Agency itself is not necessarily a good thing. It becomes a good thing as a toolkit, developed by people who are also high in conscientiousness, who want good things for the world, and who might otherwise be constrained by narrow perspectives on what counts as socially acceptable action.
Pessimists see problems. They worry about what could go wrong in the future. Optimists see possibilities. They focus on what could go right in the future. Proactive people turn problems into possibilities. They give us reasons to be optimistic about the future.
biggest joke of my life… after years and years of trying so hard, i can just unclench the sense of doing anything and
1. my “willpower” increases dramatically
2. i get better at pretty much everything
(this is not the same thing as non-coercion!)
there are 2 (main) ways to work with emotional bottlenecks*:
1. direct emotional processing –– deliberately feel the emotion you're avoiding
2. reality engaged processing i.e. processing emotion thru action –– create tiny, manageable encounters with the scary situation & let
It’s not that entrepreneurs are natural rule-breakers. Rather … they want self-direction. They aren’t going to take the world at face value. They have to figure it out for themselves.
Musings on agency part 2:
Find your feedback loops (gradients) that feel like eating chocolate ice cream.
But also find your feedback loops that also feel like doing an insanely hot sweat lodge with a group of good friends that have your back.