If you cease to pay close attention to how the present is unfolding, you inevitably become reactive and make unforced errors. You automatically have a low ceiling on how you perform at anything. It's like acquiring a learning disability. You're just retarded and can't help it!

If you can stay absolutely one with the present, and act while doing so, you start to act with maximum intelligence without exerting any effort. You surprise yourself and everyone around you with how you act -- it's better than you could have ever done by trying!

Here's what I think is going on: You can either be in two modes: 1. Defensive: Detecting patterns 2. Offensive: Following the context

"Detecting Patterns" In this mode, you view your job in the present to stay aware only of triggers that may arise, so you can pop open your canned algorithm for neutralizing them. You filter out everything as irrelevant and just wait for one of the things that feels like you

"Following The Context" Here you view your job differently. Instead of having an agenda ("wait for these triggers") and filtering most things out, you view your job to be as closely attuned to the present as possible. You want to see, hear, and feel as much as you can in every

I think this is what is going on with Victomhood and Agency. Victims assume life is happening to them, and their job is to Defend. Therefore they see no use in Following the Context and just drop into the less demanding, pattern recognition Detect Pattern mode. When this

In contrast, the Agent assumes they are co-creating everything that happens in their experience, so they have an obligation to stay locked in to what is happening (Follow The Context). The idea is, "since I'm always influencing how things are changing around me, I need to

What comes to mind is Christopher Alexander's idea of form-context fit. In short, he theorized that good design requires one to conform to the context. Only then is possible to make a coherent and optimal design choice for that context. Well, being present IS exactly this:

the thing I love about the format here is how it resembles sanctum-within-a-sanctum architecture. If it opened with just a guy preaching about loving life, it wouldnt get this sort of reception. It’s the layered framing ▣, the dream within the dream where the magic happens

Gene Wilder on his relationship with Gilda Radner: “but then she… clinging on me all the time, I couldn’t do anything without her being on me, next to me… The day we said goodbye at the airport… She was going back to NY... I kissed her goodbye, she cried, she got on the plane.

Today I stepped on the scale and saw a number below 210 for the first time in years

It's fascinating just how much of business and academia involves "reputation laundering" in one way or another. This is a great example. Ivy grad can't work for Olive Garden corporate (ick). But he can work for McKinsey to bill Olive Garden for corporate services.