When I watch bicycle racing on TV the announcer sometimes points out that a racer is taking a "microrest" when she briefly stops pedaling. This allows for a mental reset and reduces the agony in her legs and lungs from a 10 to a 9. A short rest makes her resistance to her opponents more effective.
I’ve signed up to attend the visibility event with Indivisible on Wednesday, Feb 5, 2025. Are you free to join me? Use this link to sign up: https://mobilize.us/s/U9Xulc
Pat said it best: stop and think about whether supporting that corporation helps you. Example: I love to support indie businesses. I like knowing where my dollar is going. But if I want to buy that print, sometimes I have to buy the picture frame from the Evil Big Box shop because that frees up more dollars that can then go to my indie bookstore. Etc.
I have zero social media accounts. Never have, probably never will. Doesn't mean I don't occasionally check the accounts of loved ones or favorite shops but I figure I can control the number of clicks they get out of me. And see that my clicks are very carefully thought out. Screw the click bait.
And John said it best: short breaks mean you can come back swinging. I've been micro resisting for more than a decade. Manageable and feels good.
Back before Christmas, Evie's school held it's annual Holiday craft fair. It's a lovely, small-time affair - a bunch of craftmakers crowd into the gym and sell their wares. Parents shop for Christmas presents. This year Evie took some money from her piggy bank and was very excited to go shopping there. "I can't wait to support these local businesses!" she literally said.
So to do the Gandhi thing correctly you will have to learn to spin fiber. And that is way harder than it looks. But you kind of tied it all together when you talked about “disentangle my mind”. That might be a good first step for all of us at this time in the world - do i really need to continue this habit - do i really need to support this corporation, this person. Sometimes the answer is yes - if those 4 songs are what is giving you joy right now then that is something you keep. But we can no longer live “an unexamined life”
I'm definitely going to be exploring the disentangling-from-platforms things more. I think one way that they've got us is once you sign up for a platform / service and it's reasonably convenient and useful (if not overwhelmingly so) then there's just this silent iron wall of fear that if you leave said platform, you won't ever be able to regain access to it should you decide to. And like, that you might as some point find yourself in situation where you really really need that service and can't get it. Which is a totally insane feeling if you think about it. Like, if I cancel Amazon Prime and then suddenly find I need then I'll just...resubscribe to Amazon Prime. But somehow our early hominid scarcity brain keeps us from seeing that very obvious way to disentangle. Anyway, this seems like a fruitful topic.
When I watch bicycle racing on TV the announcer sometimes points out that a racer is taking a "microrest" when she briefly stops pedaling. This allows for a mental reset and reduces the agony in her legs and lungs from a 10 to a 9. A short rest makes her resistance to her opponents more effective.
My grandpa did that. Except it wasn't on a bike, it was in an easy chair, and he was narcoleptic. But in his way, a very high performance athlete.
Like all great athletes, he made it look easy.
Want to join Petra and I tomorrow, 2/5?
I’ve signed up to attend the visibility event with Indivisible on Wednesday, Feb 5, 2025. Are you free to join me? Use this link to sign up: https://mobilize.us/s/U9Xulc
I was hoping to be there, or the protests tomorrow - but I unfortunately am away for work
Pat said it best: stop and think about whether supporting that corporation helps you. Example: I love to support indie businesses. I like knowing where my dollar is going. But if I want to buy that print, sometimes I have to buy the picture frame from the Evil Big Box shop because that frees up more dollars that can then go to my indie bookstore. Etc.
I have zero social media accounts. Never have, probably never will. Doesn't mean I don't occasionally check the accounts of loved ones or favorite shops but I figure I can control the number of clicks they get out of me. And see that my clicks are very carefully thought out. Screw the click bait.
And John said it best: short breaks mean you can come back swinging. I've been micro resisting for more than a decade. Manageable and feels good.
Back before Christmas, Evie's school held it's annual Holiday craft fair. It's a lovely, small-time affair - a bunch of craftmakers crowd into the gym and sell their wares. Parents shop for Christmas presents. This year Evie took some money from her piggy bank and was very excited to go shopping there. "I can't wait to support these local businesses!" she literally said.
So to do the Gandhi thing correctly you will have to learn to spin fiber. And that is way harder than it looks. But you kind of tied it all together when you talked about “disentangle my mind”. That might be a good first step for all of us at this time in the world - do i really need to continue this habit - do i really need to support this corporation, this person. Sometimes the answer is yes - if those 4 songs are what is giving you joy right now then that is something you keep. But we can no longer live “an unexamined life”
I'm definitely going to be exploring the disentangling-from-platforms things more. I think one way that they've got us is once you sign up for a platform / service and it's reasonably convenient and useful (if not overwhelmingly so) then there's just this silent iron wall of fear that if you leave said platform, you won't ever be able to regain access to it should you decide to. And like, that you might as some point find yourself in situation where you really really need that service and can't get it. Which is a totally insane feeling if you think about it. Like, if I cancel Amazon Prime and then suddenly find I need then I'll just...resubscribe to Amazon Prime. But somehow our early hominid scarcity brain keeps us from seeing that very obvious way to disentangle. Anyway, this seems like a fruitful topic.