Stop Running Away
It's following you
We think we can solve our problems by improving our environment when we usually need to improve our character.
Troubles of the soul are heavy. We travel and move trying to solve them but we carry them like luggage. They don’t sit around in a corner, they’re inside of us. We try to move to get rid of them, either by traveling or by adding maximum busyness to our days. Has that ever helped?
Seneca gives a great analogy to explain the troubles of how we try to solve our problems. I’m a ship at sea. My cargo is my problems. I try to move the boat in all different directions to not face my troubles. But the more I move, the more the cargo moves. The more the cargo moves, the more likely it is to sink the ship. When we add busyness and travel to avoid facing our problems, we usually make them worse.
To actually fix the pain we’re feeling, we need to open up the cargo and face it. That’s much harder to do while we’re moving around - it’s nearly impossible. I know the Big Nerds are all busy people, so this won’t feel natural. But maybe you need to take a moment to stop moving.
Here’s a practical exercise to try - maybe you need to sit down, close your eyes, and work through the muck in your brain. When was the last time you took 30 minutes to do nothing but think? No music, no reading, no streaming, just you and your brain (maybe a pen and paper).
I won’t guarantee it will work. Naval says to do 60 minutes for 60 days and you’ll never need a therapist again. That’s a big step though. Try 30 minutes once. I’ll guarantee you’ll be closer to fixing your spirit than if you keep running around with your problems in your pocket.
Question of The Day
When was the last time you took time alone to do nothing at all?
Your Friend,
Noah “BigNerd” Sochaczevski
PS. Changing environments is helpful for problems brought upon by the environment. For example, there was a study looking into Heroin use in American soldiers in Vietnam. Many of them did it there. But when they came back, their relapse rate was significantly lower than that of American who attended rehabilitation programs. The environment has triggers. That problem was triggered by the environment. We need to be careful in solving for the root of the problem - is it within us or outside us? Hint - it’s usually within us.