I’m inspired to embark on a momentous wave of artistic endeavour, personal growth (especially emotionally) and realignment of targets. Perhaps realignment is insufficient, renewal of sacred personal vows to myself perhaps?
Article Written (published in May): Five Reid Hoffman Strategies For Scaling A Business
I’ve been exposed to the insights of Napoleon Hill by a wonderfully curious mind:
- Give more than you get
- Fear of poverty, criticism, ill health, loss of love, old age, death —> all are stultifying
- Smoking breaks our ability to persevere
- Drifters have an external locus of control e.g. jobs & marriages
- Parental or schooling induced patterns of thinking can have debilitating impacts
- Non drifters = ikigai = a reason for being i.e. purpose
- Time is invaluable (compound effect), no unsolvable problem, self love, self mastery, learn from adversity, control environment, caution (plan ahead)
These have proven salient in a number of ways.
NYE shenanigans with the cousins was a prime example. The experience itself was incredibly fun, and worth it to spend quality time with loves ones, but I ended up shouldering a large percentage of the costs. Philosophically this is a premise I espouse (if you have the means to contribute more to society than others, please do) however the reality of this is happening in real time stokes ego both positively and negatively. This was a huge opportunity to cultivate greater kindness, generosity and relinquish attachment to the word “fair” being understood purely in monetary terms. Great practice.
I was fortunate be invited to perform in Karachi, Pakistan, for a friends wedding.
This was the first time I indulged in alcohol in over a year - how dangerously easy it is to revert back to old habits. My daily routine list, so carefully crafted and adhered to for the entire of 2020, was completely ignored. For this I am gifting myself no judgement. It was a joyously liberating break with an incredible mix of personalities, emotions, friendships and more.
I’ve opened up a tremendous amount in 2021. How surprising that at this age my emotional development is still so juvenile. Whether it's saying “I love you” (hurts to type this in a public forum, oh the ignominy, doing it anyway which is progress) or having conversations around sexual health and the future. I suspect some of these blockages are down to a combination of fear of criticism; loss aversion; as well as old patterns of thinking (maybe passed down) which I rarely interrogate.
These are just three examples, there are plenty more.
Some highlights from the month worth a mention include being able to spend time water skiing, running again (feels good after recovering from injury), swimming and the bar muscle-up coming to fruition. The handstand is starting to pop too. I played some of my own PAPA tunes at the wedding but forgot some of the classic tracks I already know how to play (like Stevie Wonder!) - dear lord what in the heavens is all this practice for? Oy vey!
I am hoping to lean on my cousin/brother Leon in February to team up on the Wim Hof breathwork I usually try to do daily, but struggle to, as that was a little weak throughout the month.
A final little idea is to enlist the guidance of coaches for each section, and get a report card at the end of the month. Intuitively that feels like a positive step in terms of greater accountability. Especially now that I know I can actually do a year and stay consistent! There will be huge focus on the mental aspect of this endeavour going forward too: writing, teaching, coding, and languages will be enough to stay busy.
