Ancient Wisdom for a Modern World
I started Taoism month with the intent of contrasting productivity culture with the Taoist principle of wu-wei, or non-action. However, I’m finding the concept has utility even beyond the world of work. Emotional non-action Last week I learned that I will not be attending grad school in the fall. It was disappointing, and my
RSS URL Direct Download Link Who is Scott Young? Scott Young is an entrepreneur and writer who is an expert on Ultralearning, a method for acquiring difficult skills rapidly and effectively. While we talk a great deal about his recently published book Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career, Scott has
I recently finished Cal’s latest book, Digital Minimalism, and was thoroughly impressed by his core insight: we are mindlessly ceding our autonomy and personhood to technology. While everyone understands, and agrees that Facebook, Reddit, and Instagram are distractions, most people severely underestimate the damage these tools are doing to the core elements of self-hood. His
I only have eight ice baths to take for my month of Stoicism. They have not gotten easier or harder after the first week. There are some minor variations in water temperature, but overall I’ve gotten used to them. I know what to expect, and I could probably continue them indefinitely. Though there are probably
My goal for my Judaism month was to discover why Judaism fosters such a strong sense of community, despite being the religion of a very small minority of the global population. It was a fascinating month, and it made me wonder how secular, non-Jewish people could purposely find a community to join or cultivate one. So, of
Yesterday, I went to a Bikram Yoga class, which is a 90-minute yoga session conducted in a 104 degree room. I didn’t intend to go to Bikram yoga during my Hinduism month. I would have preferred to go to a regular yoga class, however, this particularly yoga studio had the best Groupon. Being the cost
Over the past year I’ve become a fan of the Mr. Money Mustache blog. Mr. Money Mustache (not his real name) is a former engineer who retired at age 30. He didn’t win the lottery or sell a company for billions of dollars. He simple lived far below his means, invested in index funds, and
Though I’m sure I will get a strong reaction from some of you, I have to admit something: I like country music. I used to hate it, but then a friend of mine would constantly play it on his radio and over time, the genre grew on me. I was listening to the radio the
A few months ago I read the excellent book Shopcraft as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work. The author, Matthew Crawford, examines the nature of work, what it can teach us, and why the crafts (loosely defined as manual trades) are significantly more satisfying and enriching than the typical office job. I decided
I took my final ice bath and completed my Stoicism month yesterday. There were no balloons or anything, but I celebrated the occasion quietly in my mind. I think Seneca would approve. Did my month of ice baths and negative visualization help me achieve tranquility and greater appreciation for the present? It’s hard to say.