When Nothing Compelling Exists, Don’t Buy New Things for the Sake of It!

Delightful delay: the art of staying behind, being a ‘late adopter’.

When in doubt between buying two things, buy neither (Nassim Taleb).

Obvious purchasing decisions are obvious

Generally speaking, I think when we get bored, we think that buying new things will destroy our boredom. But the truth is:

Money cannot destroy boredom.

We easily tire and adapt to our gear— no matter how good it is.

Therefore this is a practical idea:

If your gear is 80% good enough, and it isn’t broken — don’t force yourself to ‘upgrade’ it (if you don’t really think it is worth it).

What if you’re bored?

To me, boredom is the ultimate enemy. To me, boredom is worse than pain, stress, and suffering. A boring life is the worst life.

So it seems that our goal is to avoid boredom at all costs. Preferably to pursue creative activities and pursuits which set our creative hearts on fire. To harness the great artistic passion within ourselves, and to output artwork prolifically.

To avoid/overcome boredom, some tips:

1. Challenge yourself more: In photography, take more difficult photos. Shoot with a flash, shoot with a wider-angle lens (24mm, 28mm). Take more risky/scary photos (increase the difficulty in street photography).
2. Travel more/go to more foreign/different places: We get bored of our environments. It is human nature. Thus it seems the best way to prevent boredom is to constantly cycle between different locations (in praise of an intermittent/nomadic life).
3. Start your own business/pursue entrepreneurship: A risky life is more fun, interesting, and challenging! Pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors in life will destroy all forms of boredom in your life.
4. Deadlift: Strive to obtain a 405+ deadlift (4 plates on each side); and trust me, you will never be bored again.

ERIC