So what we see is that self-actualization is a flywheel: you become self-actualized by seeing reality clearly so you can design a life that fits you, and you become better at seeing reality by engaging with it head-on.
Joy is a form of rebellion in a system that profits from fear
At the same time, a crush is beautiful because it’s a little unrealistic, because you see the very best in someone even when they’re flawed. One might argue that even a casual crush is a bit selfish—a way to project positive qualities onto someone, and to get the glowy excitement that comes with that, without really seeing them in all of their diff... See more
Following a curriculum, you build mental models by processing simple examples, and then those simple models filter reality so that you become blind to the subtleties of the more complex examples. This is sometimes called a knowledge shield.
To avoid knowledge shields the US military, when it does accelerated training programs, avoids sequential curr... See more
This planet is tended by innumerable invisible hands. When progress feels undetectable, I remind myself that much of life plays out on unseen stages. We must all tend to our inner gardens, as well as the gardens that we are but one small part of. To be human today is to exist at many scales at once, stories we can grasp and ones much larger than us... See more