Niquey in Thought

*          *          * Has your productivity system become sentient? Mine was. brooding over my shoulder ...watching my every move. I knew it was time to slay that dragon. So I could allow room for, you know…actual living!? Here's how you can conquer your Nessie too (without efficiency suffering) I had collected 40, dare I say 50 productivity hacks. Aaaaand I used, what, 5? And out of that 5, I only needed maybe 2, I wager. Key number one was easy knowing that: Find out which they were, and ix-nay the rest. It's not about knowing every possible productivity trick It's about how many minutes I waste "optimizing" And that brings me to Key number 2… My Precious!! …is actually going to stab you in the back. So you shank it first. And, by shank, I mean cut off that blood-sucking curse disguised as a "productivity hack"!1!!1!!1!!111!!11one Some of your productivity hacks are actually stifling your creativity. And if c...

  Picture of the actual eclipse in all it's pixelated phone picture glory I hate traveling. I know. Sue me. So you can imagine the typical dream of being a "digital nomad" doesn't entice me. But that's the freedom I've figured out: . . . not everything is for you. Some time ago I had the opportunity to go on a trip out of state to see the eclipse. (Remember that?) It was 5 hours of Constant. Traffic. As I sat in the passenger seat after just switching off with my brother I was questioning what the hek I was doing here. And was this droning of car engines ringing in my ears worth the final destination? The answer was… (Obviously!!!) Not really. Don't get me wrong! I love hanging out with my siblings. I enjoyed the bragging rights Telling people for weeks "I saw the eclipse!" I loved the little adventures and misadventures when we finally got there. But. The pain of the journey still stung. Old memories of going by plane as a kid returned...

  *          *          * What if I told you that you don't have any problems? I know what you'd say. "You're kidding, right?" (Or maybe something more vulgar) We often feel like we have to escape our problems. Isn't that how we talk? We want to "get away" from it all. We want to "leave" it all behind. Our problems feel overwhelming. It feels like we can't do anything about them. But the issue is after we "get away", the problems are still there waiting for us when we come back. Yikes. What now? Are we stuck in this forever loop of being in and out of constantly emerging "problems"? Is there no escape? You know I don't think that, of course. Otherwise, you wouldn't be reading this newsletter. The thing is, this is a real place. I've been there. I've been working as a dental assistant for some years now. And it was one of the biggest obstacles I have had to overcome. Being flung halfway across the offi...

*          *          * “When I understand, then I will do something.” …is the surefire way to do nothing No, you have to believe first. Just like you believe before you see, you have to believe before you understand, before you know what to do next. Too often we paralyze ourselves with this lie. This lie that knowledge is the answer for action,when often action is the thing that brings the knowledge. But how do we make ourselves do the thing when everything in us is screaming for reassurance? This is where Myron Golden’s advice comes in to play: In the midst of the turmoil, in real time, you have to consciously replace anxious apprehension of an outcome you don’t desire with a joyful expectation of an outcome you do desire. Because, guess what? Whatever you expect of the future, you made it up. I mean think of it. No one knows the future for sure. So what ever you say about it is made up, right? So why not make up something positive? I ...

  *          *          * Why do we do anything? Why do we try? I mean, in the realm of space and eternity and God,  why does anything we do on earth matter? I mean, even if we are of the mind that nothing on earth matters, just focus on going to heaven, I still wonder, why want to go to heaven? Why want to talk to God? What does God want from us? Ultimately, what is the purpose of existence?? I have a theory. And it’s this. It’s because there are some things—many things—that are only worth something if they were achieved in a finite existence. It’s like when Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” (John 20:29) Because if you see and then believe, it’s worth LESS than if you heard and then believed. I mean, why did Jesus come and live in the form that had limited knowledge? Why? He had the clearest connection to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. But He never walked around with infi...