Think about it. No, really.
Stop and think about it for a moment. Think about one of those things that you assume to be true, that’s stopping you from doing something interesting. There’s a good chance that it’s nonsense. Horse shit even.
Turn that thing on its head. Smash it. Stretch it. Throw it against the wall. Figure out what you actually think, then reason the hell out if it. Of what it is. Or could be. Or should be.
Say, for instance, that you think you can’t draw. You’ve heard that some people are inherently artistic and that others are not. You’ve experienced your lack of skill at drawing, and assumed that A + B = !artistic.
So is it true? Why? Why not?
Assume that it’s not. Figure out why. Which principles support your belief? Which principles support the opposite? Then measure it. Research it. And think about it.
Then fucking do it. Do that thing you thought was impossible, that you didn’t believe you could do. Do it. No, really, do it, and prove your initial belief wrong. Prove the groupthink wrong.
You can learn anything. Everything can be reasoned. Proven. Figured out. Hacked apart. Reassembled and rebuilt. If someone has done it before, you can do it too. If no one has done it before, then be the first. If it’s impossible, then you’re missing something. It’s just a matter of mindset, time, and effort. Don’t flunk out because you didn’t think it could be done.
Who gives a shit how it looks? It doesn’t matter. I look like what I look like.
The reset button
Press the reset button. Do it now. Escape your zombie state.
Get up early. Stay up late. Take a road trip. Read a fucking book. Listen to an old album or discover a new one. Pull out your sketch books or pick up a guitar. Find some way to flip your mental state on its ass. Don’t let yourself burn out and join the ranks of the undead. Or are you already there?
The daily grind will wear your soul away. Eroded daily, what will you become? Were is your creativity? Your inspiration? Your life? Fucking live. Do something, or become nothing.
One of the most important things that distinguish man from other animals is that man can get pleasure from drinking without being thirsty.
Hook, line, and cynic
Your ability to comprehend is flawed. You have a limited set of sensory devices that are fed into a moody, buggy CPU. Not only is your ability to sample reality limited and your understanding of that perception weak, your ability to think about it is grossly inconsistent. If you can’t see, understand, or reason with reality with any amount of balance, then how can you find truth?
You have to cope with your buggy self. Accept that what you see may not be real. Believe that the way you understand your reality may be wrong. And know that any reasoning based on flawed inputs is questionable, and that you will be wrong most of the time.
Don’t disbelieve things because they might be untrue, however. Use your known limitations to explore the possibilities, to open your mind, and to fuel your search for the truth about your reality.
Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.
Fueling the machine
You are a machine. You have parts. You take fuel. You produce waste. You break down, you erode, and eventually return to inanimate biomass. You also have soul, an essence that appreciates the quality of things. The balance of the two makes you human.
As a machine, your fuel represents energy and nutrients. The sum total needs to cover your machine’s needs, but more is unnecessary and wasteful.
But as a soul, there is a desire to appreciate the art of the fuel, to find inspiration in its form. Obsession with the enjoyment, as with excess, is wasteful, as inspiration quickly ceases to matter. Waste in itself is inartistic, violating the premise of of survival and balance.
Fuel and its artfulness represent a balance in life. Excess in form or quantity are counter-hacks that eat away at your inner self. In the same way, a lack of inspiration or basic fuel quality are the opposite imbalance, etching away at your outer self.
It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.
Continual learning
You say you’re always learning, but are you really? When was the last time you read a book and reflected on it? I mean really read it … not just that lame, yuppy skimming reading that’s infected your busy life. When was the last time you read a book, in isolation, sans-television, sans-iPod, sans-interruption?
I thought so.
Block out some time, and really learn something for once. Understand when you’re skimming the surface. Recognize when you’re reading and when you’re skimming, and stop yourself when you’re skimping out on really learning. Realize that the act of skimming is raping your own soul. You’re cheating yourself of knowledge, stealing food from your muse. It’s wrong, and it’s killing you.
Take the time to suckle on the teat of the great minds of the past. Chew on their words. Imagine your muse into their minds. Only then, will you truly learn.
