Current status: misc notes on trying.
I think trying is underrated. It’s so powerful. Sometimes my friends will be talking about a problem and I’ll be like “I just don’t believe that you are trying to solve it”. And I think I am right more often than not. I am not near perfect here either!
My friend Richard is an inspiration to me. I think Richard has been trying harder than I have for something like the last 5 years, or maybe there have been a cumulative 20 hours where I have been trying harder than he was. I think Richard tries harder in his sleep than I do most days.
My other friend Brandon once suggested that I should just do whatever I was doing faster. Like just walk faster to class instead of walking slowly. Wow! You can just get there faster! Another friend has been known to jog between meetings, because why wait, life is too short to walk to your next meeting!
https://usefulfictions.substack.com/p/maybe-youre-not-actually-trying
Trying and Caring
But I think surprisingly enough, one of the most important things is just caring an unbelievable amount. When you care an unbelievable amount, you check all the details and you have this understanding of what could have gone wrong. It just matters more than you think. People end up not caring or not caring enough. … “hold up, I’m going to become the directly responsible individual for this because no one’s taking appropriate responsibility. I’m going to care a hell of a lot about this. And I’m going to go to the end of the earth to make sure it gets done”
– Sholto Douglas
Sholto is right!