| Discipline and consistency has also been a challenge for me. I have found it useful to embrace the humble beauty of boring things. It is easy to get on the hedonic treadmill of seeking ever-greater levels of excitement. Doing this will mean your attention gets jerked around by whatever screams the loudest. This makes consistency and accomplishment increasingly difficult to the point of overwhelm. Two practices that you might find useful: 1. Print out a page of the sketches that Picasso did of a bull[1]. Notice that it is boring and repetitive to sketch the same bull. Notice that this is how art is made by the masters. 2. When you notice yourself seeking creativity, pick up a leaf and take five minutes just to appreciate the beauty of its curves and veins. Finding a daily prayer to say to yourself is also good, especially on the evenings when you find yourself looking back with regret at a day you feel you wasted. Disiderata[2] is a good prayer. I have also found the podcast of Prof. Andrew Huberman to be useful. Here he is talking about habits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wcs2PFz5q6g > I want to make something cool and adds value to the world. In your class there is a professor who is struggling in a world where the pandemic has made it hard to tell if they are really helping students learn. This makes it a greater struggle to maintain her mental health and sense of purpose in life. You can add value to her corner of the world by writing down what you are grateful to learn. [1] https://images.app.goo.gl/LhukTaB6khwQLNjh8 [2] https://www.desiderata.com/desiderata.html |