Marcel Proust, author of “In Search of Lost Time,” experienced multiple bouts of depression and debilitating illness. He spent a majority of his life reading books, aimlessly moving about society, and trying to find his life’s task. Later, he found some meaning translating the work of John Ruskin into French, and later still he would go on to write a book, “In Search of Lost Time,” which essentially accounts for his life and lessons learned in “wasting” time. “In Search of Lost Time” became one of his most famous works and was published in 7 volumes. Marcel didn’t realize it until later, but studying and writing about our society and the art of living were his life’s tasks, and doing the work of writing and studying brought him out of his deepest holes. What’s the lesson?Reflecting on Proust, I asked myself the question, “Can having a sense of responsibility to ourselves hack depression? Can it take us out of our deepest slumps?” Perhaps it can.Perhaps it can because what if owning a responsibility was a major component of the identity we create for ourselves? And, What if that responsibility (read: our life’s greatest responsibility), was something we could act on every day? And, What if acting that responsibility out every day, even when we would rather do nothing else, activated a part of ourselves that reminds us that we matter? And,What if realizing for ourselves that we matter is key to our feeling good about ourselves? A lot of “what if’s,” but a thought worth exploring. If it worked for Proust, what if it works for us?

All of the great artists in this world were disciplined, methodical, and demonstrated an emotional resiliency to life and their work. The more and more I think about what makes creative people so creative, the more and more I think that creatives are in fact scientists of a different form.The creative process begins with a question or an idea, the artist transmutes the idea into something real, and that something real evokes an emotional response from the receiver. The scientific process is strikingly similar. Modern day alchemy.You are a creative. You have ideas, you transmute your ideas into action, and you pivot and iterate based on feedback you receive from the person who received your idea. You are a form of alchemist.You don’t get better by having better ideas, you get better through discipline, methodical practice, and emotional resiliency.

When I was younger, I used to play computer games. Often times, for me to move my character in the game, I had to spend an amount of energy units or “mana”. Once all of the mana was used up, so was my ability to move until the next turn. When you have used up all of your mana, it’s okay to stop, rest, and wait for your next turn.

Of course you will.All you have to do is start it again, and keep it starting it again every day.

I played at a resort over the weekend.

When I approached the piano I looked across the room and said to myself, “What is the movie that these people are playing in their heads right now? How do they see themselves? How will what I play compliment that movie?”

Our jobs, no matter what they are, are similar.

Those we seek to serve are playing a movie in their heads now, and that movie is about themselves. Our job is to compliment that movie.

My nephew and I took a long hike in the woods today - he and I both needed it. It was a chance to be together, and simultaneously be in our own space. We walked nearly 10 miles for ~ 3 hours, and for as long as it was, time passed fast. We both ended the walk happily out of breath and thankful to have spent a few moments together.All of this to say - don’t underestimate the value of simple things - time to yourself, outside, by yourself or with another human being; that’s time well spent.

“Let the hindsight of your future self be the foresight of today’s self.” - Shane Parrish TKP episode 37I was listening Shane Parrish interview Annie Duke on the The Knowledge Project the other day. During the interview, Shane summarized a point Annie made, and the summary was too good not to write down and share with you. In December, of I don’t know what year, I blogged about “Future You” which was inspired by Annie Duke’s book, Thinking in Bets, and I wish I heard this podcast at the time I was reading the book. What I love about Shane’s summary is the practicality. Imagine this.You are confronted with a decision and imagining how it might end.You project yourself into the future, imagining you made the decision and you’re experiencing that “hindsight is 20/20 phenomenon.”You take advantage of that phenomenon and you identify, “what is the that perfect 20/20 hindsight? Instead of doing what I did, what do I wish that I did?” Take your answers to the “hindsight 20/20” question and bring them to present you. Make that your go-forward plan!Celebrate because you’re winning at making decisions.I wish heuristics was a class I took at all levels of my education. Imagine how many decisions could have been improved through a decades-long study in decision making and bias?What friends to make? Who to date?What classes to take?What college do I go to?What do I major in?Do I take a student loan or not?Do I postpone college?What if I took out a credit card?I could go on. Hindsight is 20/20 I suppose.

Two ideas from two great thinkers to kick start your week.Since the beginning of human consciousness, our awareness of death has terrified us. This terror has shaped our beliefs, our religions, our institutions, and so much of our behavior in ways we cannot see or understand. We humans have become the slaves to our fears and our evasions. When we turn this around, becoming more aware of our mortality, we experience a taste of true freedom. We no longer feel the need to restrict what we think and do, in order to make life predictable. We can be more daring without feeling afraid of the consequences. We can cut loose from all the illustrations and addictions that we employ to our numb our anxiety. We can commit fully to our work, to our relationships, to all our actions. And once we experience some of this freedom, we will want to explore further and expand our possibilities as far as time will allow us.” - Robert Greene, “The Laws of Human Nature”And,Let us rid death of its strangeness, come to know it, get used to it. Let us have nothing on our minds as often as death. At every moment let us picture it in our imagination in all its aspects…. It is uncertain where death awaits us; let us await it in everywhere. Premeditations of death is premeditation of freedom…. He who has learned how to die has unlearned how to be a slave. Knowing how to die free from all subjection and constraint.” - Michel de Montaigne. It feels morbid because we have been conditioned to see it as morbid - to fear it, to not talk about it, to see it as a dark. Truly, it’s not. If you have been a faithful reader of this blog, you know that during October-November, I have stopped writing. That often happens because I lose motivation… and it appears I lose motivation during the season change. Is that a medical condition? Who knows. During this month, I decided to meditate daily on my mortality. I remind myself, each night, that I might not wake up, and that the relationships most dear to me may end at any time. I find that when I wake up, I am filled with a tremendous amount of joy to be alive and motivated to do the next thing. Then, when I’m doing the next thing, such as writing, I remind myself, “the next second is not guaranteed, and that I must pump out as much of my consciousness as I can leave behind for others.” Through that meditation, I realize the energy needed to focus and ship work. I am a slave to what I avoid, and I choose no longer to be a slave.The thing you and I share in common is our mortality - we will eventually die. That also means we also share another thing in common - a desire to live life to its most, to be our most effective selves each moment of each day. You don’t have to be a slave to what you avoid. Welcome fate with open arms - love life.

Robert Greene, in The Laws of Human Nature references a quote from a Babylonian clay table that reads: “Today’s youth is rotten, evil, godless, and lazy. It will never be what youth used to be, and it will never be able to preserve our culture.” Nearly 1000 years later, Aristotle would say (in Rhetoric), “[Young people] are high-minded because they have not yet been humbled by life, nor have they experienced the force of circumstances. They think they know everything, and are always quite sure about it.” And then a few thousand laters, Disney would add their thoughts by way of the movie, Up. All of this to say - history rhymes. Try not to get caught up in 24/7 news cycle. Take several thousand steps back, reflect on where we are, and tell yourself, “we’ve been here before, and it will be okay.”Carl Fredricksen is likely going to be me a few years from now ;-)

“Do hard things, but don’t overextend yourself. Life’s a marathon, not a race.”… is what I should have told myself as I overdid this morning’s hike.Good morning!