Asklemmy @lemmy.ml BromSwolligans @lemmy.world 11mo ago

What do you swear by?

Brand, thing, behavior, method, advice, mantra, etc.

I swear by Blackwing pencils.

Also, the 'two minute rule', which has really improved my life: "if it takes two minutes or less to do, just do it now; if it takes longer, schedule it." I've got untreated attention issues and it's very easy for me to notice something needing done, and overlook or procrastinate it because it seems inconvenient in the moment. Having a totally painless rule that forces me to acknowledge that thing I should pick up, that trash bag I should change, etc, or, to at least put on my calendar anything I mustn't forget in the long run has been great for me.

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"You are under no obligation to be the same person you were 5 minutes ago" - Alan Watts

This one is a bit hard-won for me. You see I used to be an asshole. It was my brand. I thought "it's just in my nature".

Fortunately, I was also a student of religion (mostly because I was a militant atheist. Know your enemy and all that). Studying Buddhism, I began to observe the nature of self. I found enough distance from it to see its transient nature.

I realized being an asshole was a choice and I could just as easily choose otherwise. Soon I began to discover this was true of most character traits.

I'm not saying you don't have consistent patterns of behavior. I'll hopefully always be curious and analytical. But for the most part, the way you conduct yourself and where you focus your attention is a choice.

So, if you're not happy with who you are maybe don't be so attached to the idea of 'who you are". And if that seems hard, observe what you pay your attention to and try to find the distance between observation and behavior. In that gap lies the choice you make, consciously or not, to be "you".
- Is your name Earl?
  
  A Carson Daly fan, if you will.
- No offense, brother, but this is a great example of my swear-by.
  
  Don't write a "wall of text." Even if a reader is interested, it's hard to read the whole thing.
  
  Separate your wall into smaller sections, use bullet points (esp at work) if it helps.
  
  Use small sentences. Forget what they told you about keeping similar ideas in one paragraph. You're not Salinger, and no one is expecting you to be.
  
  This is a digital age, and our job as not-salinger is to convey information.
  
  No offense taken
  
  These are salient points
  
  I edited my post
  
  I hope it's easier to digest now
  
  Thank you for the constructive criticism

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