Most people try to fix their focus with productivity tactics and hacks. New apps. New timers. Another note-taking system.
If you’ve tried that in the past, you know the tactics never last. You read about the latest productivity advice, try it, feel a boost in focus, but after a few days, you’re back to where you started.
That’s because your productivity and ability to focus are byproducts of how you live.
The moment you expect the world to care about your inner life, you set yourself up to be angry, confused, and stuck.
Most of life is a trade. Time for money. Skill for opportunity. Trust for results.
Many things in life are not like that because people are evil, but because incentives drive us as human beings.
And when people don’t get what they want, they often get nasty. The Stoic philosopher Epictetus explained why that is:
“When any person harms you or speaks badly of you, remember that he acts from a supposition of its being his duty.”
People always think they are doing the right thing… in their perspective of course. If someone feels like you wronged them, it’s because they really believe that.
You can just sense it in people’s behavior, actions, and words.
Over the last 3 years, I’ve spent a lot of time in the south of Spain, around Marbella. You can just smell the desperation in the air. Everyone wants to look rich. Luxury cars, designer clothes, Instagram-perfect lives. It’s all about appearances.
But it’s not only in places like Marbella. Even in my hometown of Leeuwarden, a place that’s never been rich or glamorous, I’m noticing the same trends.
So you’re telling me that I can come up with ideas, tell it to my computer, and poof… it will give me a fully written article with perfectly articulated ideas.
That’s what most of us think about AI.
And unfortunately, a lot of people are using AI like that. The other day I was talking to a friend who’s a physiotherapist. He said, “I used ChatGPT to write a bunch of social media posts and I’m ready to publish them.”
He asked for tips on writing content with AI. I said, “I basically use AI for everything digital except writing content.“
That’s because every other person is already using ChatGPT for their content. So what does that say about you if you also use it?
A dime a dozen.