In praise of NOT planning ahead.
Maximal freedom
Who controls you. Your schedule, or you?
Figure it out later
My thought:
Humans naturally don’t “plan” things in advance. We work best when we improvise, “feel the vibes of a situation”, and “wing it”.
Don’t have a consistent workout schedule
Something I realized about working out:
Many people have rigid days in terms of working out. This is a bad idea.
For example, let us say that Friday is “deadlift” day. This isn’t a good plan. Why? What if the night before you slept poorly? Or you’re still augmenting/recovering your strength? Some weeks you might need 1 week of recovery, some weeks you might need 2 weeks of recovery, or sometimes you only need a few days. Or sometimes you might want to workout the same muscle group or exercise two days in a row!
Go with the flow seems like a wiser decision.
Modernity is all about planning
“Taylorism“: the philosophy of timing everything, and squeezing ‘efficiency’ or ‘productivity’ from our lives.
The notion is that man is like a machine, and could be made more productive and efficient, in terms of a linear scale.
Truth: human and man is a biological being, a trillion bazillion times more complicated and complicated than even the most well-calibrated machine.
Humans require rest, recovery, and we cannot work 24/7 like machines. Nor should we. From an aesthetics perspective, a man who tries to imitate a machine is repulsive.
I’ve never planned anything in my life
Ever since I was a kid, I always ‘went with the flow’, and as a consequence have succeeded in almost everything in my life. I have only failed when I try too hard to plan things in advance.
Taoism
Taoism has been one of the greatest philosophies I have integrated into my “real” everyday life.
Don’t force it — (wu-wei).
The Western and American notion tends to be:
We want to eliminate as much chaos, irregularity, and “scary” unforeseen things, in order to maximize our personal pleasure and fashion in life.
Taoism x Americanism
I still do love American entrepreneurial notions of “taking control of your destiny”, and “with enough hard work and hustle you can climb the social ladder.
It has worked for me. The American Dream has pushed me to next levels. My mom was working-class poor, and now I am part of the ‘tech elite‘.
Perhaps the ultimate hybrid of Americanism and Taoism is this:
Strive and hustle as hard as you can (American), but know that everything won’t always go your way (Taoism).
Don’t plan your life.
I didn’t plan on being born. I didn’t plan on being born in America. I didn’t plan on studying Sociology, nor did I plan on pursuing photography and street photography full-time.
I didn’t plan to discover philosophy, or any of the great masters of photography. It all happened by chance. And once I came across these things by chance, I started to pursue it with great zeal.
Conclusion
Plan less, act more!
ERIC
Philosophy
Dictate your meaning and purpose in your life with ZEN OF ERIC:
Philosophical Essays
- Meditations on Meaning in Life
- There is Nothing More Interesting than Human Beings
- Is Hope a Vice?
- EGO
- Why Be Unique?
- Happiness is Metabolism Health and Strength
- You’re the Hero
- Is Productivity a Virtue or Vice?
- Why Do We Prize the Rare?
- The Joy of Uncertainty
- How Should I Best Use My Time and Life?
- A Life Without Pain or Suffering Isn’t a Life Worth Living
- Free or Unfree?
- What Do You Really Care For in Life?
- Anti-Satisfaction in Life
- Why Think?
- The Eternal Return
- Only Do What is Best for You!
- Truthiness
- Why Be Happy?
- Permissionless Living
- In Praise of Unconventional Wisdom
- Become the Change Which You Wish to See in the World
- Happiness
- Beyond Freedom
- Idolize People, Not Stuff
- What Makes You Stronger? What Makes You Weaker?
- Why Hate?
- The Secret of Happiness
- You’re Constantly in a State of Becoming
- Life is about Choices, Not Obligations
- Anti-Nihilism
- First, Do What is Best for You.
- Live Dynamic
- How to Prosper
- Is the Point of Life to Be Satisfied?
- SUPREME EFFORT OF WILL.
- How to Become more Idealistic
- Thrivival 101
- Create Yourself
- Non-Small
- Inspiration
- How to Live a Heroic Life: Dare the Heights!
- Human Augmentation
- Prune
- Happiness: Do What You Want to Do (And Don’t Do What You Don’t Want to Do)
- Avoid Vain (Empty) Pursuits in Life
- Modern Slavery
- Kill the Leeches
- Wisdom Augmentation
- Why We Need Friction in Life
- Straight Line Philosophy
- What’s Your End-Game in Life?
- Create Your Own Happiness Today
- Desire Both Pain and Pleasure in Life
- Try the Impossible
- SELF-RESPECT
- Anti-Social Extrovert
- Never Blame Anybody But Yourself
- Human Flourishing
- Simpler, Not Better.
- How to be Free
- Embrace the Extremes
- Cultivate Your Own Culture
- COURAGE.
- Thrivival
- Inner Power
- How to Live a Purposeful Life
- My Definition of Happiness
- Why Change is Good
- Why Work?
- How to Live the Happiest Possible Life
- The Two-Pronged Approach to Maximize Joy in Your Life
- You Always Have Another Option!
- INFINITISM
- Never Stop!
- What is Your Self-Directed Purpose in Life?
- Live Today Like it Were Your Last
- Do You Photograph to Live, or Live to Photograph?
- ARTIST-PHILOSOPHER
- Live Life to the Fullest!
- In Praise of Selfishness
- Why You Must Be a YAY-SAYER to Succeed in Entrepreneurship and Life
- Why I Love Walking
- Live Life Like a Video Game!
- Simple Luxuries in Life
- Treat Your Life Like a Fun Experiment!
- Only Prove it to Yourself
- You Don’t Always Need to Feel Joyful to Live a Fulfilling and Meaningful Life
- Life is Too Short to Be Bored!
- Money Cannot Destroy Boredom
- How to Find Inspiration in Life
- Why You Must Ignore Haters to Succeed and Win in Life
- An Active Life is a Happy Life
- My Simple Joys in Life
- Never Stop Striving
- How to Motivate Yourself in Life
- How to Be Optimistic in Life
- How to Dictate Your Purpose in Life
- In Praise of a Dynamic Life
- PURPOSE.
- How to Enjoy Life
- Photography Therapy
- How to Conquer Regret
- Take Your Play Very Seriously.
- How to Prosper
- Memento Vivere
- Destroy in Order to CREATE
- Trust Your Body More Than Your Mind
- Make Photos to Make Meaning in Your Life
- Seek Knowledge, Not Information
- The Purpose of Human Life
- How to Overcome Impedence
- Why I Love Death
- How to Be Centered in the Eternal Now
- How to Be Happy
- Why Do You Care What Others Think of You?
- Why I’m Happy
- Why?
- Why I’m So Prolific
- How to Reduce LAG in Life
Masters of Philosophy »
Personal Philosophy »
Stoicism »
- How to Be a Stoic Street Photographer
- How to Use Photography as Self-Therapy
- How to Free Your Soul From Disturbance
Zen Philosophy »
- How to Be a Zen Street Photographer
- Zen in the Art of Street Photography
- How to Find Tranquility in Your Photography
Life Lessons »
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