Author: Rachel Hanson

"Self-esteem is a cultural creation not a human universal." Certainly the notion that its externally built, is...I believe. The amount of praise heaped on small children in our culture is absolutely bonkers. It's a river that my wife and I are constantly trying to fight against and wade upstream. We love our son deeply and … Continue reading Drowning in a cultural river of praise

Make peace with the inescapable reality of problems. Life is simply a series of them that we put our energy toward. Don't labor under the delusion that if you work fast and hard enough they'll all disappear. Problems are part of what makes life magnificent, I believe. From another lens, life IS problems - a … Continue reading Peace with problems

Being complete master and ruler of your time isn't, perhaps, as worthy of our aim as it appears at first glance. Oliver Burkeman makes the case that your time is actually in part a "network good." I.e. part of its good is dependent on others having access to it and how well their time coordinates … Continue reading Time

"No wild animal has ever participated in a should." - Lion Tracker's Guide to Life Humans get lost in shoulds all the time. Lost in the moment and lost in life. I should attend that social function that I really don't have any interest in. I should buy a car like Mike's. I should climb … Continue reading Stop shoulding

The enemy of BTL is speed. The enemy of deep meaningful work is speed. The enemy of present and connected relationships is speed. The enemy of a purposeful and meaningful life is speed. We delude ourselves into thinking that we're exerting some measure of control over our world, ourselves, our emotions, our relationships, our work, … Continue reading The Enemy

Leisure for the sake of leisure. Leisure because we are not meant to be only workers. Leisure because it is good to leisure. Not because it makes you more productive, or because you can get things done in your leisure time. Leisure is a good, in and of itself. Travel the world because it is … Continue reading Leisure and being

Confusion, clarity, creation. Writing, as you hear Builders so often say, is the best tool in our tool kit. When your thoughts are swirling and you're ruminating, it's time to turn to the blank page and pen. Start getting it out. Writing takes you from confusion, to clarity, and ultimately to creation. The act of … Continue reading Confusion, clarity, creation

Marry the mundane doesn't necessarily mean commit to doing boring things with no purpose. If they're simply boring and meaningless tasks, what's to be gained? Nothing, of course. But not all mundane work falls into that category. Much of what is mundane is meaningful work we want to do, at a deep level. We want … Continue reading Mundane AND magical