#70: The Labour of Inspiration
#70: The Labour of Inspiration
#EmotionalGranularity #InspirationJourney #AngerExpression #AlivenessDullness
š Welcome to this week's Pursuit. My name is Amir, and each week I go over 10 hours of content in pursuit of living a meaningful and fulfilling life. I'm grateful to share my findings with you and hope I can make a small difference during your challenging times. If you're on a quest for depth in an era of superficial abundance, make sure to subscribe and join our journey.
This weekās discovery:
š Why Emotional Granularity Matters
š·š¼āāļøĀ The Labour of Inspiration
š Ā Anger in vs. Anger out
šĀ The Shades of Aliveness
šļø A Quote I'm Pondering On
šµĀ Music I'm Listening To
š Why Emotional Granularity Matters
Emotional granularity is more than just a fancy termāit's a key to understanding our feelings and how they guide our actions. When we simply describe our general mood as 'upset', 'sick', or 'stressed', we're missing the opportunity to pinpoint our exact emotion. Instead of a general mood, we should aim for a granular experienceāprecisely defining our feelings. This not only gives us a clearer understanding of our emotional state but also provides specific ideas on how to react and what steps to take next. For instance, distinguishing between 'irritation' and 'frustration' can change our approach towards a situation. Moreover, emotions like anger can serve different purposes and have various expressions, depending on the situation. It's not always about feeling wrongedāsometimes, it's about competition, identity, or signaling closeness. The real power of emotional granularity lies in its flexibility, allowing us to adapt our emotions to different situations, and not treating every instance of the same emotion as identical.
If you are looking to improve your emotional granularity, I highly recommend using this beautiful app, HowWeFeel.
š·š¼āāļøĀ The Labour of Inspiration
It ultimately doesnāt matter what your day looks like, or what your responsibilities may be. Parent or single, day job or not, what transcends any of these limitations on time is your desire to fulfill your latent potential. If you truly believe that thereās something within you that must be expressed, then the next logical step is to test that belief by putting it into action. Potential is not fulfilled by thinking your way through it, but rather by exerting energy into an endeavor that you deem difficult yet meaningful.
Inspiration is the fuel that powers this expenditure of energy, but more importantly, itās what makes the journey a humanizing one. Creativity without inspiration is devoid of life, and would result in nothing more than functional products designed to serve some selfish goal. Itās only through inspiration where weāre reminded of how connected we all are, as we truly understand how the ideas of one contribute to the worldview of another.
But in the end, perhaps inspirationās greatest purpose is to reveal that the whole journey can be both rigorous and fun. That you can do the strenuous work required to actualize your potential, while also wander around freely to come into contact with the whimsical. That you donāt have to choose sides between the rational and the magical; that itās possible to blend both of the two together when traversing this unknown path.
This article was one of the most inspiring I've read this season. If you only have 7-8 minutes, check out my highlights here. If you have more time, read the original below.
š Ā Anger in vs. Anger out
Anger can be dissected into two categories: 'anger in' and 'anger out'. 'Anger out' is expressive, loud, and often results in aggressive behavior. Think of someone yelling at the news or exhibiting road rage. This is an external display of anger. On the other hand, 'anger in' is internalized, a simmering, boiling rage that remains contained within oneself. It's like a pressure cooker, quietly seething away. Interestingly, research indicates that 'anger in' tends to be more harmful, despite its less obvious outward manifestation. So next time when youāre angry and by yourself shout and bite a pillow.
šĀ The Shades of Aliveness
I used to think alive was a binary state. As in, the opposite of alive is dead. So if you arenāt dead, you are alive. Presto,Ā bingo! Many of usāāāparticularly the engineers, scientists, and mathematiciansāāālove this type of precision: 0s and 1s, molecules and atoms, the world boiled down into clean, disparate pieces. But alive is more thanĀ that. Aliveness is a quality of being. Its opposite is dullness. Dullness in taste is when food becomes a habitāāāreaching for a snack when youāre procrastinating; stuffing yourself because you seek comfort; booking fancy reservations because youāre the kind of person that doesĀ that. Dullness in physicality is when your body feels like a dungeon. You complain of the ways it lets you downāāāthe aches, the limitations, the way it sags in the unblinking gaze of theĀ mirror.
šļø A Quote I'm Pondering On
If you're going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It's the only good fight there is.
šµĀ Music I'm Listening To
Youāll find mostly Ethnotronica, Organic House, World, Disco, and Organic Electronic here:
š§ If you appreciate the music I carefully select and haven't followed my Spotify playlists yet, now is the perfect time to hit that follow button and join me on this musical journey! š¶
šĀ Pano: Danceable and electronic obscure songs
šĀ Sisy: Ethnotronica and organic house
šĀ Berghain: Dark, minimal techno and tech house
šĀ Heide: Groovy soul and disco house
šĀ Sonntag: Afterhours shit
šĀ World: From Latin jazz to Turkish psych
šĀ Super Slow: For your intimate moments
Previously on Pursuit:
