Small lessons from August

Life changed a little unexpectedly as August began.

Outside of work during the day, I have also returned to university in the evenings, so life has suddenly become much busier. I am still adjusting to the new routine and have not had much energy for long-form writing lately.

So for now, here are a few small thoughts from recent days.

Do not underestimate the power of time.

Sometimes, when you have spent a long time working on something and still see little return, it is easy to start doubting yourself. You wonder whether all that effort is actually going anywhere.

But lately, I have started to think that some things may simply be waiting for the right moment to take off.

I have been working on a content project for quite a while. Growth had always been steady but unremarkable. Then AI arrived, GEO started gaining momentum, and this year the traffic suddenly began to grow rapidly.

Without all the content built up over the years, though, that growth probably would not have happened in the same way. Even with AI booming now, starting everything from scratch today would make it very difficult to see the same results in such a short time.

So start doing what you love as early as you can, and keep doing it.

One day, a seed you planted so long ago that you almost forgot about it may already have grown into a tree full of fruit somewhere out of sight.

Life is one long exercise in playing a role.

That was one of my thoughts after reading Atomic Habits recently.

James Clear writes that identity is about what you believe about yourself.

When there is something you want to achieve, perhaps the better question is not only what you want, but who you need to become.

If I want to publish a book, instead of simply thinking, “I want to write a book”, I can begin with, “I am a writer”, and build the routines a writer would have.

If you want to lose weight, instead of thinking, “I need to work out”, you might see yourself as “someone who values their health and exercises consistently”.

It feels quite similar to the ideas of manifestation and the law of attraction that have become popular recently.

Become first, then start living as that version of yourself, until one day you realise you really have become them.

I have started swimming every week again.

I had not been in the pool for a long time, so I was surprised by how quickly the feeling came back. I usually start with around 40 minutes of breaststroke, then spend some time teaching myself freestyle.

Water is strangely fascinating.

The more afraid you are of it, and the harder you fight against it, the more exhausted you become. But once you relax into it, follow its movement and let yourself move with the water, even a gentle stroke can carry you several metres forward.

Maybe the philosophy of water is not so different from the philosophy of life.

Instead of fighting difficult emotions, perhaps we can notice them, feel them, and allow things to move according to their natural rhythm.

Sometimes, problems become easier once we stop struggling against them.

“Do what you can, then accept what is beyond you.”

I have been thinking about this idea a lot lately.

Sometimes, when something is right for you, or when your ability has already reached the level it requires, things seem to come together without an enormous amount of force.

But when something is not meant for you, or you are simply not ready for it yet, even pouring all your energy into it may not lead to the outcome you hoped for.

Instead of exhausting yourself over a result you cannot control, it may be better to focus on the learning, experience and effort within the process.

Those are the parts that still belong to you.

I suddenly realised that dogs have their own personalities, preferences and boundaries too, and those deserve to be respected.

My dog’s fur had grown quite long, and the hair around his neck had become badly tangled from wearing his collar all day.

He has a thick double coat, so I worried the collar might be uncomfortable. I took it off and started putting him in a harness only when we went out for walks.

The problem was that he has hated harnesses since he was little, which is why I had barely used one for years.

I did not expect him to dislike it this much.

For the next couple of days, he stopped smiling on walks. He would go outside, do his business, then immediately want to come home.

As soon as I took the harness off, he would crawl under the little bed in my study, his own private corner, and refuse to come out.

He did not want to play. He ignored me when I called him for dinner. Even his favourite treats were not enough to tempt him out.

I could not work out what was wrong.

Eventually, I placed his collar on the floor beside the bed where he could see it.

Only then did he slowly poke his head out and start sniffing around it.

That was when I realised.

He wanted his collar back.

In his world, I had suddenly taken away something that belonged to him, something he had worn almost his whole life, almost like a child’s comfort toy. Then I had forced him into something he absolutely hated.

From my perspective, I was only trying to help. I thought removing a collar that might irritate his neck and replacing it with a light, loose harness was better for him.

But that was my idea of what was best, not his.

Unsurprisingly, the moment I put his collar back on and told him, “I won’t take your collar away again, and I won’t make you wear the harness”, he started wagging his tail, smiling and bringing me toys again.

It turns out dogs have a sense of self too.

And they deserve to have that respected.

“You have power over your mind, not outside events.” —— Marcus Aurelius