Archives for October 2020

You are a Verb, Not a Noun

October 28, 2020 | 3 Comments

I recently came across this thought-provoking paragraph from the English actor, comedian, and writer Stephen Fry, while browsing a notebook I had scribbled thoughts in some years ago –

Oscar Wilde said that if you know what you want to be, then you inevitably become it. That is your punishment. But if you never know, then you can be anything. There is a truth to that. We are not nouns, we are verbs. I am not a thing — an actor, a writer — I am a person who does things — I write, I act — and I never know what I am going to do next. I think you can be imprisoned if you think of yourself as a noun.

~ Stephen Fry

Nassim Taleb on True Wealth

October 24, 2020 | 3 Comments

Nassim Taleb is one of my favourite authors, and his book Antifragile is one of the best books I have read.

One of the book’s chapters that interests me particularly is titled ‘Via Negativa.’ Here, Taleb argues that the solution to many problems in life is by removing things, not adding things. Like, avoiding the doctor for minor illnesses or removing certain food from one’s diet to improve health. Taleb writes –

I would add that, in my own experience, a considerable jump in my personal health has been achieved by removing offensive irritants: the morning newspapers, the boss, the daily commute, air-conditioning, television, emails from documentary filmmakers, economic forecasts, news about the stock market, gym “strength training” machines, and many more.

He then adds –

If true wealth consists in worriless sleeping, clear conscience, reciprocal gratitude, absence of envy, good appetite, muscle strength, physical energy, frequent laughs, no meals alone, no gym class, some physical labor (or hobby), good bowel movements, no meeting rooms, and periodic surprises, then it is largely subtractive.

The Uncomfortable Solution

October 21, 2020 | 1 Comment

We often wish to pursue things that bring about a lasting change in our life.

During this process, often our challenge is not that we don’t have a solution to our problem but rather that the solution is one that makes us uncomfortable. And given that we have an aversion to discomfort (who wants to move out of the comfort zone?), we tend to avoid that uncomfortable but the most effective solution and keep looking for a painless and comfortable, but ineffective, answers.

Deep down we know what we need to do but due to fear-based reasons, we keep ourselves trapped in a kind of physical, mental, and emotional holding pattern. This way we end up wasting more and more of our time, potential, and energy.

Does this sound familiar?

You see, some of us have been circumnavigating change, growth, and success for years.

We talk, we plan, we intend, and we hope. Day after day.

We read such articles, nod in agreement, see ourselves in the words…but still fail to take action.

Triumph and Disaster

October 20, 2020 | 2 Comments

One of the life-changing books I have read is Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning. The book is a chronicle by Frankl of his experiences as a German Nazi concentration camp inmate during World War II.

In this book, Frankl describes his psychotherapeutic* method, which involved identifying a purpose in life to feel positively about and then immersively imagining that outcome.

(* Treatment of mental disorder by psychological rather than medical means.)

The central theme of Frankl’s book is ‘survival.’

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