Personal Development with Gray Miller
I used to hate meditation. Raised with a particular version of by-your-bootstraps Judeo-Christian work ethic that idolized “pioneers” (in quotes because they were actually colonizers), I had a real problem with the idea of just sitting there, doing nothing, for any amount of time. Worse, when I forced myself to do it I kept on …
The other night while watching TV, the characters walked into an ambush. They immediately did exactly what you’re supposed to do in an ambush. Here’s a pop quiz to see what you think they should have done: A. Immediately move left or right, finding cover. B. Hit the deck! Stay low and try to fire …
As promised, here’s the update on my personal experiment to do more deliberate viewing of television shows. It’s been a week where I’ve avoided the endless scroll of shows, making sure that when I turned on the TV I knew exactly what I was going to watch, and nothing more. Well, mostly. I’m human, and …
I just got done with one of my Simple Times of Peace (aka “STOP”) where I disconnect from as much post-19th-century-tech as possible. As usual, the first couple of hours were like wheels spinning in my head as I got used to not checking email, twitter, etc. One of the issues of working as I …
Things have been kind of rough chez Gray. It’s not unexpected. I made a deliberate career pivot a few months ago, deciding to forego the traveling facilitator gig to try and find more stable and localized work. I had a set amount of money and time to build the skills, and I spent serious thought …
I realized that I had crossed a kind of Rubicon the other day while watching a TV cop show. The assassin was in custody, but she had pulled the classic “steal a piece of pen to pick the lock on the cuffs” trick. The cop found out as soon as he tried to click the …
If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you know that I’m interested in personal development. How do we develop habits? How do we change them? I’m a freelancer, an entrepreneur, and a fanatical autodidact. Trying to fit everything I want into a day is impossible; there are always So Many Projects as well as So …
In the “How you like me now?” Series, I take a blog post from the very beginning of Love Life Practice seven years ago and see how well things have held up. This post comes from November of 2011 (so it’s not quite exactly a year) but it is the earliest “practice” post I have …
A little more than two months ago I began working towards acquiring the skills of a Graphic Recorder. That’s a big project; it’s both internalizing principles and strategies as well as actual physical practice of the craft. I do say “craft” rather than “art” because one of the principles is “Ideas, not art.” There’s also …
In line with the series of subtle little tricks to try out new things, here’s a really simple one. Often, when someone like me suggests that you try out that hobby, that trip, that whatever-it-is that you’re interested in but you’re not doing, the default answer is I would – but I just don’t have time. …