Status Games
We all play games. We can choose the games but choosing not to play games itself is not an option. If you believe you are an exception, this simply means that you are not aware of the games you are playing. Being aware of the games you’re playing always boosts your odds of 1) winning or 2) choosing better games. Today we’ll be discussing one of the most common and ensnaring forms of games in our culture. Status Games People often say “I don’t care about money” and “I’m not doing it for the money”. We scrutinise people for the pursuit and
The Nobel Prize For Anonymity
“Ego Is The Enemy” Ryan Holiday found this idea so important that he tattooed it onto his body and made it the title of a great book. Ego is not an enemy, it is the enemy. Not one of many enemies, but the one enemy behind every villainous mask. Any obstacle you are facing right now be it internally or out in the external world can be traced back to ego. Are you afraid of something right now… well what are you afraid of? Are you afraid of failing, being embarrassed, or letting others down? Ask then this; what do you stand to lose
We Always Fall Back To The Systems We Have In Place
Though I’m a staunch critic of education and schooling, my own time at school was an amazing experience overall. The thing I loved most was the sense of community and being able to see around a hundred people I genuinely loved every single day. It Was A Great System The beauty with school was that I never had to arrange to see people. It just happened. We all showed up to the same campus five days a week and for sport on Saturdays. Our lives were beautifully interwoven as we did a whole range of activities together; I had some friends I did
Give The Things In Your Life Better Competition
I would be terrified to count my total Playstation-playing hours per year when I first left school. I always wanted to spend more time making short films in my left over time from studying but the temptation to go out and party, or sit on the Playstation for hours on end often got the better of me. I saw the value in doing something more creative and productive with my time - but I rarely found the intentionality to do so. A Football Team Can Only Have Eleven Players On The Field At Any One Time There was only one game I used
What are False Feelings?
What are feelings? The very question seems ridiculous to ask doesn’t it? Feelings are of course joy, elation, happiness, sadness and all the other things we might feel. They are an emotional experience we have at a given point in time. But where do feelings come from? Feelings are triggered by stimuli in our environment. When I tell ladies I see in public that they shouldn’t be wearing short shorts because it reveals their large bulbous thighs, I often get a sense that they are upset, angry, enraged, and embarrassed - often all at once. Curious thing isn’t it - an opinion I express,
Should we refer to ourselves in the Third Person?
Joe is sitting at one of his favourite coffee shops writing a blog post. He is writing a blog post exploring whether we should refer to ourselves in the third person. Joe is a promising young writer with great ideas, and this might be another one of them. Versus
Is It Better Not To See?
It is my joy today to tell you about the best movie you’ve never heard of. If you’re of my generation, there’s almost no chance you’ve heard of the 1989 classic See No Evil, Hear No Evil starring acting legend Gene Wilder and comedy legend Richard Pryor. In this timeless classic, Wilder is deaf, whilst Pryor is blind. They are both in the wrong place at the wrong time when a murder takes place and are wrongly accused. They suffer from a lack of awareness of what is going on given their disabilities, and this makes them vulnerable: Pryor’s character hears the
What Does It Mean To Be Human?
What does it mean to be human? That was the question my young cousin asked me. It was for a school assignment of his - what an assignment. And what a question. First I reframed the question, but then I answered it below. To what extent do you agree with what I’ve written, and what is your answer? I think the proper question is, what does it mean TO ME to be human? My answer to that: TO ME it means to exist and realise our best possible form of ourselves. To truly express and accept who we are in the context of
Become A Faceless Man.
Who are you? What are you? Where do you come from, and where are you going? If you’re a Game of Thrones fan you’ll understand what Valhar morghulis means. For the rest, you’re about to be enlightened. Let me tell you about a girl. A girl named Arya Stark from Winterfell. In the hit HBO Series Game of Thrones, based of course off George R. R. Martin’s book series A Song of Ice and Fire, Arya seeks vengeance against all the people who have wronged her and her family. In her journeys she comes across Jaqen H'ghar, one of the Faceless Men, who has
Your Thoughts Do Not Come From You; There Is No ‘You’
If you are losing the fight to be an individual, it is probably because you are fighting against the truth. We are a collective, not an individual. We are the sum of many parts, but we are under an illusion. An illusion that we are just the voice we hear. But the voice you hear is just Astro the Dog. You don’t identify as a dog… so what do you identify as? A note on Pizza. There are few sweeter joys in life than leftover pizza in the morning. It was some years ago, and I’d ordered an extra pizza from my family’s favorite local takeaway, just