I’ve just completed my first full week without electricity. And the experience has made me think about all the things in life we supposedly need. We each have a list of necessities, things in life no decent human should be without. Some of these are imposed by society, others we impose on ourselves. However, the […]
Archives for September 2009
The Pleasure of Living Within Constraints
A lot of classic goal-setting advice is about changing the constraints of your life. Don’t like your job? Quit and find something else. Don’t have enough money? Earn more. Unsatisfied with your love life? Go meet new people. I don’t think any of this advice is necessarily bad. But, just as working to change the […]
I’ve Arrived in France
I arrived in France Tuesday, September 1st, and I thought I’d share a few quick thoughts. I’ll try to avoid generalizations about France or the French as a whole, as I’ve only been here two weeks. Although, for the most part, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. On Learning a Second Language Just living in France feels […]
Accepting Your Inner Slacker
The best productivity advice I ever received was to accept my inner slacker. I believe most people overestimate how much willpower and motivation they will have when setting goals. Their inner slacker gets the best of them, and they fail to meet the perfect standards they set for themselves. But, if you accept your inherent […]