{"id":33555,"date":"2017-10-11T12:19:31","date_gmt":"2017-10-11T19:19:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=33555"},"modified":"2017-01-30T22:32:14","modified_gmt":"2017-01-31T06:32:14","slug":"be-non-small","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/10\/11\/be-non-small\/","title":{"rendered":"Be Non-Small"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Downtown
Downtown LA, 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t aim to be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153great\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in life \u00e2\u20ac\u201d aim to be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153non-small\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I got this concept of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153non-small\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from Nassim Taleb in his book \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Antifragile.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The concept is to be a grand person, you needed to not<\/em> be offended by pettiness, or small things. By being \u00e2\u20ac\u0153non-small\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d you just avoid the small problems of life, and raise yourself above them.<\/p>\n

Avoid pettiness<\/h2>\n

To become \u00e2\u20ac\u0153non-small\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d start off by avoiding pettiness.<\/p>\n

We all know pettiness when we see it, or hear it.<\/p>\n

It is the small little complaint, blame, or backhanded comment you give someone else (or to yourself).<\/p>\n

Whenever something small bugs you, ask yourself: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Is this a petty issue?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d If so, totally ignore it. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even feel obliged to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153forgive\u00e2\u20ac\u009d someone for being petty. By being non-small, you are massive. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re mount Everest, can little pebbles thrown at you hurt you?<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a big deal<\/h2>\n

Whenever you feel pain, just tell yourself: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a big deal \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I can bear the pain, it barely hurts me, and it will be over shortly.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Sometimes I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve found that by focusing on things that hurt us, they hurt more. But rather \u00e2\u20ac\u201d by ignoring it, or just seeing it as a small trifle, we feel less pain.<\/p>\n

So whenever something (even something really shitty or horrible) happens to you, just say to yourself: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a big deal.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Lessen your psychological pain. Become tougher.<\/p>\n

Avoid \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcgreatness\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/h2>\n

If we want to become \u00e2\u20ac\u0153great\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d it is focused more on action. We need to make more<\/em> money, gain more<\/em> power, and more<\/em> influence.<\/p>\n

To become \u00e2\u20ac\u0153non-small\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, we gain it via subtraction (or \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcvia negativa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in Latin). We become non-small by not<\/em> being petty, by not<\/em> complaining, and not<\/em> criticizing others.<\/p>\n

Figure out what negative emotions, actions, or thoughts you can remove<\/em> from your life.<\/p>\n

What else would a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153non-small\u00e2\u20ac\u009d person do?<\/p>\n

Nothing can harm you<\/h2>\n

Life is really fucking hard. But you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a lot stronger than you think you are.<\/p>\n

No matter how hard you try, people will (on purpose or accidentally) throw dirt and mud on you. People will (on purpose or accidentally) elbow you in the back of your head. Your loved ones will become sick and die. You will have financial stress, emotional stress, and physical stress.<\/p>\n

Life is no dainty affair.<\/p>\n

Rather than trying to change the world, you can change yourself. If the world is covered in thorns, do you try to wrap the whole world in leather? Or do you just put on some leather shoes for yourself, to read on top of the thorns?<\/p>\n

So friend, put on your armor and get ready for the battle of life. If you are non-small, you will be able to ride on top of a great white stallion, covered in war-armor. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re non-small, can the tiny arrows of your opponents hurt you? No, they will simply bounce off your shield and armor.<\/p>\n

Be strong. Be non-small.<\/p>\n

Always,
\nEric<\/p>\n

Learn more: Stoic Philosophy ><\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t aim to be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153great\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in life \u00e2\u20ac\u201d aim to be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153non-small\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33492,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/eric-kim-street-photography-the-city-of-angels-black-and-white-4-street-portrait-hearts-tattoo-downtown-la.jpg?fit=2000%2C1331&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}