When you realize you have dug yourself into a hole, then the first thing is to stop digging.
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You can’t climb out of a hole while you’re still digging. We make things worse when we try to fix them with the same behavior, habits, skills, and mindset that caused them.
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So STOP.
Stopping is not quitting.
It is the first move toward control.
Movies, social media, bitter aunts, drunk uncles, and other forces have demonised control.
Yes, there are control freaks out there trying to have a saying in everything and everyone.
Yes, there are people out there who leave everything to “luck” and somehow win in life.
But controlling you, yourself, and your flow makes you, well, more You.
Stoics core philosophy is to control what you can.
From there it only gets usually better, some times harder, and always worth it.
You are the captain. The master of your ship.
(Even if you are not into poetry I urge you to read Invictus)
But when you are not the captain…
Well, you let randomness on the wheel...
You let entropy in:
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What Is Entropy?
Simple. If:
→ You are not in the present moment and your mind drifts into future, past, or daydreams...
→ You feel like nothing matters and see yourself as a complete failure…
→ You believe that no matter how hard you try, things will only get worse...
→ Your systems (personal or professional) are poor/random and full of inertia and friction...
→ You have no discipline, so instincts, desires, weaknesses, and fears take the wheel...
→ You are part of a group that dictates you what to do, think, say, or even feel... ...
…then you are in an Entropy state.
So, what is entropy?
In physics, entropy is the natural tendency of a system to move from order toward disorder.
In life it’s the same idea.
It’s the natural result when you let randomness, neglect, decay, complacency, and the “easy” life take over your mind, systems, habits, and environment. .
“The iron rule of nature is: You get what you reward for.
If you want ants to come, you put sugar on the floor.”
—Charlie Munger
→ If you leave the kitchen window wide open in summer, your food will be full of flies.
→ If you allow in your home a bad neighbor, you are in for a bad time and waste of the good biscuits.
→ If you waste time in thinking and daydreaming without doing, you waste your opportunities.
→ If you constantly overload your brain with information (from cute kittens and memes to the Singaporean economics of the ‘60s and nuclear physics) without applying any of it, then you become nothing more than a walking encyclopedia or a dopamine-hunting NPC.
→ If you don’t improve yourself to reach higher agency, you will suffer with the helplessness and timeless nightmares of “I don’t know” and “I can’t” mentalities.
→ If [bad choice] then [probably bad result].
But it is not all drama.
Unfortunately, sometimes it is just a slight inconvenience.
The paradox?
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The Worst Type Of Entropy
Micro entropies are the WORST thing that can happen to anyone. Why?
The job you don’t like, but don’t hate either.
The relationship that’s not like the one from “The Notebook” but heck, 40s are no age for change (yikes!).
The dull weekends that are ok-ish... after all, what else is there to do?
Small entropies won’t push you to change, because they won’t make you feel bad enough for yourself.
Like the frog in the warm pot, you sit in complacency.
I’ve been there. It was bad. But not bad enough to move.
If small entropy grows, you are “lucky” kind of.
If it stays like that, you might spend years in a passive flow.
A life that offers no enjoyment, no experiences, nothing to count for.
So fly to flow:
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Fly To Flow
Flow happens when your skills and challenges align, even in small acts.
Cooking. Eating. Lifting. Meditating. Showering.
How to get into flow?
My system for it, is what I call the Flow Pantheon.
But you can start simple and without paying. STOP. Think.
Find what helps you focus. See clearly. Pick the right challenges. Learn how to learn.
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes,
but in having new eyes.”
—Marcel Proust
Pause.
Drop the shovel.
Take the leap. Fly to FLOW.
Lifeward,