Lessons From The Past: Masterful Writing, Timeless Advice & Healthy Habits
This Week:
What fiction I’ve been reading
Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner has been an interesting read. You know the core of the story from the very first chapter and the proceeding chapters sprinkle in new details and different perspectives on what you already know in order to flesh out the story.
Despite the story’s repetitive nature, the book is captivating. The credit for that goes to Faulkner, of course. He is a master of language. The way he describes events and people’s features and their thought processes is incomparable to anyone else.
For example: “Ellen was dead two years now-the butterfly, the moth caught in a gale and blown against a wall and clinging there beating feebly, not with any particular stubborn clinging to life, not in particular pain since it was too light to have struck hard, nor even with very much remembrance of the bright vacuum before the gale, but just in bewildered and uncomprehending amazement-the bright trivial shell not even to any great extent changed.”
Breaking down and studying his sentences and paragraphs can make you a better writer and open your mind to new ways of forming sentences.
What I’m listening to
Cal Newport is one of my favourite writers and thinkers. His book, Deep Work, changed the way I think about productivity and goal setting.
He recently appeared on the Tim Ferriss podcast where the two of them discussed many topics but one thing that stuck with me was the concept of being so good that they can’t ignore you.
Nowadays, there is this need to be an expert in various fields while mastering different social media platforms to become successful.
But Ferriss and Newport don’t support this idea. They cite the example of how someone like Daniel Day Lewis isn’t spending his free time between filming and in between movies trying to grow his TikTok following. Instead, he’s using his time to master his craft.
The point is that mastery requires complete dedication. You can’t dedicate the same amount of time as you do to your craft as to your hobbies and other interests.
It has to be pure dedication.
What I’m watching
Hypertrophy Coach aka Joe Bennett is one of the most resourceful sources of hypertrophy information I’ve come across. Recently, I’ve been binge watching his Q&A series where he thoroughly covers various topics related to muscle building, exercise selection, joint angles, dieting, warming up, and much more.
His YouTube page is also full of training cues and techniques and complete workouts that provide further info on how to train safely for longevity and muscle growth.
A training insight
Get your steps in.
Walking is one of the easiest ways to burn calories outside of the gym. Especially after eating. The more active you are the higher the chances your body uses fuel to build muscle.
Besides, walking is also an easy way to do other things like listening to audiobooks or podcasts. The majority of my listening comes on walks.
You can also do what Cal Newport calls meditative walks where he will think of one question or problem for the entire walk and oftentimes, once the walk is finished, he’ll have an answer or solution to it.
Getting your steps in also allows you some wiggle room if you’re dieting. Otherwise, you have to be very strict with what you put in your body if you’re trying to lose weight. But when we burn calories throughout the day thanks to lifting weights and 1–2 short walks a day, you have other variables to play around with instead of simply decreasing calories week to week.
This makes losing weight much easier.
Originally published at http://learnedlivingorg.wordpress.com on April 4, 2024.