If you want power this is for you. I will admit that this theory of mine is still very much in the beginning stages of being tested. Yet I have a belief in it that borders on delusion. It’s a method that allows for authentic living. It is not easy by any means, yet it is really simple in nature.
What sort of method am I talking about? Let’s break down its parts so that we may understand the whole. “Autonomously” carries the meaning of being done in an independent fashion.
It's a word with Greek origins; the original Greek word is autonomos ‘auto’ meaning self and ‘nomos’ meaning to govern.
Why does it have to be autonomous, would not just “The Evolving Self” be sufficient? Not really, because while growth may seem very objective it is in fact very subjective. What do I mean by this?
Winning at someone else’s game is the same as losing. Therefore you need autonomy, what’s the point in living a life you don’t care about for appearances sake?
But, practically how do you do this?
Explore the Unknown
The method itself is very simple. Do new things. Iterate fast. To explain this further, there are phases to life, almost season like in appearance. In certain phases you might be digesting what you have learned recently and resting. In such a phase things might start becoming relatively easy and boring.
Often this is followed by thoughts like: “I wish something would happen…” or “I kinda miss when life had more spice.”
There is not necessarily anything wrong with this phase, but as everything in life it is transitory. Clinging onto the comfort granted by such a phase will hinder your growth. You will wake up six months or even a year later and you will realize you are the exact same, that you have stagnated.
What do we do about this? Well the feeling of comfort comes because you are doing the same thing all the time. There are no more surprises, life is sort of temporarily figured out. Having thoughts reminiscing of a more intense period in life is often a signal.
Listen to this signal. Do something new, eat something new, meet new people, travel. Question yourself, threaten your very existence. Anything to break the thought loops in your head, lack of new input will make sure your output stays the exact same.
The easiest way is to travel somewhere far. It will for sure create a lot of new unknown elements in your life, this will be very stressful initially, but as you start adapting to it. Life will enter a new high, a new phase of intense focus and determination. With difficulty comes change and growth. No growth is achieved while utterly comfortable.
The Good Stuff Will Stick
Don’t worry about holding onto routines when doing new things inevitably leads you into a new phase of intense focus and obsession. The best routines and methods will stick. Instead let go, let yourself be caught in the flow of life, feel the emotions granted by all the new experiences.
There will be both good and bad feelings, life will inherently become more chaotic during such a phase. There is of course a case to be made for taking the inherently consistent and less turbulent way to life. But if you wanted to live in such a way these thoughts remembering a more intense period of life would not pop up.
A dangerous road walked by one's own will often seems way more gratifying. Sort of like the typical masculine urge to die in a ditch somewhere in a war. 🗿 Not that dying in a ditch is necessary to scratch this itch.
In a sense it is a way to flow with life. To feel deeply and to exist truly in the present in all its chaotic beautiful glory. So do not worry about practicality, let yourself lose for a bit, exist in a deeply passionate state knowing full well that it too, is a transitory phase. That eventually things will stabilize and become comfortable.
It’s almost comparable to a lion, resting most of the time but occasionally going on intense hunts.
Today's tribute: And always, he fought the temptation to choose a clear, safe course, warning 'That path leads ever down into stagnation. From Dune by
Ps: Will go more practical and in depth on this concept in a future post, look out for it!