by Oto | Feb 6, 2023 | Inspiration, Musings, Personal Development
Winning the war against the Resistance
Around the end of last year, a friend asked me a question. He had two websites to get done before he was done for the year, but he was finding it tough to muster up the motivation to get it done. He had planned the projects out and knew what he had to do, but for the life of him, he just couldn’t actually do it.
He had also been reading Steven Pressfield’s book ‘Do the Work’ and wondered how I tackled Resistance, that force that seems to rise up and trip you up when you trying to do anything worthwhile.
And that got me thinking...
I’ve written about resistance before, here when I spoke about ‘Turning Pro’.
Resistance is that ever present inertia, that force that seems to always be waiting to trip you up when it’s time to do something important. You know the feeling. You really want to work out, but you are feeling lazy, or unmotivated. You really want to pick up the brush and work on that painting but it’s easier to pick up the game controller instead.
Anytime we want to do something inspired by our higher self, our baser self rises up to meet it. There comes the fear, the distraction, the self-doubt, the addiction, the timidity, the self-loathing, the perfectionism. The Resistance deploys every weapon in its arsenal to make sure you stop.
But that’s good news. The Resistance means that this thing is important. In fact, you could argue that it is the great thing you want to do that has sparked the Resistance.
Before resistance comes idea. this means that before the dragon of resistance rears its ugly head and breathe fire into our faces, there existed within us a force so potent and life-affirming that it summoned this beast into being, perversely, to combat it.
Steven Pressfield - Do the Work
Whenever you need to do something worthwhile, that sense of fear, that anxiety, that excuse will rise up. So, how do you face it down and get things done anyway?
- Just do it, just get started. As bullshit as that sounds. Sometimes you just have to do it. Don’t over think it, don’t worry about being perfect. You just have to ignore the inertia and get to it. Start by doing it badly if you must, just start. Many times you will find that once you get started and get the ball rolling, It becomes much easier to keep going.
- Embrace the pain, lean into the resistance. Acknowledge that it sucks. Work can be painful, you’d rather be doing anything else. Suck it up and do it. Embrace the pain as an integral part of the process. Learn to enjoy it. Become your hero. Become the Spartan warrior staring down the horde. Become Batman cleaning up Gotham by night. Let the fire of work purify you and bring you deep fulfilment.
Hear the late Nipsey Hussle talk about this very thing here.
- Think about how bad do you want/need it. An easy way to overcome the Resistance is to think about how bad you need it. When it’s do or die, when your back is to the wall, there is no time to indulge the Resistance, there is only time for results. It is easy to do what needs to be done when it absolutely has to get done. You don’t need a candle when you are on fire.
- Listen to the resistance, it might be time to stop. But if you don’t really want it, if the reason is not really compelling, if you are chasing the wrong goal, then listen to the Resistance. Sometimes the right response is not to press on, but to pull back. The Resistance might be there for a reason. To tell you that this thing doesn’t serve you anymore, that there is a better way. If that’s the case, drop it and attend to something greater, something more in line with your spirit.
In what part of your life is the Resistance kicking your ass and how are you going to tackle it?
by Oto | Jan 24, 2023 | Inspiration, Musings, Personal Development, Productivity
As a person who has been obsessed with the ideas of personal development and self growth for a long time, I have espoused many times the usual mantras of hard work, putting in the time, waking up early, and so on.
In my life experience however, I’ve noticed that even though a lot of these things are useful and definitely do have their place in the pursuit of excellence and fulfilment, sometimes, doing the opposite can also have positive effects.
In my last post, I briefly highlighted how you can actually break the rules if you respect core truths. Here are some of the ‘bad’ things you can do that could actually help you succeed.
This piece was inspired by this article by Jessica Wildfire. So if this intrigues you, definitely check that out as well.
So without further ado, here are 8 bad habits that could help you succeed.
Wake up whenever you want
Shout out to the 5am club. I am just not one of ya’ll. At least not yet. At least not all the time. A little caveat. Of course this would not work for you if you have a job, or a routine that demands that things happen at a certain time. But if you are unmarried and without kids, and also working remote or for yourself, then you could indulge yourself by waking up whenever you like.
For the past couple years, I have had the most erratic sleep and wake up times. But more often than not, I am awake till very late at night. These days, I am up until noon the very next day when my body starts to shut down, and then my day would begin around 8pm. It is admitted weird, but those all night work sessions are some of the most focused and productive I ever have. It doesn’t matter so much when you wake up or go to sleep. What matters is the quality of your sleep and what you do when you are awake.
Be lazy
Hard work is key. I believe in pushing hard. I believe in being obsessive. I believe in putting it all on the line. The work is the work, and the work must be done. However, too many times, we are working furiously climbing up the wrong ladder, trying to scale the wrong wall. Sometimes when we feel the urge to be lazy, the lack of desire to engage with work, it is because we really do not want to, it is because we are misaligned. This is a good time to be lazy, to ease up. To do the bare minimum, to recover and refocus. To discover what we really want to do, what will excite us, what will drive us. Be lazy long enough and you can discover a better way. Often, our obsession with working hard is just an excuse to not apply ourselves in working smart. It can be much easier to do what we normally do, instead of putting in the effort to allocate our time effectively.
Disappear from the world
A big part of success is being engaged and connected with the world. No one lives in a vacuum and the more tapped into your network, the more opportunities come your way. There are times we must do the opposite, times we must withdraw. In times of overwhelm and burnout. When we have given all and we are empty. Pulling away can give us that much needed rest and perspective to make the changes we need to make and come back stronger.
Follow your obsessions
In the midst of being lazy and withdrawing from the world, you might start to feel something well up within you, a new interest, an old obsession. Nurture it and indulge in it. For a long time, I was completely over watching or listening to anything growth related. I suddenly grew a deep interest in political systems, long breakdowns and analysis of modern media, and video games. None of them have been directly useful to my business yet, but they have enriched my mind, my life experience, my thinking and the way I engage with the world around and indirectly affected my creative output and connection to the people around me.
Have fun/Party
All work, and no play makes Jack dull af. Life is short. Enjoy it. Sure, this is an area where you can overdo it. But it is okay to go out, to be social, to see and be seen. It might be vain and futile sometimes, and even a waste of time and money. But it can also be a great time to connect with friends, to make new memories, to bond, and sometimes, even to network.
Play video games/Have hobbies
Some people say you shouldn’t play games at all. And I used to be in that camp. I always wondered what the point of engaging in virtual worlds was, when you could simply just engage with life itself. Life is the biggest open world RPG you could play. But video games as a whole are an incredible achievement, a mix of art, science, technology, design and storytelling to give you some of the most immersive and engaging experiences every created by man. So play if you like. Play helps us see things in new ways, helps us grow, process trauma, and grow and learn. I for one have learned a lot about life playing video games. Sometimes when I’m facing something tough in life, I think about bashing my head repeatedly against a particularly hard boss, and I think to myself, if I could do that, then I can do this.
Binge
There is nothing like a good binge. Whether that is partying, watching that new show on Netflix or spending 12 hours straight at your desk working. the idea is dive completely into whatever you are doing. It would be a bit intense, but you will come out of that session better for it. You would have scratched the itch you needed to, and come out relaxed and chilled enough to get back to work. Or if you were bingeing work, you would have let it all on the court and come off exhausted ready to rest. The point is, sometimes it is good to binge.
Work when you feel like it
Some people think you should show up every single day, whether you feel like it or not. There is surely a place for that. Sometimes you just have to show up. The muse should find you waiting and ready. Other times though, the inspiration just isn’t there. If you aren’t feeling it, the best thing to do might be to just not do it. Do something else. Go hangout with friends, go play 6 hours of your favourite video game. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve left the work to do something else, and then inspiration hits me at the weirdest time and I’m good to go.
Even typing this right now is a good example. The whole day yesterday, I was in the dumps, so I did nothing but sleep really. Today, I’ve been been at my desk since 4:30am. C’est la vie.
by Oto | Jan 16, 2023 | Inspiration, Musings, Personal Development, Productivity
So it has been about two weeks into the new year. Things are getting into full swing. With school and work opening again, we are all easing back into our normal lives and routines. If you are reading this, you have probably already done some form of vision boarding and planning for the rest of the year ahead. You probably have things to improve, achievements to gain, habits to form, routines to commit to, etc.
All the best, I am rooting for you. And I’m hoping that my content would be of some help over the next 12 months. I intend to put out content on multiple platforms weekly this year and grow this into a more cohesive platform aimed at building a Life by Design, so if you like what you see here, please like, share and stay tuned.
This specific piece will be the usual fare but with a twist. Instead of drilling down on a specific topic like we usually do. in my minds eye right now, you and I are seated on beach chairs with our toes in the sand and drinks in hand while we shoot the breeze.
I am entering the next 12 months with a mix of being very open to whatever happens and being quite specific of what I’d like to do and create in the next year. I think both seemingly contradictory ideas are important to keep in mind. The past 2-3 years should have served as a humbling lesson to us all that we might make plans but life has the final say. It is important to plan, to have a sense of clarity of who you are and what you are trying to do. It is doubly important to be flexible and responsive on the path to take there.
Here are some ideas I’ve been mulling over as we begin the year.
It is okay to take things slow
The tempting thing to do when the new year rolls around like this is to hit the ground running hard and fast. With the adrenaline of a new start, we tend to go all out, trying new routines, diets, lifestyles, etc all at the same time. Unless you have an unusually high amount of willpower and discipline, this is a recipe for quick burnout.
The better thing to do is to take it a bit slow. Sure, use the excitement of a new year to make changes. Try everything and sample all the changes you want to make, then slowly scale it back to be more manageable. Focus on one main habit or thing to change. Better still if it’s a cornerstone habit. The kind of thing you can stack other habits on.
Popular cornerstone habits are daily meditation or daily exercise. Starting your day with meditation puts you in an intentional space everyday and once you approach your day with that clarity, it is easier to keep doing more positive things. Same thing with exercise. Beginning the day with your endorphins pumping and some sweat energises both the body and mind and sets you up for success the rest of your day.
If you did nothing else, implement one of those two.
You can break the ‘rules’ if you respect core truths
The personal growth space is chuck full of many rules and routines to follow to ensure success. Apparently you need to wake up before 5am, and then exercise, meditate, read, journal, eat a healthy breakfast and then go to work. That is a great routine. But once you break that into its core truths of wake up at a good time, move and feed your body, clear and strengthen your mind, then you can break the rules of how where and when you get that done.
You can wake up whenever you want, exercise however you want, meditate, read and journal wherever you want. You just have to make it suit you.
Be creative in how you tackle your goals
We are all going to face obstacles in the pursuit of our goals. We might apply over and over to jobs and get no responses. We might start executing a plan to scale our business and come up short. We might want to go back to school, but not be able to find the course we want to do.
The same concept of looking at core truths applies. What are we really trying to do here and how else can we get it done. Maybe we need to change how and where we apply for jobs. Maybe instead of just applying, we come up with solutions and ideas for the company and come prepared with them. Maybe we focus on nurturing relationships instead to open doors. Maybe we bite the bullet and start our own businesses.
Think outside the box and approach your goals in unique ways.
Explore new pleasures
I take fun seriously. I like to have a good time. I do believe it is an important part of the human experience. At the same time, without temperance, it can become a breeding ground for bad habits sending you tumbling down rabbit holes at the expense of many other things. It then becomes imperative to expand your idea of pleasure, and cultivate a diversity of interests. Sure it is fun to hangout and shoot the shit with the guys. It is also a lot of fun to sit down for hours working on your idea/concept. Expand what pleasure means to you, and explore new things, activities and experiences.
Evolve into the next version of you
The new year comes with the chance for evolution or reinvention. You don’t have to be who you have always been and it is never too late to be who you might have been. You can pick up old dreams, you can let go of old weight. You can transform yourself. Take the time to evolve, to become better, to become unrecognisable even. To move with more grace and strength. To gain new skills and experiences, to operate on a whole new level. But it will take commitment, focus and intentionality
But shout out to you, I know you can do it. Let’s kick ass and have a fun time doing it.
by Oto | Dec 13, 2022 | Creativity, Inspiration, Personal Development, Productivity
The other day I was on TikTok (I know, bear with me as I gag for a bit 🤮). But I came across this clip that I found useful and got me thinking more about this concept of leading and lagging indicators.
This idea has its origins in business and economics circles. Leading and lagging indicators are the inputs and results that influence or showcase the position or trajectory of a business or entity.
Let’s break it down.
Lagging indicators are essentially results. They are the output, the culmination of all the your actions up to this point. They show you where you stand now and where you are coming from. These are things like your weight, your bank balance, your general level of happiness, whatever metric you want to look at.
This is usually where most people new to goal setting start when they begin their approach. They set goals based on lagging indicators, looking solely at the end result of their efforts, and then its off to the races.
You go out and you do whatever you have chosen as your path to get there. You keep in mind the goal of gaining 5kg, and you push on going to the gym 3 times a day, eating healthy, all the while comparing your results against your goals. Each week, you weigh yourself and see how well you are doing towards your goal.
This is useful, you have a clear sense of where you are, and where you want to go. By monitoring your results, the lagging indicators, you can keep yourself accountable to your goal.
However, this approach is limited for 3 reasons.
- Your focus is solely on your results which is just a snapshot of what has already happened. This would be the lump sum of your good efforts, a bunch of wasted effort and probably a lot of inertia and missteps. It’s good information, but you can’t change the past, and it has come too late.
- Because results can take time to manifest and arrive, we run the risk of getting discouraged on working towards our goals, and doing less of the things we need to be doing. You are a failure from day one, until you finally hit the goal.
- When you are only focused on results, you can easily fool yourself that you are busy taking action, when you are really just doing busy work and avoiding the real tasks you must undertake. Your inputs may not be targeted enough.
A better path to goal achieving, is to focus on leading indicators, the inputs needed to get you where you need to go. You need to be clear on choosing high quality inputs - what actual actions you need to take to achieve your goal. These are things like how often you work out, how consistent you are, what you eat every day.
So, your ‘focus’ shifts from the goal - ‘I want to gain 5kg’ to the process - ‘I work out 3 times a week and eat 5 nutritious meals every day’. And that becomes the target to hit every week and iterate upon, because instead of being solely obsessed about what results you are getting, you are focusing on the things that are actually in your control to execute and do.
If you are able to focus on these and get them right, then you are a success from day one, just for executing and sticking to the plan. You are not stressed or overwhelmed by your goal, but you are simply focused on getting it right on a day to day basis. You learn to enjoy the process, the journey. And as you get the hang of things and are consistent with your inputs, your results will catch up and get you where you need to be.
So, think about the big thing you are trying to achieve, and figure out what the leading indicators you should be focusing on. If you find inputs that are simple, within your control, trackable, with visible progression, and which are effectively aligned to your goals, then your success is only a matter of time.
by Oto | Dec 5, 2022 | Gaming, Inspiration, Musings, Reviews
For most of my teens and 20s, I had little interest in video games. Sure, I played a fair amount as a kid but something about getting stuck on the DMC3 Cerberus boss fight as a teen really just put me off the whole thing. Why waste my time fighting a seemingly unfair boss when I had more important things to worry about, like acing that upcoming test and going to uni.
I did try to get back into gaming over the years to no avail. I tried my hand at some titles here and there but nothing ever gripped me. Imagine my surprise when out of the blue the urge to game began to grow into an itch that wouldn’t go away.
Around the same time, I became home ridden with some health issues and needed something to take my mind off things. I went down to the mall and bought a PS4 bundled with 3 free games, and the first one I played was God of War 2018. The second was The Last of Us. And with this one-two punch of incredible 10/10 games I was back and hooked in a big way.
So when the sequel to GOW was announced to be coming out this year, I was more than a little hyped. So hyped in fact, I made sure I replaced my 6 year old HD dumb TV with a brand new 4K Smart one, and shelled out the arm and leg needed to get my hands on a PS5, I even preordered the game and downloaded it ahead of time. If I was going to do this, I was going to do this right.
At 3pm on launch day, I booted up Ragnarok and proceeded to have my mind blown over the 46 hours I’ve spent with the game so far. And what a time it has been.
I’ll get this out the way. God of War Ragnarok is simply some of the best interactive media experiences you can have. It is just that good. The first 2 hours alone is a bombastic rollercoaster of action and emotions. The game wastes no time getting into gear. 5 minutes past the loading screen and you are on a high speed sleigh chase through the snowy forests of Midgard with Freya hard on your heels. 10 mins in you are fighting back the tears as Atreus holds his dying wolf Fenrir. 30 mins on you are Kratos looking for Artreus in the woods and out of no where, you are attacked by a massive bear. At the 50 min mark, Thor himself is banging on your door with Odin in tow. A short and fruitless conversation later and we are yeeted miles away by Mjolnir and thrust into a multi-phase literally electric battle with big belly Thor.
2 hours later and you know one thing for sure. God of War Ragnarok is not messing around.
At the core of the GOWR story is the relationship between father and son, Kratos and Atreus set within Norse mythology. The first game saw them journey to the highest peak in the realms to scatter Faye’s (wife of Kratos, mother to Atreus) ashes, putting them in the paths of multiple Norse gods, resulting in Kratos ultimately killing Baldur. This game follows the consequences of that action, with fimbulwinter started and Ragnarok on the horizon. 3 years later from the 2018 game and Atreus is more grown up and eager to explore to find out more of his destiny and role to play in the war to come. Oh yeah, turns out Atreus is actually also Loki and has an important role to play in Ragnarok - the end of everything. Meanwhile Kratos wants him to lay low and stay safe and not tempt fate.
Moving the game forward is that tension between them. They have grown closer, more trusting of each other but still fundamentally at odds. Atreus is hopeful, optimistic, curious and compassionate. He has the innocence of youth and the exuberance of childhood. Kratos is world weary, experienced and trying not to slip back into the blood thirsty, war seeking ways of his youth. And over the course of 40 hours, they argue, fight, separate, reconnect and eventually both evolve as the game hurtles towards its narrative conclusion.
Kratos learns to be more compassionate, and allows his son to undertake his journey, trusting him to keep his secrets and make the right call. Atreus learns to be less reckless and to trust his father’s wisdom as well. It is a deeply emotional journey with impeccable writing and more than a few tear jerking moments. At the end of the game’s main story, I could help but marvel and clap out loud at just how good a job the game studio Santa Monica did here.
The story isn’t just about Kratos and Atreus however. A wide ranging and colourful cast flesh out this vibrant and teeming world. The dwarf brothers Sindri and Brok make a return. Mimir the talking head and rascal is a welcome sight as well. We are introduced to Odin, Thor and the rest of the family in Asgard, as well as characters from all realms. The themes of forgiveness and reconciliation, change vs stagnancy, and the struggle between fate and choice are deeply interwoven into the various narrative threads.
Exploration wise, the game is expanded from its predecessor, with all 9 realms being accessible and playable, with a lot to do, see and collect. Each realm is vibrant and different from the others. From the water logged bogs of Svartalfheim, the lush forests of Vanaheim, to the snow covered plains of Midgard and many more, GOWR provides us with a wide range of terrains to explore and fight in.
Speaking of fighting, the combat is impeccable. I mean that is like 60% of the reason why we are here. Kratos’ move sets are expanded from the previous game, with new traversal mechanics, combat options and weapons. You even get to play as Atreus and experience some combat variety. Dispatching enemies is simple enough and there is a good amount of depth and variety.
What really got to me though, what made me want to pick up the phone and call my dad was watching these two characters wrestle with prophecy and fate. To see them fight, to see them lash out in their fear of losing each other. To see Kratos hold on too tightly and inadvertently push Atreus away into the arms of their enemy. To see Atreus struggle with feeling stifled and not trusted to make the right choices by his Dad. To feel burdened by the weight of all that pressure. To feel desperately in his heart that there are things he must do, even though his dad would most likely not approve. To see him worry and fight to find a way to save his father from the prophecy of his death. To see Kratos worry, to see him teach Atreus all that he knows, to see him equip his son to live and survive in a world without him. To see and know and feel that he would do anything, even the very thing he knows would trigger the war he doesn’t want. he would do it in a heartbeat to save his son. To see that love and bond between the two, to experience it over 40 hours and see them at the end, in tearful embrace, with a deeper sense of connection and understanding and mutual respect between the two. That was amazing. That made me shed a tear. That made me want to call my father.
I mean I didn’t, we just texted.
But wow, what emotions, what an experience, what a game.
PS, I streamed most of my play-through on Twitch and if you are interested in watching that or just having something play in the background while you work, or do chores, you could check them out on my YouTube channel.
by Oto | Nov 30, 2022 | Creativity, Inspiration, Mental Health, Musings, Personal Development, Productivity
If you have been a long time follower of my projects or content, you would know I’m prone to abruptly taking time off for up to months at a time. I used to think this was an issue, but lately, I have come to look at it as more of a feature than a bug.
Over the years, I’ve written a couple times about the need to cultivate empty space, or the need to lay fallow. I’ve found it important in my creative process, to allow for regular downtime.
I almost envy those who can keep producing almost indefinitely. Our present digital models of content creation and attention farming pressures us to constantly be at the wheel, spinning, creating and publishing. This is however a recipe for burnout, and can at its worst, turn this thing you like to do, this passion into an unfulfilling prison.
I am here to advocate that it is okay to approach creative work seasonally. Many entertainment producers operate in this way, think of your favourite musicians, authors, or even TV shows. Creatives like these release projects, with extended downtime in between them. Your favourite artist could release an album today, do a tour for a year or so, and then disappear for another 2 years before the next project.
I think that working in this way is more sustainable for numerous reasons.
- It allows things to end, to have a definite start date and an end date. Indefinite projects can be overwhelming. This way things are more manageable.
- You can use the downtime to rest, recover, live and gather inspiration and ideas for the next project. Goodbye burnout, hello relaxed productivity.
- It is in line with other things in our natural world that operate in seasons like daylight, weather conditions. Take a hint from Mother Nature.
- If you are the type to indulge in multiple projects, like me, you can cycle between your interests instead of being stuck doing the same thing over and over.
To pull this off, you would need a few things in place
- Be organised. I can’t tell you how much great it is to settle back into my work after some time away and slip right back into my notes and drafts and be able to pick up right where I left off, knowing that I’m clear on what I was doing before and where I was going. Be organised in your work space and work flow.
- Approach your projects as discrete pieces. Take a seasonal approach to your work. If you are doing a podcast, instead of committing to an indefinite schedule, decide to do a season of 10 episodes, and make them as good as you can. Then allow yourself to take some time off.
- Practice in the off season. Don’t completely shut down when you are not publishing projects. Use that time to improve, to hone your skills, develop new techniques and prepare to take your work to the next level on your next run.
- Focus on making Perennial Sellers, timeless content or classics. Instead of chasing fads or trends, create things that will last, that will be relevant even 10 years from now. Things that people would always need to come back to.
In this way, we can enjoy longer, deeper and more fulfilling creative careers.
