There is an obstacle, an opponent, holding you back. Pushing you to the ropes. Beating you to the ground. This opponent stands over you. It feels insurmountable. It feels unstoppable. And, worst of all, it feels perpetual. When you push back, it resists. When you regain footing, it pushes forward. When you break, it stands strong. It cannot be stopped. But does that matter? Get after it anyway. What reward is there for the one who […]
We will all be attacked. Physically, we have martial arts to defend ourselves. But emotionally? What do we have? How do you recover when a loved one dies? When your significant other is not the person you thought they were, how do you move on? When a failed exam or a lost job opportunity rips your career aspirations away, how do you continue? With Stoicism.
Note: After writing this post, I spent 2 weeks studying writing and another week rewriting this post. I have added a revised version of this post, but I chose to keep this first draft so you could see the improvements I made with the second draft. “Who then is invincible? The one who cannot be upset by anything outside their reasoned choice.” – Epictetus, Discourses, 1.18.21 Our thoughts control our mind, […]
I did in one month what most would take one day to do. I wanted to be a prodigy…what a step backward. In March, I reflected on and refined my learning process. I identified and corrected mistakes, I threw out wastes of time, and I added learning techniques, tactics, and strategies used by the learning experts Scott H. Young, Josh Kaufman, and Tim Ferriss. This updated process was my recipe […]
I want to be a polymath. Others want to learn something specific. I want to be able to learn many things. More specifically, I want the ability to learn anything, the ability to be prodigious at anything. I want to be a master learner. But my last learning challenge exposed the truth that I am nowhere near this dream. I wanted to learn “Mia and Sebastian’s Theme,” the most difficult […]
This is my first learning challenge, and it is my worst. I wanted to learn all the piano pieces in the Oscar-winning musical La La Land. I do not know how to play piano, and I have no teacher but myself and the internet.
Slowing Earth’s Orbit If the world stopped spinning, we’d fly sideways at 1,600km/hour and become blood smoothies. The world turns fast, evidently. That is true both literally and metaphorically. As you get older, time seems to speed up. One moment you’re writing college apps, next you’re graduating, then you’re thrown off to the real world. Work gets tougher, deadlines get shorter, and everything spins faster. The enjoyable moments decrease while […]