086. ...something we can zoom out from.
(morning thinking)
Enough is enough. Or, perhaps more succinctly sufficient is sufficient? Or, average is ok.
Our culture is experiencing a meme fuelled, podcast empowered lust for constant, high speed, growth and improvement just now but I think maybe we don’t have to get better every day. We can just let it be.
We don’t, as individuals, have to be as good at running as Rich Roll. We don’t have to be as articulate as Fry, or as Zen as Kornfield. Obviously you should insert your own role models.
We don’t even really need, as success influencers are fond of saying, to “be better today than we were yesterday”. If every day was genuinely and without fail, better, even by a tiny fraction than its predecessor, we’d end up living in a state of unbridled bliss and ecstasy. I’m not sure I’d cope with that - I think I’d neglect the laundry.
I do think yesterday’s version of me is a good ruler against which to measure myself but I recognise that sometimes I’ll be a little worse for wear today. There are too many external factors beyond my control. Night time barking dogs or celebratory fireworks might disrupt my sleep. Variables and obstacles in my day might prevent me getting where I need to be.
I think it’s enough to be heading generally toward better, travelling in better’s overall direction, than to need to feel like things are “getting better… a little better all the time.”
“All the time” seems like a lot of pressure.
Reflecting on yesterday and using yesterday as a ruler against which to measure today is important but it has to be something we can zoom out from. Humans have a bad habit of neglecting the long term view. Comparison over a 48 hour period is pretty detailed and granular given that we can expect, on average, an 80 year lifespan. That’s 701,280 hours. Focusing in on yesterday means we are measuring success against a super skinny, thin slice of time. The last 48 hours are much much less than 1% (0.0068%) of our life.
And besides, The Beatles also state that just yesterday troubles seemed so far away but today, only one sleep later, it looks as though they’re here to stay. Bit defeatist. Bit “closed mindset” Take a wider view Lennon and McCartney!
I think it’s useful to step back and appreciate the bigger picture with a grateful, open mind. Be more Aguilera. I can be grateful to yesterday for “making me that much stronger, for making me work a bit harder (ooh ooh).” Yesterday “makes me that much wiser, made me learn a little bit faster,” and now my skin is thicker and I’m smarter. Yesterday made me a fighter.
I may have leant too hard on Aguilera there.
I don’t yearn for yesterday, when trouble seemed so far away. But I do believe in yesterday. Whether it was super productive or sucked balls it had some value, I can learn from my experience and as long as I’m aiming for better that’s cool. If I’m doing my best in testing, trying circumstances that’s enough. The data points on my graph may dip but there’s a good chance they’ll rise again tomorrow if I make the effort.
“You might want to attempt to make the overall graph of your lifespan trend upward toward better but don’t sweat the daily fluctuations” doesn’t make a punchy, memorable quote for a meme but it’s fine by me.
It’s not just yesterday. Sometimes yesterday really was a little better, on reflection before bed, than today and that’s ok, we can have another go tomorrow.
This was a response to a question in The Daily Stoic Journal.
I wrote in my Daily Stoic Journal almost every morning and evening of 2022. Each morning in 2023 I’m dipping back in, reading over what I wrote, typing it up and using it as a provocation, adding a fresh meditation on the question. This new, evolution of the process I enjoyed so much and benefited from last year is proving to be just as, maybe even more, valuable. I can see progress and growth. It’s helping me gain some perspective on my personal pace of change. Better doesn’t happen over night.
You can have a look at the Daily Stoic Journal here…
https://dailystoic.com/daily-stoic-journal/
You don’t have to wait until next year’s 1st of January. The journal is designed so that you can start anywhere in the year.
Thanks for reading. I love that you do. Paul x.