Current Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Reading: ‘Four Thousand Weeks’ - Oliver Burkeman
Listening To: ‘Musica Animam Tangens’ - Joshua Shank
As I’ve continued meditating on the impact that some rest and relaxation has had on my outlook, I’ve started to see signs everywhere. It’s been a real-life example of the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. It’s clear that I needed this more than I realized.
One of the things that stood out to me was a quote from Stillness is the Key which goes like this:
“Good decisions are not made by those who are running on empty. What kind of interior life can you have, what kind of thinking can you do, when you’re completely and utterly overworked?” - Ryan Holiday
I find the conception of an ‘interior life’ very compelling. We like to think we live in an external world that is consumed by things happening in our lives, people around us, circumstances, and the randomness of luck. But if we are to truly inspect, we realize that we are living in our heads. And everything that we perceive is just an interpretation based on the stories we are telling ourselves.
Our interior life is everything.
So, when we are consumed by the things of this world, in my case - overworking to the point of exhaustion, we ignore our interior life entirely. And it withers away.
I certainly felt that. I wasn’t thinking deeply about things anymore. I wasn’t curious about new ideas. I wasn’t checking in with my emotions. I was completely detached.
And while you can get away with it for a while, eventually it will catch up with you. Because your interior life runs the show.
Holiday takes this one step further and suggests that when your interior life is disregarded, you cannot make good decisions. Instead of being able to calmly and methodically work through where you want your life to go, you are caught up in the momentum of what’s happening around you. It’s why we see so many young talented people get stuck in corporate jobs that they hate, only to wake up at 40 and discover that there were other routes available to them.
It was only when I took a step back from my business that I was able to acknowledge just how far I had gone off the far end of this spectrum. Never mind making bad decisions, I wasn’t even making any decisions. Which, of course, is a decision on its own.
It’s only with space, time, and stillness that you can recharge yourself and reset your interior life. Then you can make decisions from a position of strength and composure.
And then your life can turn around.
(Or so I tell myself…)
Links:
This post about reading books vs engaging them is one that has really challenged me, and one that I need to continually reflect on. Otherwise, I risk having read thousands of books over my life without actually putting those lessons into practice. (Link)
The impact of mobile money in Africa continues to be underestimated in my opinion, and I think this article does a great job at trying to explain why it’s been such a game-changer. (Link)
Sprinkle a little ancient philosophy into your daily routines. (Link)
Random link, with no ROI whatsoever. (Link)
I’ve gained a new respect for Howie Mandel for having some of the fastest wit I’ve ever come across. This podcast was what opened my eyes to this. Love him or hate him, he’s incredibly good at thinking on his feet. (Link)
Thank you once again for allowing me into your inbox, I hope that you got some value from this today. If you did, I’d be very grateful if you would share this with a friend who might also enjoy it. That’s the only way this newsletter grows and I’d love to be able to engage with more wonderful humans like you.
Otherwise, I’ll see you again next week. Same place. Same time.
Be kind to yourself.
Barry