Sailing as a metaphor.
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Notes
Though it may be easiest, the sailboat is slowest, and most subject to the whims of the wind, when it’s going downwind. It can’t go any faster than the wind. But it’s optimized to go across the wind—perpendicular to, or even toward, the wind.
Similarly, living with little effort or intent (at least, your own intent) leaves you subject the “prevailing winds”:
- go along to get along
- getting by
- “doing your best”
- doing your job
That has little impact. Instead, “find a direction and a craft” and develop a process that makes a difference. “This is all part of the practice.”
Thoughts
I have recently noticed how swept along I am by a mix of distraction and doing what’s in front of me. (Sometimes they’re the same thing: I get distracted by what’s in front of me. Or, to make it less passive, I get distracted by what I put or allow in front of me.) I mean, I’ve noticed it before, and often, but only recently has this become a sustained insight.
The two issues Seth highlights with this metaphor are intent and effort. Doing what’s in front of me—whether that’s something that sooner or later will need to get done (e.g., opening a work email, or doing the dishes), or something that is merely distracting (e.g., that tenth visit to Facebook this morning)—is both intentless and effortless. (Intentless is not a word, I guess, but it should be….)
Habit gurus (James Clear, Charles Duhigg) point out that replacing habits is easier than simply ending habits. Similarly, when Cal Newport talks about a “digital declutter,” he recommends that his 30-day break from inessential technology include activities to replace the vacuum left by the removed tech. This makes it both easier to wean yourself off the tech for the declutter period. But it also makes it less likely that you’ll re-incorporate much of the inessential tech once the declutter period is over.
That’s the intent part (though it also takes effort). I don’t know why I’ve been so unwilling to embrace something like Newport’s declutter; perhaps its because the distraction I allow is more than just distraction—it’s avoidance or escape. Another form of Resistance, for sure, but deeper than that.
It may be worth revisiting Newport’s Digital Minimalism. It might help me make room for intention and effort.
This series is meant to capture my thoughts as I work through Seth Godin’s The Practice. It’s a book with over 200 (very short) chapters, which I hope to work through and, I further hope, to implement over time.
If you’re interested in more of Godin’s ideas, or my thoughts about them, you can check out this collection of posts. Note that if you’re more interested in the former, you should probably get Godin’s book and read it yourself; my notes will be both incomplete and idiosyncratic, and my thoughts will relate to my own experience.
But if my thoughts resonate with you, or if you think I’m just silly, I welcome your comments.