Every time I become sick of life, I watch a commencement speech. Not always works, but sometimes it does very well.
This time I found Green brother’s, John and Hank, and I devour it.
This post is a mixed of their speech and my insights.
Your voice will get stronger the more listen. It helps you to find your own voice.
As Hank Green professor told him:
“you're a good kid, but you need to learn when to stop talking”.
The void inside of you will not be filled with strength but weakness. Because love and listening weakens you. And it's only in weakness that you can see, acknowledge and forgive and love the weakness of others.
You're about to be a nobody and that's important because when you become somebody, if you can remember what it was like to be a nobody, you won't be a jerk.
I can't stop believing That there is any use of my time than learning something new. It never even enters to my mind. If I learn something that day that's a good day. and this curiosity doesn't adjust expand the number of tools that you have access to and how well you're able to use them. It expands your understanding of the problem space. And this is so much of what ideas are: a bunch of tools that you can apply to problems, and it is understanding the shape and structure of the problems. wherever these two overlap there is opportunity there. But there is only one thing left that haven't gotten to this equation.
[it’s answered in next part.]
What is giving you hope right now?
Your curiosity isn't out of your control, you decide how you orient it. And that orientation is going to affect the rest of your life dramatically.
The most powerful mechanisms that steer our focus Are not always designed for our best interests or the best interest Of our world. We have social content platforms that are great at steering our curiosities.
Don't forget people. It about Who you include in your problem space and what you choose to be curious about.
One of the problems you will solve in your life is how you will find joy in an imperfect world. You might struggle with not feeling productive in that task Unless and until you accept that your joy can be one Of the things you produce.
Ideas don't belong in your head. They cannot help anyone in your head. Get the ideas out. You may fail, but while you fail you will build new tools.
Because people are very messy and complex, you may be tempted to build around them and not for them. But remember to ask this: " Where do value and meaning originate"? Where do they come from? Value and meaning come from people. People things are the hardest work but often the most important one.
Though social media and the internet and this age of technology is connecting us more than any time in human history, I sometimes wonder if it’s disconnecting us, too. We don’t see people as people, just as numbers, followers, likes – disembodied videos for views and clicks instead of actual beings dealing with their own set of circumstances that may be completely different from ours, but also may be more similar than we would think.
When you judge someone, you disapprove their recognition of their personhood. You judge people, because you think you know them, but it’s possible when your own perception is deluded and distorted. We owe everyone the acknowledgement of our shared humanity no matter what.
If you want to immune to others’ words, you need to author your own experience. In order to do so, you need to know:
(1) There is no true self that exists independent of circumstances.
(2) You’re infinite. Your doubts make you more real, not less.
Sources:
Num 1 to 3 was From John green’s commencement speech.
Num 4 to 8 was From Hank green’s commencement speech in MIT.
Num 9 and 10 was from a post on substack.
Num 11 was partly from Natelie portman’s commencement speech in Harvard.
Wednesday, Mehr 22, 1405 AP
