Self-help for spiritual seekers
Humans are a value assigning authority. If there were no humans, nothing would mean anything.
One could say that, hey supernovae mean something as they create the essential ingredients for life. But my question to her would be, who decides that life is valuable? Humans!
We are the sole source of meaning for the universe (unless there are intelligent aliens). That makes us the most valuable thing in the universe. As without us, nothing matters.
Productivity seems to be a function of these ingredients- focus, environment, energy and clarity.
If you want to be more productive, improve upon these aspects of your life.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Focus– be interested in what you do. It’s hard to do a good job when you are bored. You may also want to try meditation to improve your general level of focus and attention.
Environment– Have separate places for different tasks. Don’t make your bedroom the only workstation you have. Eliminate distractions.
Energy– Run often. Stay hydrated. Get enough sleep everyday.
Clarity– Keep a to do list. Prioritize the tasks on that list and set aside specific time and space for each of them.
(There’s a lot more ways to improve you productivity. If you want to know about some more, check this out- My Top 10 Tips for a Productive Day)
How improbable was human life on earth?
First, our universe had to come into existence out of nothing. Then laws of physics had to be sufficient to create us. Stars and galaxies had to form so that earth and other necessary materials get created. Almost nothing in our body is created by our sun. Heck even water is thought to have come here from outer space. Countless supernovae burnt to forge the elements we see all around us and is crucial for forming human bodies. Then evolution had to occur in such a way that humans were formed. And after all of these miracles, here we are. Singing, dancing, forming tribes and fighting, exploring, building relationships and dreaming about outer space. How sacred and precious existence is!
When I consider how improbable our existence is, it astonishes me. It also makes my heart fill up with gratitude. For a brief moment in the space-time continuum, we get to live. To listen to music. To laugh with each other. To explore, learn and share.
I was reading the book called Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. It’s written by David Epstein- an investigative reporter. Prior to becoming a reporter, he studied environmental science and astronomy. He rose to prominence by leveraging his science education into writing amazing sports articles.
Epstein noticed a phenomenon in sports stars which he later found in successful people from most other fields. The people at the top aren’t extremely focus on their area of expertise. Rather, they often invest significant time and effort in many other related or unrelated fields.
He starts his book with the contrast between Roger Federer and Tiger Woods. Tiger is obsessively focused whereas Roger dabbled into many other sports before focusing on tennis exclusively.
He explains this disparity in two of the world’s greatest sport stars by demonstrating the difference in their sports.
Apparently, domains of learning can either be wicked or kind. It is wicked when clear patterns don’t repeat themselves overtime. The stock market is wicked, so is tennis and most other sports. Whereas it is kind when clear patterns emerge constantly. Chess and golf are kind domains of learning.
Most of what we do as humans are wicked. That is why we have already built AI systems that beat the world’s bests in Chess, but most other domains of activity still elude them. Because, AI systems thrive mostly when there are repeating patterns to work with.
People with expertise in different domains show creativity, flexibility and adaptiveness. They use knowledge/skills from multiple domains to solve novel challenges.
As we prepare for AI to take over most of our jobs, it is the wicked domains of work that will still need humans. And those of us who has a good grasp on multiple domains of knowledge/skills, will thrive.
RaihanRiad 