Caspian with a riff on:

I'm starting this project up again!

This time, there'll be show notes. You can find them here →

I’ve been pondering change for almost three months, that’s when i started thinking about getting this project going again. It started with a question from someone who’s been listening to the podcast, and for that I’m really grateful.

I’ve been doing some reflective thinking on the importance and difference in celebration lately. I recently graduated from my university studies and due to the pandemic, our graduation ceremony wasn’t what it usually is. I was reluctant to go to the live one, and even more so to the zoom version, so I didn’t.

The class that I graduated with decided to throw an unofficial graduation ceremony and party, and I chose not to participate in that one either. My justification for not participating is that my mom is in the risk group for Covid, and my grandmother recently passed from it. Even so, I could very well have gone.

The thing is, I really didn’t want to. There are multiple reasons, but the main ones are that I don’t really feel like my degree is something worthy of celebration, and the second one is that the way we celebrate things over here doesn’t at all suit me.

And so, I want to write some about those two things. The stance on that I have different standards for celebrating than many others, and the way we pursue celebration.

I decided to make good decisions,

It's the best decision I ever made. 

A couple of texts that might be interesting to read on the subject: 

https://medium.com/@caspianalmerud/beslutsl%C3%A5dan-aa2f3d5666b9

There a number of ways of talking about pace, and a number of areas to apply it in. I think it's important for all of us to start thinking about the pace we're keeping, and at what pace we'd like to go. 

Plans seldom go according to the actual plan. That can't be the reason we plan - for plans to go accordingly. There must be another reason. 

My aim with planning is to be comfortable enough to know that things are going to happen, for me to be able to get rid of the plan entirely. If I plan my week, I know exactly what needs to be done, and when it's due. I can then do my tasks in whatever order I want to. 

There's a really important lesson in this episode, on how to handle the fact that your plans aren't predictions. 

This week, the riff is on exactly those rules. I explain my six mantras or rules that I consult when I'm feeling like I'm in a rut or a bit confused. Those rules are, for me:

Macro patience, micro speed.

This week, the riff is on fear. More specifically, fear as an obstacle.

I've been interested in structure for a very long time, almost as long as I can remember. To have a personal structure of my days, keep track of the projects that I'm working on and to keep the information I gather very neat has been a core success factor for me.

Tools are incredibly important. That's where I usually start out when entering a new domain. If I would start with photography, I'd start by buying a really good camera. But that might not be the way to go. 

In every area or field, there are some core principles. Principles explaining how we can achieve better within that field. And I think we've all encountered those core principles within a field. Realising that a good stamina helps enormously when playing soccer, or that a clean structure for your e-mail eases the use of the inbox. 

This episode is on just that. The core principles of things. Inspired by "The book of five rings" by Miyamoto Musashi. 

Mindfulness is absolutely, without a doubt, one of the things that myself and my friends have been spending the most time talking about in the past 5 years. It's also something that most people have a relationship to, as do I. That relationship is a bit complex, and not always at its best. 

I think mindfulness, if practiced, should be practiced as a proactive activity. I also think it needs to be done because one thinks it's worth doing. Those two components, to me, are at the heart of mindfulness. Rushing to yoga class is counterproductive and it doesn't serve the purpose of mindfulness itself at all. 

And that's what this riff is about, the core principle of mindfulness, and how you can practice it without practicing it.