3 Inspired Thoughts (That Might Change Your Week)
Missed last week? — Catch up on the archive here
Hey Reader,
Got three thoughts from the journal worth sharing. We’ve done this in the past and it’s always been a hit. So… here are three ideas I can’t stop thinking about.
Enjoy!
1. Backwards Progress
Been on a C.S. Lewis kick this month. He’s got this great take on progress:
“We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.
There is nothing progressive about being pig-headed and refusing to admit a mistake. And I think if you look at the present state of the world it’s pretty plain that humanity has been making some big mistake. We’re on the wrong road. And if that is so we must go back. Going back is the quickest way on.”
Damn.
Forward isn’t progress if it’s in the wrong direction.
Looking back, I guarantee there were times in your life where you made “backwards progress.”
That breakup that felt like your world ending… yet led to you finding someone who actually gets you.
That time you quit your comfortable soul-sucking job… and were able to build something you’re stoked on without hating Monday mornings.
Sometimes progress means STOPPING what you’re doing.
It literally means going backwards.
So here’s a question worth asking this week:
Where in your life would stopping (or even going backwards) actually be the most progressive move you could make?
2. How dopamine steals your future
Just finished re-reading “Dopamine Nation” for a YouTube book breakdown. Found this study that made so much sense:
Addiction researcher Warren Bickel gave people a simple prompt:
“After awakening, Bill began to think about his future. In general, he expected to…”
When asked how far into the future “his future” extended:
- Opioid addicts: 9 days.
- Control group: 4.7 years.
Nine days versus nearly five years.
That’s how much addiction can shrink your time horizon.
Now, before you pat yourself on the back and think, “Well I’m not shooting dr*gs, so I’m good…”
Even the socially accepted high-dopamine stuff shrinks your timeline if it takes over. Short form content, drinking, video games, whatever your thing is.
It’s not about quitting everything fun, it’s simply noticing when something that used to be fun starts quietly running the show….
Here’s a personal example.
When I was deep in my Zyn phase, I noticed my ability to think long-term just… vanished.
I couldn’t get excited about building my business or even filming youtube videos. Nothing felt interesting.
When I finally quit, it took 3-6 months for my brain to rewire and my motivation to come back. And only later did I realize how much it was stealing from me.
Here’s why I’m sharing this with you:
everything you want long-term (career, relationships, health, purpose) requires you to think long-term.
But if your dopamine’s being hooked, your brain just… forgets how to do that.
I’m not saying go cold turkey on everything ‘fun’.
Just catching those moments where short-term feels so good it slowly erases the stuff you actually care about.
When we start prioritizing the nine-day vs the five-year mark.
Took me way too long to connect these dots.
3. When you stop needing to prove it
I’ve been thinking about how real change is quiet.
You don’t need to announce weight loss… people will notice.
You don’t post revenue screenshots on IG when you’re actually doing well.
I used to be the opposite.
When I was broke, I’d find ways to slip any small win into conversation. When I hit 20k YouTube subscribers, I told anyone who’d listen.
Now that I’m doing better than I ever imagined, I actively avoid talking about it. When people ask what I do, I just say “marketing.”
Not because I’m embarrassed.
Because I don’t need the validation anymore.
(and, admittedly, I want to enjoy the moment and not get locked into a beginner YouTube strategy conversation)
I think the best transformations happen quietly. You’re just different one day, and the people who matter notice without you having to say a word.
There’s something freeing about not having to perform your life for other people. When you’re actually living it, proving it becomes… irrelevant.
That’s when you know it’s real.
Life Updates
YouTube
Here’s the latest: You become powerful when you stop caring. Got a Book Breakdown on ‘Dopamine Nation’ dropping Monday (this one will blow your mind!).
What I’m listening to
The latest Thornhill album. Obsessed with this Deftones-inspired sound. Everything’s so heavy it’s almost dragging the whole time, and I’m all about it.
See you next saturday,
CK
