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Brain Food #753
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Brain Food #753

What do you desire?

Marianna X
Apr 8
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Share this post
Brain Food #753
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Thoughts of the day

One of the main messages behind yesterday’s post was that we should not rely on old models and ways of thinking that belong to the past — not just a past situation or environment, but also a past self. Research claims that our personalities do, in fact, change over time (and, thankfully, they get ‘better’, what psychologists call the maturity principle).

If this is true, then our wants can serve as useful north stars and provide a sense of direction but, like maps, they should be revisited from time to time. We are undergoing a constant process of self-renewal, but any narrative, especially that of life itself, requires some sense of continuity.

And so, we need to have frequent interactions with our past selves, made possible through records held in diaries, notes, resolutions, or any other fragments we left behind. If we look closely enough, we will discover we are all storytellers, in our own ways.

I start my end-of-week retrospective with a seemingly simple question: “What do you want?” or, as Alan Watts asked, ‘What do you desire?’

Reading through past answers can help you understand if what you wanted yesterday is still what you want today. And if the answer is no, it is perfectly acceptable to let some wants go.

“The trouble with setting goals it that you’re constantly working toward what you used to want.” 

— Sarah Manguso


Thank you for reading today’s Brain Food. Brain Food is a short daily newsletter that aims to make you think every day, without taking up too much of your time. If you know someone who would like it, why not forward it to them? And if you have just come across Brain Food, you can subscribe to it below:

For longer thoughts and Brain Food highlights from the archives, visit Medium.

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Patrick Brown
Writes Spike and Wave Apr 8Liked by Marianna X

So true. Love the Sarah Manguso quote. Reminds me of the zany wisdom of Matthew McConaughey’s Oscars speech a few years ago.

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