Personal Development

the nervous system is not only a biological entity but also a complex network highly responsive to personal interests. This concept suggests that when individuals engage in activities they are genuinely interested in, their nervous system is more likely to respond positively, leading to increased focus, creativity, and overall well-being.

our capacity for growth and creativity is not lost with a diagnosis of dementia.

Adam Gopnik: In my lexicon – which may be idiosyncratic but I think is also illuminating – “achievement”represents all the outer-directed, institutionally compelled things we do to advance our lives or those of our children. Getting grades, passing classes, pushing forward into select colleges. All of that. “Accomplishment” on the other hand, means... See more

Question: How can I judge myself less harshly and appreciate myself more?

Ram Dass on self-judgment:

I think that part of it is observing oneself more impersonally. I often use this image, which I think I have used already, but let me say it again. That when you go out into the woods and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some ... See more

We are not going in circles, we are going upwards. The path is a spiral; we have already climbed many steps.

— Herman Hesse, Siddhartha

The Futures Triangle can also be used for inner

work. The pull of the future is where one

wishes to be, the desired personal life one

imagines for oneself. The weight of the past can

be blocks - inner or outer - preventing one from

achieving the vision. The pushes of the present

can be enablers or externals pushes one needs

to navigate.

Are you playing on easy mode or hard mode? What can you do to put things on an easier setting? Go back to basics. What’s one thing you can do today that will make tomorrow easier? What can you can do this year that will leave you in a better position for next year?

some of the biggest challenges faced by computers and human minds alike: how to manage finite space, finite time, limited attention, unknown unknowns, incomplete information, and an unforeseeable future; how to do so with grace and confidence; and how to do so in a community with others who are all simultaneously trying to do the same

It is probably the case that, somewhere in the past, you did something that made you more happy/productive/fulfilled, but you don’t do it anymore, for no good reason. Think about that, and do it again, preferably instead of one of your less desirable behaviors.