triumphantly. See you next week.
P.S. One of my other goals is to grow this newsletter. If this writing resonates with you, please share it with someone cool.