The Big 50

This is my 50th blog post, W.

Why is there a picture of Jaxon Smith-Njigba getting a touchdown against the Commanders? It's because he's the tuffest human being on the planet and I want him to adopt me.

Besides that, I don't really have a plan for this blog. I think it's really interesting to look back at my posts and see the progression of the site, the content, and even the way I write.

50 posts in 9 months is something I never imagined happening.

There's an interesting take I heard on the mighty platform known as TikTok that you should do hobbies you genuinely suck at because you learn more about yourself, and there's usually a reason why you hate them.

I think I struggle with articulation. I can form coherent sentences in my brain. I'm able to come up with a solution, an argument, or a thought, but sometimes it gets jumbled when I try to say it out loud. I think writing forces me to think a little more clearly. It forces me to interrogate everything I'm thinking about and form a coherent paragraph that actually explains my point of view.

Stoic Stack is something I never thought I would continue. To be honest, I tend to say I'm going to read more often, write more, plank more, only drink water, and then it lasts a couple of days. It's normal. It's hard to change a cycle of comfort.

But with Stoic Stack, I think I genuinely enjoy writing posts. If I didn't, I wouldn't have written 50 of them.

Forcing myself to write 50 posts is one thing, but genuinely wanting to write about why Diogenes, a troll philosopher, is goated, why Jake, a cartoon dog, is lowkey tuff, or debate AI is completely different. Those topics are just fun to me.

The reason I've been so consistent with writing is because I get to choose what I can and can't write about, which makes it more enjoyable. I can choose to make a technical post about using Codex or review a modern-day philosopher like Mark Manson.

Whenever people, including me, try to set a new goal, it's usually because the goal itself isn't enjoyable, but we want the end result.

For example, I'm trying to read more, but I don't really like reading. It could be because some of the books are boring, or I get too tired and don't want to keep going. So then why read? Because I want to be smarter, maybe learn new things, or seem more put together.

I think people need to understand that the things you find tedious, other people genuinely find pleasurable.

But the point is that when you set a goal, you might genuinely despise doing it, and even if you stay consistent, that doesn't automatically mean you'll start loving the process.

A slightly more controversial take is that you don't always have to do certain things to obtain a certain goal.

If your goal is to get smarter, you don't need to read 100 books. You can watch videos, listen to podcasts, build projects, have conversations, or learn in completely different ways.

Even with the gym, you don't need to go if your goal is simply to look better or become more athletic. You can play sports.

However, we tend to go with the default because it's the method everyone associates with the outcome.

These aren't bad methods, but they aren't the only methods.

Sometimes the reason a goal never sticks isn't because you lack discipline. You might just hate the path you chose to get there.

I didn't force myself to write 50 posts because I wanted to become a writer. I wrote 50 posts because I kept finding things I wanted to talk about.

That difference matters more than any productivity system I've tried.

I know the David Goggins mindset completely goes against a lot of what I'm saying. Stop trying to enjoy everything and just do it.

To be fair, I agree with him to an extent. You can't enjoy everything you do. You can't optimize happiness.

But choosing something in the long run that makes you happy, or at least something you enjoy doing, while still accomplishing your goals seems like a pretty good path forward.

So I think that's the trick with consistency.

Some people genuinely enjoy the things you think are tedious.

Then they look insanely disciplined and consistent, when really, they just love doing it.

The most impressive thing about these 50 posts, in my opinion, isn't the number itself. It's that I stuck with it.

A lot of people say they are going to do X, but stop because of Y.

With Stoic Stack, I'm not sure what this blog will look like in 2030, when England finally wins the World Cup. But I'm more curious to see the dips in consistency, the quality of my writing, and how the content changes over time. Not only to see my progress, but to figure out whether doing something you genuinely enjoy is better than forcing yourself to do something you hate just for the outcome.