Reflections
Reflections are short essays that are less developed than the stories in the main archive. You can think of them as brief entries in my intellectual journal.
Here they are, in reverse chronological order:
Creativity will be less about what works, and more about what makes you unique.
It’s surreal to leave your home without knowing if you’ll ever see it again.
Follow-up thoughts on a piece that is loved and criticized.
The great trade-off of reach is human connection.
Every thought is an echo of one that has existed in the past.
Following your passion is a lot harder than it sounds.
Focus on the challenge, and not its byproducts.
Its very pursuit is the cause of its dissolution.
When conviction and compassion can coexist, a brighter future is possible.
The more you oscillate between the two, the more meaning you derive.
All of contemplative thought is grounded in these simple inquiries.
Inquiry is the gateway to understanding.
When the doors to the past and future are closed, fear has no place to wander within the halls of your mind.
Your identity is constructed the moment you decide to embody it.
It reminds me that a better version of myself is accessible at any time.
Reason has a hard limit on answering life's most important questions.
Freedom is less about doing what you want, and just allowing life to be.
Compassion is to take active participation in another’s life, and to commit to that wholeheartedly.
Self-reliance is about believing in your intuition and acting upon your curiosity.
A disciplined mind is beautiful only if it can also embrace contentment.
"It’s the height of madness to worry about being despised by the despicable."
We work hard to achieve freedom, but this quest makes us believe we are never good enough.
Free yourself from the thought that you deserve anything.
How to balance inner exploration with outer acceptance.
The best way to divorce pain from suffering is to give yourself space to talk about your pain.
The pursuit of status is the antithesis of knowing yourself.
How do we accept what we simply are, while also knowing that there’s something we’re trying to become?
There's a fine line between transcendence and insanity.
Creativity is a virtue because it's the purest form of self-acceptance.
What seems like a “money” question is always a “story” one.
"The goal is not to advance knowledge, but to be in the know."
Knowing how to be alone is an antidote to loneliness.
“If you zoomed out and saw my zig-zagged line, wouldn’t it look beautiful from afar?”
"Whatever I am, that I want to understand."
Focus on the craft before anything else.
Instead of setting goals to desire, reflect on why you desire those goals in the first place.
What does it mean to rest when you're valued by what you produce?
If you have style, any old idea you communicate becomes new.
The more money you have, the more you have to preserve. And the more you have to preserve, the more fear that surrounds its potential loss.
Don't fall in love with your own intellect.
Be open to any data point, but don't let it become your operating system.
The pursuit of meaning is the distinguishing feature of our species. How do we harness it to bring out the best of ourselves?
Our relationship with time defines this strange emotion.
If you can't eradicate it, opt out of it while you can.
If you view knowledge for its utility, you will never fully appreciate it.
Dependency is not love, yet we often confuse one for the other.
Shield yourself against the winds of external response.
Decouple an interest from its practical value. That's how agency is born.
A 2-step framework you can use to unearth ideas worth writing about.
The best game to play is the one that requires no scoreboard in the first place.
