So you know me for being a nerd about Stoicism and now a nerd about AI. Since ChatGPT hit in Nov 2022, I have seen the promise. In fact, go back further. When Watson kicked Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter's butts on Jeopardy back in like 2009, I was fascinated by it.
A bit too fascinated?
Family dinners, cocktail parties (what even is a cocktail party? A fancy, nice drink gathering? I supposed I have been to them but no one calls them that anymore. I guess only in newsletters. but I digress...), and networking events have heard me drone on ad nauseum about the impact that AI will have. Recently, a podcast I listen to cited the term "infinite backlog" which is the idea that since so much more is possible now, it is all on our list and we will never check them all off.
So I give myself a dose, finish a project and am met with the next one. And the next and the next. Sounds like an addict. In fact, the heads of the AI labs are calling for an international governing body to have them slow down or stop their advances in AI for their own and our shared safety.
Sounds like an addict.
But all addicts are human. We got that gray matter in common. And how do humans Temper their addictions? With intentionality, logic, presence.
I need some more of that. It is extremely empowering and cool and inspiring and hopeful to be able to build useful things that could improve my life and my family's lives. But everything in moderation. I have been delinquent on my newsletters because every second that I can access tech, I can build with AI. So I choose to build. I need to choose balance a bit more. And here I am doing that!
Does that mean I am deleting Claude from my phone? Everything in moderation...
Whatever we face, we have a choice - will we be blocked by obstacles or will we advance through and over them? Can you get past things that inevitably fall in your way? The challenge makes people better than if they had never faced the adversity at all.
— -- Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle is the Way
We are systematically trained not to love ourselves unless we meet stringent expectations.
— -- Mo Gawdat, Solve for Happy
The word for this was 'satori' - an illuminating insight when the inscrutable is revealed, when an essential truth becomes obvious and inescapable.
— -- Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key
Rads Take
PREFACE: If you want to see more quotes rather than just the 3 from the random quote generator every other week and you want to explore all quotes at your leisure, be sure to check out the library here.
Quote 1 is really Stoicism 101. Holiday was on Oprah's podcast recently (thanks to reader Alison for the heads up!). And maybe it is Stoicism 101 because Obstacle is the book that made Ryan, Ryan.
If you are new to the newsletter (or if you need a reminder), Stoicism is about being prepared for when things don't go your way. Having some training and forethought put into the fact that things won't go perfectly and knowing how to respond when that happens. In a manner that you will be proud of in 5 minutes or 5 days.
So the obstacles that you will inevitably surmount, will you be proud of how you surmounted them? Will you be surprised when another one steps in your path? Will you be stronger because of them? Can you learn to love the obstacles because you are fully aware of the strength they provide you? You didn't even ask for it! "Hey -- thanks flat tire!!!"
Let's tie quote 1 into quote 2. Expectations of ourselves. We do have them. We do fall short of them at times. Continuous improvement is about reducing the number of times that we fall short. Wisdom is about learning from mistakes. A wise person has done a lot of learning thanks to all their mistakes. When we see a young wise person, that might be one of the most shocking things. How can someone be wise with such little lived experience? Perhaps wisdom is awareness, a thirst for learning and a keen ability to apply other's learnings to their own lives unlike anyone else.
We can't all achieve that. So to Mo's point, we have to accept that we will fall short and just do our best to apply what we learned before, next time.
And finally, a 'satori.' A eureka moment. Something that changes how you will live your life going forward. That could be having a kid, a religious experience, or realizing that just because your sister yelled at you, that doesn't mean you can yell back - and louder. That you are in control of your responses. That you do NOTHING without your choice to do it. That pointing the finger is the first step in making an excuse for doing something that you regret.