Agency
Everything in our world is there because someone decided it needed to exist. We all have things we know need to exist. What stops us from making them exist?
Agency
The 4-Hour Life
lindynewsletter.beehiiv.com
How much of a constraint is consistency space on agency?
The 4 hours aren't always 4. The energy you have in those 4 hours isn't always the same.
In payoff space, you can focus your energy for bursts of effort. Or you can focus your recharge/recovery times around your work.
The availability of rest after work likely affects how hard one is able/willing to work. The allure of rest is likely different.
Rest as an escape from work vs Rest as a place to prep for work
Athletes will perform differently in teams depending on if the system is built around them or they are recruited for the system; if the level of pressure is suited to their person; and if the coach is willing to be patient for them to adapt to their situation.
I'm reminded of that Mourinho press conference:
“Look at how they play, where they play, if they play”
Lots to ponder…
The “scrub” believes that by learning to play the game the proper way, they will come out on top in the long run—that exploiting cheapness is shortsighted and doesn’t build skill.
Scrubs play for an imaginary version of “mastery”, while top players Play to Win.
My most profound moment in college was when a professor mentioned that we were in school not to learn concepts, but to learn how to think critically. It was a major unblocker for me.
Prior to that moment, I'd been prioritizing getting good grades in my classes. It was the most important thing at the time. The clearest object I had in front of me.
Now
Do It Scared
I believe many young people struggle with the insecurity of being intelligent. They often feel the need to prove their intelligence by overthinking, excessively planning, and acquiring knowledge before taking action. However, this approach is a waste of time. The more you research, the more you realize how little you actually know. In... See more
I need to come back to this.
Four ways this ailment [of not doing things] shows up as:
Learning Syndrome - “one more tutorial”
Tool Syndrome - “one more library”
Process Syndrome - “I just need the right framework”
Maintenance Syndrome - “let me take care of this first”
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omakase software
in a world where anyone can build anything, most won’t. if previous consumer behaviour tells us anything, it’s that we value convenience and and others’ taste way more than we think. even in systems designed for flexibility like notion, people buy templates
to be able to make anything is too much choice, which is its own kind of ... See more
The opposite to reflexive agency is prompted agency - agency which only becomes available given some prompt to action. “That does seem like a problem. Have you tried solving it?” is my only-half-joking prompt I use with people: It’s something that highlights the failure of agency, in a way that makes people aware that action is an option available
... See moreDavid R. MacIver • Learning to exercise agency
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare."
–Muhammad Ali