Entry 25
It is 7:33 am. I miss the harsh stinging cold. Now, Lagos is hotter than Jacob Elordi in Saltburn.
Ruthless not Safe—Blank Canvas—Triplet of opacity— Jealousy—Unconscious competence
This is not a call for help. This is not a diary entry. This is not a random musing. This is real life.
Now, I would plead before you continue reading that if you truly seek something more practical and structured, you won’t find it here.
I would rather write of people far more accomplished than I am.
Sometimes, I sit down, not only staring in silence but with silence staring back at me feeling its gaze burn my cheeks a little—and sometimes my forehead.
Sometimes, I wonder but I never wonder aloud ‘Was I chosen or did I choose myself?’
Ruthless not Safe
I have noticed that I have been gentle, a little too careful. I have been brutally shielding my acidic inclinations.
I go over my actions repeatedly, wondering if I was cautious enough.
Did I come off too harsh? Is that too much?
Then, as if hearing my thoughts, Dhyan Vimal appears on my timeline one day and starts talking about how domesticated we become even though that is not who we truly are.
He talks about how we choose safety because everyone wants us to be safe. He ends his monologue by saying that we have to fight being stuck.
I feel his words in my bones. I feel it in every muscle, sinew, and tissue.
After a long pause, I scribble ‘Why be safe when I can be ruthless?’
Blank Canvas
There Is an interview of Layi Wasabi on BTS Reality hosted by Jermaine.
During the interview, Layi goes ahead to explain the meaning of ‘The world is your oyster’ on his Instagram bio.
He says that the world is like a blank canvas and you can be anything you want to be.
It struck me the countless number of times I am reminded that I can be whatever I want to be.
Is it not weird that we have to be constantly reminded to be who we truly are because we tend to forget?
Is this the same reason I enjoy listening to Gary Vee speak to my soul —especially using his scatological humour— to do whatever I want even though he says it over and over?
Triplet of Opacity
For some weird reason, history does not appeal to me. Yet, Nassim Taleb in ‘Black Swan’ piqued my appeal by highlighting the Triplet of Opacity in history.
What he means is this: When humans come in contact with history, they suffer from these three things.
1. The illusion of understanding: Everyone thinks they understand what is going on in this world but they don’t.
It is far more complicated than they realise. They claim to predict it but they can’t.
2. Retrospective distortion: History only makes more sense when viewed in retrospect.
While we claim to see the progression, history is taking leaps. We are mostly delusional.
3. The overvaluation of factual information: Nassim introduces this as the curse of learning.
For example, Nassim’ grandfather—the Minister of Defense and later Minister of Interior and Deputy Prime Minister in the early days of the war —did not know what was going to happen any more than his driver.
Nobody may know anything but people that are seemingly perceived as elite thinkers think that they know more than the rest.
This just highlights some of the thinking biases inherent in us.
This highlights the gap in knowledge between what we think we know and what we actually know.
Jealousy
Naval has an impressive theory on Jealousy which I recently heard Jordan Peterson affirm too.
This theory tells you that you don’t get to pick parts of people’s lives.
You don’t get to say that you want their body, or their money or their personality.
You have to take their desires, family, happiness level, and perspectives—I like to add ‘their trauma’.
Naval goes on to say that if you don’t want a 100% swap then there is no point being jealous.
I don’t know what this does to you but it ought to change something.
Unconscious Competence
I did not want to talk about this but again, I am speaking of people far more accomplished than I am.
There is an unconscious competence I have noticed in great people.
Bob Proctor. Stephen Schwarzman. Naval Ravikant.
They try so hard but they cannot truly explain why they are doing so well. It is almost like an excellence automation.
Bob goes ahead to explain the closest way to get there—to develop awareness. The more aware you are, the more it reflects in your results.
8:35 pm
The Creamy Crunch flavour of ‘Munch it’ tastes so nice.
It reminds me of the typical weary exam period in school and the constant snacking just to stave off preinstalled sleep that always clung to my eyelids.
Lagos is still hot.
A little bit more on Dhyan and the talk about 'Ruthlessness' will help.
Apart from being stuck, or benumbed by domestication, why's "ruthless'" favourable?
This is truly the most refreshing read I’ve had in a minute. I could rave!