Don’t tell me that you are ‘not creative.’ Being creative is a skill that can be cultivated. You don’t have to be creative in what you or anyone else thinks of as traditionally creative pursuits. You don’t have to paint like Picasso, you could simply plan a special outing for your partner or family. The key to this principle is that you are adding something of value to the universe. If you are concerned with legacy, embracing the practice of creation will help you to leave the world with something that will outlast you. If you are concerned with service, it will help you to continually ask what you can give to the world. If you are concerned with learning, it will fast track your ability to assimilate information. Information written is more highly retained than information read or heard. Composition is more difficult than digestion but more rewarding.
Carry a notebook. Leonardo Da Vinci carried a notebook with him wherever he went. Having a pen and notebook always available will ensure that your ideas do not escape you as they come winging into your head. The forms of expression you can create in your Leonardo notebook are myriad: recording dreams, journaling, reflection, writing to-do lists, day planning, week planning, month planning, year planning, doodling and drawing, putting down mantras and affirmations.
You can write end-of-day reflections in the manner of the Stoics, reflecting on what went well during the day, where you failed to do your best, and how you could do better. Then set intentions for the following day using a template from fellow Stoic aficionado and founder of the Heroic public benefit corporation Brian Johnson. He posits energy, work and love as the three major foci of one’s life. For each focus, choose an identity that you wish to embrace. Currently, for me, these are: elite athlete, author, best dad, for energy, work and love respectively. Then choose a virtue that you wish to embody in each area. To continue my example: discipline, love of learning, psychological safety. Finally, choose one behavior or action that will embody those identities and virtues and move the needle towards becoming the person you want to be. This becomes a punch list that you can return to, ensuring that the day doesn’t get away from you without getting the most important things done.
Work on a project or hobby. Happy people have projects. Whether it’s renovating a house, restoring a car, painting a canvas, writing a book, cultivating a garden, or any other outcome-directed activity, projects are a great way to provide an end to work towards.
“Sometimes the first move is the most important. The first set in the gym. Now you're working out. The first sentence. Now you're writing. The first call. Now you're in the game.
Other times, the last move is the most important. The last brick. Now the building is built. The last line of code. Now the app works. The last round of revisions. Now you can ship it.
What do you need to focus on right now? First or last? Do you need to start or finish?”
- James Clear
The processes of becoming our best selves and creating the ideal life are journeys, not destinations. A project can be open ended, too. But a project can also be finished, giving you the satisfaction of a job well done.
Learn a new language. The language could be French or music. Catalan or computer code. This will exercise your brain in a way that will promote neuroplasticity and force you to think in new ways. If you learn to play a musical instrument, it will also cultivate psychomotor skill that will engage right- and left-brain circuits, making you nimbler with other brain-requiring tasks. Language skills are always welcome when traveling of course. Again, praxis trumps other forms of learning, as speaking and writing compel a generative engagement with the language. I have found language learning apps useful for keeping a consistent habit of doing daily foreign language learning, but not as useful in pursuing fluency. You may not have the availability or the bandwidth to commit to a class or to travel.
However, foreign language music is readily accessible. Novels can be hard to tackle, but short stories are available from libraries and more accessible to a non-fluent learner. I had to bail on reading Umberto Eco’s Il Pendolo di Foucault in the original Italian. When I picked up an English translation, I realized that it was difficult to follow in English, and littered with words whose meanings I didn’t know even in my native language!
Reading assignment: How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci, by Michael Gelb
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