Dear Test,
Are we heading toward “peak optimization”?
The death of trying to live forever. Ice-bathing our way to greatness. Sauna-ing our way to success. Supplement-ing our way to immortality.
Oh my, what an age we inhabit. (I adore science and technology, yet not at the cost of philosophy and our humanity).
Sure, I’ve encouraged early mornings. Yes, I have! The whole 5AM Club thing. And waking with the sun.
Yet I never suggested it as a means to live like a machine. Never. Not once.
The early hour was — and remains — to give you quiet space to access your wisdom, heal your wounds, upgrade your health, and feed your soul.
Mr. Seneca understood this two thousand years ago. In his letters, he taught us that life isn’t short — we simply squander it, trading depth for busyness, presence for performance. The problem was never a shortage of time. It was a shortage of attention paid to what actually matters.
To run your life like a robot. To schedule every waking hour to maximize your performance. To treat a day as a race. This blocks your creativity and reduces your poetry and closes your soul. This won’t make you happy, in the end.
So, of course — have great habits. Use your power to realize your gifts, make your day great, and honor your dreams.
Do what is yours to do. Then make space. For awe, wonder, wisdom and coincidence.
Yes, act not like artificial intelligence.
Because you are human.
And built from the stars.
P.S. This tension — the robot and the gardener inside each of us — is what my next book is all about. It arrives early in the new year. Sign up for the waitlist to get early updates and a first look.
Love,
Robin
