Repetition & Cessation
I’m not the best podcaster in the world, but I’ve produced nearly 250 episodes of one show and about 85 of another over the past four-ish years.
I’m not the best writer in the world, but I’ve published a few dozen books, penned a blog for eleven years, and engaged in a variety of other writing-focused projects over the course of the past decade.
There’s something to be said for the pursuit of mastery, but there’s also something to be said for repetition, consistency, and just showing up, over and over and over again, across a span of time.
Most ideal, of course, is engaging in intentional practice, setting goals, learning from mistakes, and nudging ourselves ever-so-much-closer to more masterful performance, daily.
But the “daily” component is important in its own right. Habit and persistence are valuable in isolation, in addition to being arguably necessary for the pursuit of higher levels of skill and achievement.
Also important, though, is the capacity to stop when warranted.
It’s valuable to be able to habitualize elements of skills you want to learn, but it’s also valuable to be able to set aside habits when they’re no longer serving you, and to know the difference between “this is difficult, so I don’t want to do it anymore” and “this is no longer useful to me and I’d like to reallocate my time and energy to something else.”
Facing frictions is part of the learning process: if everything is easy, you’re probably not growing.
There are times where those frictions simply aren’t worth the gains they might bring, though, and being able to recognize those moments for what they are, and being able to cleanly segue from one set of habits and routines to another, is an exercise in self-discipline, self-analysis, and emotional management. It’s not always psychologically simple to leave familiar patterns behind in the pursuit of other, less-developed and less-comfortable patterns, but it’s vital to growth and fulfillment.
It’s not just important to be able to run—it’s important to know how to stop, perhaps suddenly, without injuring yourself.
It’s not just important to be able to establish and maintain habits—it’s important to know when it’s time to rearrange or replace those habits, how to best do so, and how to figure out what comes next.
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If you found some value in this essay, consider supporting my work by buying me a coffee.
Five years ago I was living in Boracay, in the Philippines.
Projects
This week on Brain Lenses I published an essay about Solipsism and a podcast episode about Phenology.
This week’s episode of Let’s Know Things is about EV Skateboard Platforms.
Interesting & Useful
Some neat things:
Bongo Cat(this makes me so happy)
2.5 Gigapixel Image of the Orion Constellation(and here’s how it was made)
A New Map of All the Particles and Forces(useful visual)
12 Sunsets(unique way of displaying archival photography of an area)
The Bible in Alphabetical Order(strangely compelling concept)
Free Africanfuturism Anthology(looking forward to reading this)
The Map(short documentary about the design of the NYC subway map)
For more interesting things of this kind, pop over to Curiosity Gadget.
Six years ago I was traveling around North America, and I spent a little time in Toronto.
Outro
First: if you’re in the US (or another election-season location), please vote.
Civil engagement isn’t always popular or cool or convenient, but it’s vital to ideals that many of us hold dear but often only support in theory rather than in practice.
Voting is a very practical way to support the concept of rule by the people, even if it’s wildly imperfect in its application.
Here’s a resource for US voters, if you’re uncertain of how to actually vote in practice.
Second: I had a lot of people ask how I was doing post-surgery after not mentioning anything about it in the last newsletter.
I’m doing great, all things considered, thanks! I had an interesting time figuring out how to record audio after having a titanium screw drilled into my jaw, but I’ve got that sorted, now, and was able to keep up my usual publishing schedule without too much additional hassle. And I’m feeling alright, healing up fine, and in the very fortunate position of working from home, and thus being able to take it relatively easy.
Third: it’s almost 2021 and I feel like we should all get a mulligan on the year after everything that’s happened.
What’re you up to these last few months of 2020? Learn anything interesting, recently? How’re you spending your time these days?
How does the world look from your perspective at the moment?
I read and respond to every email I receive, so consider sending me a message and telling me about yourself, what you’ve been up to, and how life looks and feels right now.
If things are not great and you feel like you’re underwater and everything sucks: you’re not alone, you’re not failing, and I’m very sorry you’re going through what you’re going through. I’m here if you want to vent to a stranger from the internet.
Either way, keep doing the best you can regardless of the outcome. I’m cheering for you and sending e-hugs from here in mid-Missouri.
You can reach me by responding directly to this newsletter or via colin@exilelifestyle.com
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I’m also available via the usual social mechanisms: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and battery-draining messaging apps.
If you’re finding some value in what I’m doing here, consider supporting my work by becoming a patron of my writing or Let’s Know Things, buying one of my books, or subscribing to Brain Lenses. You can also keep it simple and buy me a coffee.