Videos
Some ideas insist on becoming longer than a paragraph.
How to turn a shitty day into something good
This week started bad. Loads of worrying, no proper sleep for a couple of days, and some kind of bug physically. In short, I've been far below 100%. Thursday, I got home from work. Tired. I went for a walk instead of a run. I decided that my body might do good with a short break from running, but I still need the movement. Got back to shower, and still tired. Grumpy. Moody. Feeling sorry for myself. In the shower, I thought about the mood, and how it'd bothered me for almost a week. Noticed it. And decided to let go of the bad juju. Stop it. I had enough. Sometimes that works. Just getting fed up. Sometimes I need to have those days or weeks where I'm moody and in a rut. It's a signal for something else, or just the state I'm in. I know that others have these periods as well. And I've spoken to a lot of people who are stuck in a rut they don't want to be in anymore without knowing what to do about it. I've developed and stolen some ideas on that. Shifting attention from the negative and bothering to things I want to focus on, with the goal being to get out of and away from the rut. These are some of them. Steal them with pride. → Set a deadline According to Parkinson's Law, things take as much time and space as they're given. Setting a deadline for a mood or a rut makes it possible for me to limit that time. What I've seen in people when speaking about getting out of a rut is that they allow themselves to be in the rut for an indefinite amount of time. They don't really have a plan to get out, an exit strategy or even a goal post in time for when they're going to be out of it. → A word of caution Just a word of caution on this, as it's a trap I've fallen into myself: No feeling or mood is bad. They're all signals and part of living. Allow yourself to feel them. Be in them. Just don't get stuck. This method, of putting a deadline to states of being, is something I've been practicing for years. I'm still testing it, with varying results. → Behaviour first One of my current big role models is David Goggins. He's a former Navy Seal and current ultra runner and smoke jumper. He's been known to go head first into things he hate. He hates running, that's why he does it. He starts every day with running, because it's the worst thing he can think of doing. What he, and many others, does is behave in a way and then shape the reality around that behaviour. Behaving in a way as if what they're doing isn't uncomfortable until it isn't. I've done this myself a number of times and found it immensely powerful. For me, it's not about smiling until I feel happy or doing power poses. Most often, it's about making a call, sending an e-mail or just getting to work. Especially when I'm in a rut. That's when I fake it, go behaviour first, and let the feeling of doing the right thing to get me to where I want to be find me.
I ran a 24 hour marathon – this is what I learned
Last Friday, I left work at 4 pm. I went to the grocery store to pick up a bunch of cookies, chips, some fruit and light beers. The cashier looked at me like she was wishing me a happy party. I got home, changed into my running clothes and went out for a 2 mile run. Then I proceeded to run a little more than 1 mile every hour on the hour up until 4 pm on the Saturday. (doubled the last run because my knee was acting up when rested for 45 mins). When finishing the last run, I’d run my first marathon. It’s been a goal of mine for the past year to be able to run long distance again, and now I am. I want to talk about a couple of reflections I had from this experience. → The world doesn’t care Have you ever walked around on your birthday only to be annoyed or surprised that you don’t get any special treatment from strangers who don’t know it’s your birthday? This experience was very much like that. A majority of my loop was on two of the busier streets in Malmö. Throughout the evening and night, I ran past the same 2 bars every hour. None of the people sitting in the outdoor seats recognised me running, even though I ran past some of them 4 or 5 times. Not only that, the world just keeps going when we don’t look. I saw ambulances go places with the lights on, people getting both to and from the club, parents walking their kids in strollers almost every hour of the day. It was like peeking a play I knew was going on, but hadn’t had the chance to see yet. None of them stopped for me to run my marathon. They simply didn’t care about another running dashing past them. Maybe they’d cared a little if they knew what I was doing, but probably not. I know I wouldn’t have. The point is this: The world doesn’t care about you. It’s busy tending to itself. Go do stuff anyways. Not for them, but for yourself. At first I was annoyed at people being in my way, then I started relishing it. Finding the joy in having my own secret. I was in on running this crazy race, they weren’t. → In movement I heal I’ve had this as a mantra to keep working out every day. I feel like I’m getting stronger and better with every session. Even when I’m dead tired or sore everywhere, i get out for a short easy run. Because I genuinely think it heals my aches. I found another dimension to this. I’ve had all the mental benefits from exercising before. It’s why I started running heavily again, to process heavy feelings. The past couple of weeks and months have all contained challenges for myself and people close to me. These runs were, as I’ve discovered most runs are for me, mentally cleansing. They let my mind rest and my body take over the load, stress and pressure. Let me heal for a bit. It’s been said so many times that it feels like a cliché at this point. But these runs were mentally freeing, and really good for my mental health. → There’s no such thing as running a marathon without getting tired Seth Godin has written a book called “What to do when it’s your turn (and it’s always your turn)”. It’s one of the most impactful books I’ve read. In it, he’s written an essay on running marathons, and more specifically about the fact that there’s no such thing as running a marathon without getting tired. The difference between those completing a marathon and those who don’t is that those who do knows where to put their tired. That’s a profound insight to me, because it’s exactly what I had to learn running this marathon. Where to put my tired. I solved it by compartmentalising visually. I put my tired in a box and stowed it out of sight in my mind. Then it was gone. That’s the way to do other hard things as well. There’s no way of building a business without hard work. You just have to find a place for your tired.
How to create structure in your life (without learning Notion)
I’m in a period of my life right now where I’m extremely disciplined. I’ve been here before and quite enjoy it. It’s very intentional, and is done in order for me to track myself against a couple of long term goals that I have. I have a flair for structure and discipline. I think it’s fun to explore, I like being disciplined and enjoy the results hugely. Hence, I’ve had questions asked about it quite a lot. Friends asking how I keep structure, or asking me to help them create discipline and structure in their lives. To some extent I can. I’m reluctant to spread the gospel and tell people to do what I do. I’ve tried that, and it never works. There’s so much trial and error behind my systems that are vital to the result today. What I can offer are a couple of principles that seem to be universal. They’ve worked well for me and as far as I know, for people who’ve used them in their lives. → Don’t focus on the tool Going gear first is so so common. It’s what most people do when they want to get in shape. It’s what I tend to do when I want to become more creative. And it’s what a lot of people do when looking for productivity. Even though I don’t use apple notes, I can completely relate to this image. When looking for tools, we don’t focus on what’s important or is going to have the biggest impact on our structure. We’re making things complicated, messy and eventually things are going to get lost. On top of that, I’ve been guilty of trying to “optimise” my tools rather than actually doing the work I’m supposed to do. The whole web in the middle takes time, and can feel like working, but it isn’t. One last note: When you develop systems for structure, you’re going to be fine with whatever tool you’re using. I’m currently using one app at work and another at home. I’m sufficient in both because I have my systems down. → Build systems you trust. In order for personal structure to work, you have to trust your systems. You have to trust that everything you need, be it notes, reminders, calendar invites or mathematic formulas, are in the right place. That’s why we build systems in the first place. A challenge that I’ve managed to condition out of myself, is that we tend to flex these systems. Most of us have a preferred place to take notes. If you don’t have one, you should. But when you’re in a meeting and forgot your computer, you’re gonna grab a pen and pencil to take notes. When you later on need those notes, you don’t instantly go to the notebook, you go to the app where you usually take your notes. All of a sudden, you can’t trust the system to contain all your notes anymore, and the system is going to fail. What you need to do is be ruthless with these rules for yourself. If you end up taking notes on a notepad once, you need to instantly convert those notes into your regular system. The same goes for all the systems you build for yourself to become more structured. → Decide and revise Every once in a while, I revise the systems I’ve built. The rules that I try to keep to. The way I do things. Then I decide on what I want to keep, what to get rid of and what to tweak. And commit. Systems is to a large extent about commitment. It’s about following through and doing what you’ve said you’ll do over and over again. While that’s important, it’s also important to do the right thing over and over again. Reminding me of the line from Love yours by J.Cole: The good news is, you came a long way The bad news is, you went the wrong way Coming a long way doesn’t really matter if you’re going the wrong way. Hence, make sure to revise properly and check your map. Show notes: https://almerudcaspian.notion.site/Ri...
Experiment your way to freedom, health and experience
When I was 14, I was convinced I needed 10 hours of sleep. I spoke to my mom about it, and told her that I constantly felt tired despite sleeping so much. To be fair, I was doing 6-10 sessions of football and running per week. But ten hours every night seems a bit high looking back. My mom told me that there’s such a thing as sleeping too much. I was confused, astounded and in disbelief. She then encouraged me to try it out. Test what happens if I sleep 6 hours a night for a week. Or 7, or 8. I’ve run a bunch of experiments on myself, some more successful than others. It’s a way for me to get to know myself, know my limits and learn more about my abilities. I’ve come to realise that not everyone does this, and I think it’s a shame. Sleep has been one of the integral ones, but far from the only thing I’ve experimented with. Every experiment has made me grow a little bit. Every single one, especially the miserable ones. That’s what we’re speaking about today. Show notes are found here: https://almerudcaspian.notion.site/Ri...
Take charge of your life through values
I remember vividly sitting in a workshop where we were speaking about our values. We’d been given a list of 60-something words to choose from, and were tasked with choosing 3-5 that felt important. After that, we were split into groups. Each person was given 20 minutes to share a story related to their word with the prompt “A time when [value word] was important to me…”. I was 20 at the time, in a group with people older and younger. It was wonderful speaking about these things. One woman in her 40s shared that feeling secure was important to her, that she’d declined job opportunities that fel too risky because of it. As an ambitious 20-year old I couldn’t fathom it. She continued sharing how she just kept thinking about what would happen to her children if she couldn’t pay her mortgage. Not put food on the table. What her husband would say and think about her. That’s when I understood. We all have values that are more or less important to us at different points in time. I have one set of values today, but I know very well that I didn’t have some of them just 6 months ago. They change over time, with us and with our environments. Show notes can be found here: https://almerudcaspian.notion.site/Ri...
Develop your grit to reach success
Grit has proven one of the most important skills and traits in predicting success. That is, if you want to see who’s going to become successful, look for grit. Grit is what keeps you going when inspiration, motivation and sometimes even reason goes out the window. I’ve practiced grit over the past 6-7 years. More or less intentionally, I’ve tried to find ways to keep myself going when I don’t feel like it. It’s a big part of why I’ve developed the way I have in those years. Especially now, where I’ve set up a goal to become an ultra runner, I know that the practice is going to pay off. I’ve already felt it. I don’t want to exercise every day, despite that being my plan. But waking up at 4:30 on a windy/rainy/snowy Sunday morning, I don’t always want to go for a run. But I do it either way.
Problem solving is a skill. Here's how you develop it
We all solve problems all the time. It’s natural to humans to do so. Almost everything you see around you is a solution to a perceived problem. But the skill of solving problems is hard to a lot of people. Having the right resources or tools doesn’t mean you’re able to solve a problem. You need to have a strategy on how to use those tools. I haven’t spent nearly enough time on developing models or strategies for problem solving, at least not consciously. Now I’ve started, and I think you should as well. Show notes found here: https://almerudcaspian.notion.site/Ri...
This is how you upskill yourself
I think letting someone else take care of your education, of your learning and be responsible for your development is boring. It's quite naive, and frankly foolish. It's something that you need to be in charge of. Hence, I’ve tried to take charge of these things in my life. It’s not always easy, and it’s most certainly not always comfortable. But I think it’s necessary if you want it to happen. No one else is going to. Show notes: https://almerudcaspian.notion.site/Ri...
How to create the community you want to be a part of
I’ve been a part of all kinds of networks over the past 6-7 years. Business related, large friend groups, creative hubs and online Facebook groups. All of them have had impact on shaping me into who I am and have created opportunities for me that I otherwise wouldn’t have had. They’ve also made me realise that there’s immense power in being part of a community, for a number of reasons. For growth, comfort as well as challenge and inspiration. I think access to communities and networks is going to get harder in the future. People are going to protect their closest communities and we’re going to value small, exclusive groups rather than big networks with loose bonds between one another. Hence, those of us that seek community need to act. Act by creating, participating and nurturing the networks we want today in order to have them in 10 years. What networks and communities do you want to have in your life? Show notes can be found here: https://almerudcaspian.notion.site/Ri...
How do you turn information into knowledge?
We don’t live in an information society anymore. Simply because information is virtually free and infinitely accessible. What I think matters today is 3 things: 1. Can you find the right information and make sure it is indeed the right information? 2. Can you convert the information to contextual knowledge? 3. Can you convert that contextual knowledge to an action or skill? Simply put: How do you solve complex problems that you haven’t encountered before? Show notes: https://almerudcaspian.notion.site/Ri...
How do you create your life through time?
Time and time again. This riff is a bit more practical on time than the last one I did. A bit more in depth on two theories that I heard just a couple of days ago in a conversation with Bobby and since have pondered happily. How we speak about time is extremely powerful. Just as I spoke about the last time around, the way you perceive time can impact your actions, behaviours and even mood. At leas it does for me. Hence, I think these two theories and thoughts might be quite useful in speaking about time with others. Show notes: https://almerudcaspian.notion.site/Ri...
Competition as well as a roadblock
I’ve reflected quite a lot on my own competitiveness lately. I have a reputation among my friends of being obnoxiously competitive. It’s served me well at times, just as it’s been a hindering factor to many of my relationships. Hence, I want to work on making it a choice to be competitive. It's a superpower that should be used with care. Show notes: https://almerudcaspian.notion.site/Ri...
4 thoughts about time
I’ve tried to optimise time on being productive, on fitting the most things to do in the least amount of time and on feeling the best in the moment. Right now, I’m optimising it to benefit me over time. In trying to bend time to my current will, I’ve spent some time thinking about time. The mental models people have come up with, the metaphysics of time and most importantly, how do we perceive time as humans? These thoughts have become even more prominent in periods of my life where I’ve felt a shortage of time. I’ve had several periods where I try my best to optimise time spent in order to get to do the things I want. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, these mental models or thoughts have been helpful in thinking about time. Show notes: https://almerudcaspian.notion.site/Ri...
Control over your emotions is a dial
I had a realisation last week. One of those proper ones where it seems like it came from nowhere, whilst out walking. The realisation was this: Control over emotions is a dial. In the past, I’ve seen control over emotions as something that I’m pretty good at. I can tone almost any emotion down at almost any time. I’ve got extreme patience, something I’m very happy about. The thing is, if control over my emotions is a dial and I’m really good at pulling the volume down, do I really have control? I’m horrible at pulling the volume up. I don’t like it and rarely do. I’m reevaluating what control over my emotions mean, and I think a lot more people need to do the same. At least if you, like me, believe it’s a dial. Show notes: https://almerudcaspian.notion.site/Ri...
What happens to someone who's a Fanatic?
I’ve been a fanatic in a bunch of different ways. Keeping sleep schedules religiously, keeping streaks and on mantras. And I still am, in many areas. More confidently and hopefully a bit more thoughtfully. Being a fanatic is often thought of as being religious or political, but that’s quite limiting for a behaviour that’s present in many more areas of life. Being a fanatic is, according to Amos Oz, being a person who can only count to one. Meaning you only have one solution or can only take one single perspective. In some areas of life that’s great. It makes life a lot easier. In others it’ll make you limited. Reflecting on what areas being a fanatic serves you and when it doesn’t has been useful to me. It’s led me to think of when I want to be fanatic, how fanatic I want to be and in what ways I want to present that part of me to the world. I hope this inspires you to do the same. Show notes found here: https://almerudcaspian.notion.site/Ri...
On Balance
This episode is personal on some level. All the advice and ideas are things that I’ve experimented my way to. Hence, they might not be applicable to your life. Have that in mind. I’ve struggled with the concept of finding balance. Mostly because there’s been an emphasis on relaxation and that you have to DO relaxation in order to be balanced. I think balance can be found in many different shapes and forms. As I go in to in this episode, we all have different cycles. And finding your cycle is, to me, at the core of finding balance. I hope you’ll find some inspiration to find more balance in your life. Show notes found here: https://almerudcaspian.notion.site/Ri...
Trust
This week, I speak to the topic of Trust that I've pondered quite a lot lately. Show notes are found here: https://almerudcaspian.notion.site/Ri...
Change pt. 3
Show notes found here: https://almerudcaspian.notion.site/Ri...
Change pt. 2
In this episode, I discuss the concept of changing other people. I share the advice my mother gave me, stating that we cannot change others, but we can change the way we interact with them. Emphasising again that we can only change the intersection of our relationship with someone else. I introduce the concept of "me plus you equals we" and explain that we can only control what's in our control. I also discuss how my friend, who works as a consultant in digitalisation in schools, deals with resistance to change. He focuses on early adopters, who are more receptive to new ideas, and uses their influence to sway the indecisive middle and eventually the late adopters or "grumpy bunch." In summary, if we want to change someone else, we should focus on changing the intersection between our relationship with that person. The key takeaways from this episode are to change our perspective or approach in a relationship and to focus on early adopters when trying to implement change within a group. And if you want to read more on the topic, you'll find the show notes here: https://almerudcaspian.notion.site/Ri...
On Change pt. 1
How do you go about intentionally changing yourself? I've thought a lot about change. Especially on how to change myself. These are some of the thoughts that I've found the most interesting in terms of changing oneself, and that have helped me bring about the changes in me that I've wanted. And don't sleep on the show notes, there's a bunch of extra curricular for you there if you want it: https://www.notion.so/almerudcaspian/...
A riff on change – intro
I'm starting this project up again! This time, there'll be show notes. You can find them here: https://www.notion.so/almerudcaspian/... (The link isn't pretty, but I haven't bothered figuring out how to make it look good yet. Bare with me please!) I’ve been pondering change for almost three months, that’s when i started thinking about getting this project going again. It started with a question from someone who’s been listening to the podcast, and for that I’m really grateful.