I said the following words today and realized I had to post them here: Chasing shiny objects means you’re running away from what you value. For background, I describe passing fancies in my book Initiative: Passing fancies are things we enjoy in the moment but don’t bring long-term emotional reward. Since everyone’s values differ, your passing fancies will differ from mine. Our world is full of passing fancies like social[…] Keep reading →

This morning’s calisthenics involved four sets of burpees. I noticed a funny thought as I started the third set. I had barely done a tenth of a burpee in that third set when I thought, “Only one set left.” That’s an odd thought. Since I had barely started the third set, I had closer to two sets left. Why did I think I had one set left when I actually[…] Keep reading →

A recent article on artificial intelligence in the New Yorker wrote about how people who are suffering from loneliness are finding help from artificial intelligence. Some people can’t help loneliness, not out of character defect but circumstance. It gets the reader thinking about the elderly, for example, who outlive everyone they’ve been close to, or it describes as worse, if those who remain are senile. Sorry to give away the[…] Keep reading →

I walked past what was once likely a planter bed filled with lovely flowers or maybe a tree. I presume it was something nice because someone installed a plaque that began “In loving memory of.” Instead of flowers, a tree, or anything lovely or nice, the bed was filled with garbage. I’ve passed it before and seen it filled with garbage. It’s nice to think that environmental problems haven’t hit[…] Keep reading →

I’ve written before that if you do something that kills people and you don’t want to kill people, you have to stop doing that thing, even if you like it. That sentence seems about as matter of fact as you can get. It’s not designed to make anyone feel guilty. That polluting and depleting kill people isn’t an open question. We all pollute and deplete. Come to think of it,[…] Keep reading →

I don’t know what it’s like where you are, but in New York, people talk about psychedelic drugs a lot. Everyone is talking about microdosing (probably not as much as in California), going to shamans in Peru for ayahuasca, and so on. People describe the value of the experiences as life changing. I’m prompted by a recent New Yorker piece This Is Your Priest on Drugs: Dozens of religious leaders[…] Keep reading →

I meditate first thing in the morning every day. I’ve experimented with apps, but found them distracting. I joke that the countdown timer on my phone is my app, set to 33 minutes. I start the timer, then sit down and meditate until it goes off. Why 33 minutes? I ramped up over time and that’s where I’ve reached. I can usually tell around when the time is nearly up.[…] Keep reading →

I hope I don’t start a habit of posting references to articles, but it’s hard not to share ones that say “In the next 30 years, we’ll make four times more plastic waste than we ever have.” That headline came from science.org, which referred to a journal article, Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made, from Science Advances. We’re drowning in plastic. It doesn’t break down on human[…] Keep reading →

People constantly cite BP’s promoting personal footprints as a distraction. Nearly everyone who cites it acts like a know-it-all so I find them annoying. The main reason I find them annoying is they use it to justify themselves buying more of what BP sells. I wish more people understood how their minds rationalize and justify, but I’ll write about that topic in another post. Today I want to point out[…] Keep reading →