Brandon Marcus
@brandonjmarc
Brandon Marcus
Rotting may have a particular posture, but I think what separates it from other activities that involve horizontal entertainment is its catalyst: avoidance—the avoidance of responsibility, pressure, uncertainty, anxiety, thoughts. Rotting shares this quality with idling, but offers a more comprehensive escape, thus taking on a more sinister edge.
Haley Nahman • #208: What is rotting, if not rest?
I use the word idling to suggest the stubborn heft of a car pulled over—not driving, not switched off, just sitting there, humming in place, going nowhere while imperceptibly poisoning the air. The pleasure of this depraved human state lies, I think, in the contradiction: Resting in the literal physical sense, persisting in the toxic spiritual one.... See more
Haley Nahman • #208: What is rotting, if not rest?
A common challenge for people who are curious and love to learn is that we can fall into the habit of continuously force-feeding ourselves more and more information, but never actually take the next step and apply
Tiago Forte • Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential
Some Questions to Reflect or Journal On
- What’s a dominant narrative in your industry or community that no longer serves?
- What alternative story do you wish more people believed?
- Where in your work could you tell a bolder, truer, more hopeful story?
- What story are you living right now — and is it one you chose?
Elena Vasileva • The Role of Storytelling in Systemic Change
Francis Bacon warned that when we have no clear “prenotion or perception of what we are seeking, we seek and toil and wander aimlessly, as if in infinite space. Whereas, if we have a particular prenotion, infinity is at once interrupted.” When our attention narrows, we can move forward with purpose.
The Art of (Attention) War
attention and human scale
Looking at the work of psychologist Julian Rotter, we must ask, what is in our locus of control ? I.e. What can I directly act on right now? What is in our locus of influence . I.e. What can I not control, but can affect over time? What is in our locus of concern ? I.e. What are the things I deeply care about, but cannot meaningfully change? And... See more
The Art of (Attention) War
The idea that people perform for each other isn’t new. In 1956, half a century before the launch of Facebook, sociologist Erving Goffman pioneered the dramaturgical approach to viewing social life as theater. He viewed each of us as actors, playing roles on a public front stage to shape how others perceive us, and then retreating to the backstage... See more