Lower the Stakes

February 16

Good morning, friend.

Much of finding meaning in life, something we all want, stems from the stories we tell ourselves about what we’re doing.

That isn’t meant as a cynical statement: just about everything meaningful in life comes to us in the form of stories—from asking “how did you two meet” to “when did you start playing guitar”, all the way to our holy texts and scriptures, it seems that meaning is conveyed to us through story.

The problems arise when those stories stop serving us—or when we start slapping them onto different circumstances willy-nilly. The same force that infuses ordinary days with a deep-seated sense of purpose also supercharges ordinary problems, making mole hills into mountains all around us.

Because of all this, it’s worth knowing a secret: you can lower the stakes any time you want to.

Yes, your job may be your calling. But that doesn’t mean every part of your job has to be your calling. You’re allowed to chalk the worst parts of it up to your cost of entry.

Yes, you might be called in life to write brilliant books or albums. But that doesn’t mean every single thing you write has to be brilliant—after all, you’re not required or even advised to share literally everything you make.

So when you’re facing the internal monster of meaning, trying to inject itself into every part of your life, lower the stakes.

Tell yourself a new story: this is the page I’m writing to get to the good page. This song is just an experiment, I can throw it away when I’m done. I’m just knocking out the boring to-dos of my job before I get back to the interesting stuff.

Because honestly, you might be surprised what you find.

And if you don’t like it? Well, you can raise the stakes back up anytime you want.

Morning Reading is a daily email to help center yourself, reflect, and prepare for the day. It’s sent with love from your friend, Zach in Austin, Texas. He even drew the logo himself.

Copyright (C) Want to change how you receive these emails?You can update your preferences or unsubscribe