February 3rd, 2024: Greetings from Austin. I was off last week visiting my friend Jonny and his wife Kelly in Boulder, Colorado . What a beautiful place. Some hikes and views inspired lots of ideas to flow… + Speaking of Jonny, his Nervous System Mastery cohort is kicking off soon, if you are interested in joining you can use the code
"If people were as creative with their excuses as they were with their work there would be so many more interesting creations in the world." Literal LOL when I read this as it's so true.
Great piece Paul. I think one of my stuggles is that I have a lot of ambitious goals for myself but am trying to be realistic about doing too many new things at one time. For example, I'm in the midst of a new workout plan/eating habits but also want to start writing more. Worried if I I try to do both I'll stick with neither. I guess that's my current version of "Shouldlandia."
👍 I've definitely been thinking about this. What am I making myself do. What am I not letting myself do.
As for the Shouldlandia term, it reminds me of books like What to Say When You Talk To Yourself by Shad Helmstetter https://amzn.to/2zc9Uoi which was helpful for me.
This is cool..."Shouldlandia" reminds me of a really cool video that Akta did on her journey to quit dentistry and just travel and figure out who she is. It's titled, "Stop Shoulding on Yourself." It's a really inspiring video that I think perfectly matches Paul's Pathless Path mission.
This resonated, Paul. Since you are a parent, I wonder how this squares with the responsibilities of that. Daily streaks/habits/commitments just don't feel compatible with parenthood, at least for me. At least once a month something will blow all my best-laid plans and habits, and I feel like I have to start at square one. I'm not asking for a magical answer for how to fix that -- unless of course you have one!
This is brilliant Paul. Please queue up Escape From Shouldlandia as your next book! "As a creator you will always make many stops in Shouldlandia and sometimes they may be useful. But the key is just never signing a long-term lease."
one of the key differences between the default vs pathless path is that there's no clear destination when you're carving your own way which makes it even easier to should yourself across a spectrum of possible things you could be doing
love your approach to designing experiments that are quittable within 1-2 months
"If people were as creative with their excuses as they were with their work there would be so many more interesting creations in the world." Literal LOL when I read this as it's so true.
Great piece Paul. I think one of my stuggles is that I have a lot of ambitious goals for myself but am trying to be realistic about doing too many new things at one time. For example, I'm in the midst of a new workout plan/eating habits but also want to start writing more. Worried if I I try to do both I'll stick with neither. I guess that's my current version of "Shouldlandia."
I am pretty sure you have written about the power coining new words (citing Venkitesh Rao) some where before. "Shouldlandia" is such a good example!
I really enjoyed this peice.
This is such great advice. How easy it is to forget to just focus on what feels right. Great post, Paul.
👍 I've definitely been thinking about this. What am I making myself do. What am I not letting myself do.
As for the Shouldlandia term, it reminds me of books like What to Say When You Talk To Yourself by Shad Helmstetter https://amzn.to/2zc9Uoi which was helpful for me.
This is cool..."Shouldlandia" reminds me of a really cool video that Akta did on her journey to quit dentistry and just travel and figure out who she is. It's titled, "Stop Shoulding on Yourself." It's a really inspiring video that I think perfectly matches Paul's Pathless Path mission.
This resonated, Paul. Since you are a parent, I wonder how this squares with the responsibilities of that. Daily streaks/habits/commitments just don't feel compatible with parenthood, at least for me. At least once a month something will blow all my best-laid plans and habits, and I feel like I have to start at square one. I'm not asking for a magical answer for how to fix that -- unless of course you have one!
This is brilliant Paul. Please queue up Escape From Shouldlandia as your next book! "As a creator you will always make many stops in Shouldlandia and sometimes they may be useful. But the key is just never signing a long-term lease."
one of the key differences between the default vs pathless path is that there's no clear destination when you're carving your own way which makes it even easier to should yourself across a spectrum of possible things you could be doing
love your approach to designing experiments that are quittable within 1-2 months