3 Insights
“Adversity often leads people to depend more on one another” – Sebastian Junger, Tribe
“Arete is the way that you do stuff. It’s the quality of your action in the present moment. Arete is a process. It’s translated as virtue, but that’s a bad translation. It would be better to translate it more broadly as just kind of do your best, or excellence of character” – Donald Robertson
“Act boldly but prudently… Like love, courage is no joking matter…The mind is bolder than the body.” – Baltasar Gracian, The Art of Worldly Wisdom
What I Learned This Week
Death, whether we like it or not, is a part of life. The first time I remember experiencing death was when a classmate a year older than me died in college of pancreatic cancer.
It is estimated that around 73 million children in the US are under the age of 18.
An estimated 6.3 million U.S. children will likely experience the death of a parent or sibling by age 18. It is rare and unbelievably sad when a parent must bury a child.
As recent as 2022, about 1,089 children in the U.S. became newly bereaved each day, totaling nearly 400,000 children for the year. No one is promised another day. It can be hard to really live in the moment. Our lives, whether we like it or not, become a sum of our choices.
Are we living today or merely existing? I try to remember how important it is to honor my ancestors and those who came before me.
Obsession with Optimization
Too often today there is an infatuation with optimizing every part of our lives. Ancient wisdom would tell us the key to a good life is not more, but less. Add depth to your life by eliminating distractions, distancing yourself from drama, and removing anyone or anything that is toxic. Poison can come in all shapes and sizes.
Our bodies are meant for movement. Explorers that landed in America in the 17th and 18th centuries moved 2,800 miles on foot, on horseback, and by boat.
Lewis and Clark left St. Louis in May of 1804 and arrived in the Pacific Northwest 18 months later in November of 1805.
They learned the basics of navigation and survival. They did not overprepare or overanalyze their route. They explored. They used their instincts. They adapted to the situation at hand.
Imagine the last time you encountered an unknown person, place or even project.
Were you a master of the basic skills to survive? Imagine any dad that never held a baby until his first born was in his arms. It can be a moment of uncertainty, a moment of fear, and a moment of joy all in one.
When you face an unknown in your life, do you feel like you have an understanding of the basics? Too often today we are optimizing for maximum results when we have failed to put in the work with the minimum consistency.
In order to appreciate and understand life, we must learn to appreciate and understand death. The contrast of life outside of work is necessary to balance what we give to our work. You cannot let one over take you. Just like you cannot focus on optimizing your life with the chance that you will simply miss living it.
“Always having what we want
May not be the best good fortune.
Health seems sweetest
after sickness, food
In hunger, goodness
In the wake of evil, and at the end
Of daylong labor sleep.” – Heraclitus, Fragments
Reflections
Do you know the difference between mastering the basics and the vain pursuit of optimization? What are you doing to show up better today than you did yesterday?
The Real Con 130