After setting up my website, publishing a few articles and setting out an aim for the person I want to be, I went radio silent. The momentum of a few articles, along with the general joy and energy I get from tinkering with websites, was stopped by falling ill and getting COVID. It was time to rest up, feel a bit sorry for myself, and not do much at all for the past week.
I’m not sure about you, but when I get sick, I lose the drive to do anything. Healthy habits go out the window. My good eating schedule and routine is replaced by junk food and custard tart. Yes, they aren’t good for you, but I’m sick and never have these foods, so don’t I deserve it? Don’t I? As you can tell, it’s an easy justification for me.
My notebook where I was looking at my telos (your ultimate purpose or aim), arete (excellence or virtue), and my own ideas of foundational pillars remained unopened. Books weren’t read. Instead it was doom scrolling the news, watching random YouTube videos, and neglecting chores. A fun side quest was keeping track of all of the new Apple announcements coming out though. Hello, iPaid Air.
But today, I put the junk food aside, closed the news, and picked up my notebook again.
I’m thinking about everyday tasks and habits I want to build for improving the performance of life, linked to the key pillars of:
- Body
- Soul
- Community; and
- Expertise.
It’s been a fun activity. It’s something I’m keen to explore over the coming weeks and map out the foundations of how I’m thinking about the art of living by taking inspiration from the ancient Greeks.
In the meantime, let’s remember that at times it can be quite easy to get off track. It happens. What matters now is to get back onto the path and move towards our own telos and purpose of life.
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