The value of rhythms, and their possible uses

Sometimes you read and it stalls, sometimes it simply runs. Sometimes you ride the bike with the power of will, and sometimes it just flows.

That is a rythm. A flowing dynamic (rather than a toucheable quantity).
These dynamics are of very high value. Because the ease of doing, and the quality of things with a good dynamic are huge, and usually underrated.

A modern way of life, with order, plans, rationality etc. Treats dynamics as if they do not exist. The hour is gone, meeting over, who cares if the discussion is great? Hour not over? Continue a stall talk dynamic not counted.

The greater value of dynamic is in using them for our enjoyment or health.
If you find yourself enjoying ridinng the bike, it makes sense to continue riding even if you got to your destination (you win enjoyable exercise -double blessing). If the flow of cleaning one room got hold on you, it can be the perfect time to finish the house in an surprisingly enjoyable way.

It is good for this to take most of these decisions lightly - life is a game. But the game of moving with the flow is very rewarding.


PS. The understanding of rhythms and their meaning is way more global and relevant to understand life. Rhythm blindness - a most common malady - is al blindness. And there is so much more to that! Think and observe and you may understand the enormous power of rhythms

Two kinds of rationality limits

Starting and functional.
Starting. Most people have starting rationality limited. I.e. Rational logic
just does not talk to them. You can waste your time tiring them with
logic. Saying go there and you will save your life/be happier. This is better obviously etc. Is just irrelevant for them.

Functional limit is more human, and can be overcome with tricks. If
someone accepts reason and wants to act upon it, but accepts that his humanity makes I'm too weak to act upon his understanding, there tricks will help.

Since most humans have the first limit what is a solution for them to
the problem of initiation?

Find new tricks.

There are two ways to handle stuff. "essential" solving and tricks.
Tricks are many times short lived. Refreshing the essentialist fallacy (see post) that essential solutions are always the way. (grandma certaincy that if your first business failed you must turn into accountant or something.

Sometimes, the idea is to find more and new tricks. If one trick did his job for awhile and then stopped working, it is proof that tricks work (for while) and that one should simply look harder ad be more inventive in tricks. And fast switching between tricks.

Taking ideas to their maximum potential

Nassim taleb says that the only thing special about him was that he is taking his ideas to their maximum width and potential.

This strong strategy requires some wisdom. And personal fortitude.

1) you Care about nothing. If you allow limits to stand your way, you will just not max the potential. There is no eat the cake and have it too in maximizing ideas to thier limit. 
The reason people do not go the whole way with their ideas is because they are afraid, and because they are locked in many assumptions and limits.

2) care about everything. 
Avoiding any other considerations is stupidity. The point is to go Bouldlessly, while wisely knowing the value of all other parameters and limits.  (avoiding ruke 1 is being passive and locked. Avoiding rule 2 is being careless and an actor blind to anything out of his focus)


PS. Do not abuse. Once you have a great trick in your hand, it is tempting to use it when it is not good. Example. You use coffee to Improve ocncentration and happiness, which is good. Now it tempts you to sleep less because you have a trick to stay awake. At some point you lose. Same for using money to solve problems, etc.

Be smart. 

Good and bad adaptAtion

Getting used to things makes two differences. The thing changes (you no longer enjoy the ice-cream as before. Even your bodily reaction to the sugar is weaker), and perceptual (you no longer notice it consciously, even though the basic thing stays unchanged).

Walking in Zurich i see people without gloves in the freezing cold. They are used to the cold. I am wondering whether they are actually not suffering from it, or they are just used to the suffering. 

Clearly adaptation reduces the general bodily response to the cold. Hotter country citizens exposed to zurich freeze will suffer in their whole body and mind, a fate saved from the Swiss. Yet some of the suffering may stay with the Swiss where their adaptation is merely a case of being used to a drag. In this case, adaptation makes people unaware to an existing aversive state. (sometimes with the childish glory of "i can stand it" what glory is it to suffer in stupidity?!)

Ankther,point some adaptation means giving up rather than not having pain. Sometimes it is entirely irrational (called learned helplessness)

The realistic good in any bad (practical positivity, not deusion)

The positive aspects of trouble. It is not a delusion, rather realism. Even dying has the advantage of less pain and suffering. Maybe it is worthwhile to live, but do not forget to credit your killer with the fact that he saved you many worries etc.   

It is important, because finding these aspects is very useful in order to take advantage of life. You lose your job, you clearly hate it (the firing, or the job?) But you got lots of free time. You can use it, enjoy it, and so on. It is foolish to say "it was good to lose my job" because overall it was bad (although do not know for sure). But seeing the advantages is simply having open eyes and seeing the whole picture.

It has very practical implication, because seeing these aspects arms you with the relevant view for now to take full advantage of your situation. Hence being happy of the whatever opportunities a disaster opened for you is pretty much wise. Not wishful thinking or positive thinking, just plain opportunism, which is the good trait of using whatever material comes to you, rather than being closeminded and being alive only when circumatances allow.....
P.s If someone tells you you need a "proper emotional response" he is a sucker, and stupid. Wise people do not Have time to whine when there are golden opportunities ahead to fully swallow. Clearly, normal people do not fool around to search for the "proper emotional response". It is entirely human etc. To be sad dejected whatever, yet seeing this as exoected or useful is suckery)

Standing in the aisle when a plane lands is the most ludicrous act

It is ludicrous. A plane lands. Nothing to happen in the next few minutes. Doors closed. Yet everyoe stands there sandwiched In the aisle. Stressed out, suffering, as if something is going to be missed, and all for nothing. You will mostly make an additinal minute, and usually even not this. 

I sit like a king. Enjoy sitting, relax, even may read a book, or music. Sometimes i happen to enjoy these last minutes more than the tme before. 
Why suffer and put on yourself useless stress, and from your own choice?

Thentruth delusion

Every piece of knowledge you get has consequences, which are either positive or negative, depending on a complex chain of psychological experiential details. 
Thus, the utilitarian measure of knowing is distinct from whether it is true. 
And ultimately we are utilitarians, so we care more about consequences than about truth (or we should).
Looking at truth as the measure is pure nonsense, therefore.

Manage extremes not midlevel.

Parameters in life you want to track, track rather the extreme cases. If you want to track say your level of stupidity, you can track the wisdom of yourself continously, or rather pay attention to extremely smart,stupid things. This is a bettere way to balance 
Or say you want to track the level of your thirst. You can try to look for weak signs, or use mainoy the extreme signs, namely when ou feel obviously thirsty or obviously saitated. (when drinking after feeling very thirsty, yiu may want to drink until yiu are very satiated)

Two ways to fill a bath

Two ways to fill a bath

You can fine tune the warmth mix to fit exactly to your taste. It involves the very exact measure, is boring and does not account to changes (water temperature in tap and in bath changes throughout filling). But You can put an approximate mix, and when the water becomes too hot or cold change the temperature to the opposite direction. 

This trick works for many things. Instead of fine tuning loneliness vs. Being with people, one may push to one direction, and when feeling fed up going extreme to the other direction for balance.

Filling that way has many advantages. It is more fun. You always have only one thing in your mind, the direction, whereas with fine-tuning, you need to hold constantly in mind both directions and the complex conditionals by which you should measure all the time. 
Local ine sided direction allows you to u fully and intuitively the full current situationand conditions, whereas fine-tuning requires you to consider the LNG term strategy all the time (because you all the time work on the long term optimization formula)


So now I realized that I am underweight, I am single-mindedly aiming to eat. Two days pass, my stomach is tired, I single-mindedly to relax stomach (note tha earlier goals are not deleted, nor heavily factored in, just that I have something new now. Probably these older decisions are somehow there anyway and will showbup somehow)

Cruciality of switching off to the nirmal life after work

Most of us get killed at the job. It is not about suffering per se. It is about the killing of the soul. Of adopting a helpless attitude, and a powerless passive soulless way of thinking. 
The trick is that when one is out of work, to create a life of a real person. To be hapoy in this time.

Ps.
Needed actions
Reenergize after work (nap, relaxation, caffeine)
Create a cognitive and emotional world for life that is different,

Obviousley, build an undestructible wall that blocks any reminders of work in the non work time. (the personal phone and email shiuld not be known to work people)