I’ve done some soul searching and I think I’m done with tricks. I don’t care much anymore about productivity. I am now more concerned with core issues: happiness, fulfillment, making things better. This is my outlook for the new year.

When I first started blogging, I wanted to be like David Seah or Merlin Mann and figure out cool ways to be more productive. As time passed, things changed, and Merlin Mann doesn’t even want to be Merlin Mann anymore. David Seah faithfully puts out new versions of his forms year after year, but I get the feeling it will never get to the point of “life changing”. The fever pitch has winded down and, like after a sugar-high, we have stalled out.

I think this is the nature of life. Some things just die out and we move on. Over the past month or two, I’ve been thinking about where I’m going next and you got a preview of it in my last post. I am very excited about the concept of self-domestication and how it affects us.

Why Fight Club Still Rocks

My two favorite movies are The Matrix and Fight Club because of their depiction of the struggle to be free from external sources of regulation. I once thought this struggle was against “the man,” partly because I was an adolescent, but partly because people always had to earn my respect and some found that threatening. If I sensed weakness, I would challenge them and they respond by trying to regain dominion. A political science professor once thought it necessary to spend fifteen minutes in lecture to explain how I should be thrown out of society if I don’t follow the rules.

Lately, I feel that my beliefs have matured a little more, and I can tell that this struggle against regulation is a theme that extends beyond just fighting “the man.” It can be seen in Fight Club, in adolescents, and even Marx’s thoughts that culminated in communism. The fault in all of us is looking for the person who is doing this to us, when in fact, everything we do plays a part in our own regulation.

There is no conscious conspiracy against us, but society is engineered to remain in a fairly stable equilibrium. Most people will have very limited mobility by the force that is needed to hold everything together and maintain the equilibrium. In order to maintain the status quo that is desired by the collective conscience of the people, the true potential of individuals is often withheld and people are depressed.

The Dog Whisperer Give Me Hope

I’ve been watching a lot of Cesar Millan in his show, The Dog Whisperer and the way he revitalizes dogs gives me hope for myself and others. Most problems from dogs arise from a lifestyle that reflects the owner’s desire for their own life: they are constantly given treats and affection, they rarely exercise, and are often never put to any other use beyond companionship. This leaves the dogs unfulfilled, with an abundance of unused energy that festers into neurotic behavior.

In the same way, if we are left unfulfilled, with unused potential, the extra energy will also manifest in neurotic behaviors (such as obsessively checking email). I’ve been reading blogs about primal lifestyles (such as Mark’s Daily Apple), which tries to understand the context in which humans developed to make ourselves healthier, more energetic, and potentially more fulfilled. These people think of man more in terms of an animal, rather than a separate being that only exists in the mind.

If we think of ourselves as physical systems, within a larger societal system, then we have hope for change by modifying the equilibrium point and changing the method of interaction.

Why I’m Excited

I feel that the “primal guys” are on the right track, but their focus is mainly on physical health through diet and exercise. I believe that there is more to the equation that leads to fulfillment, which I will talk about in the weeks and months to come. I believe there are several environmental factors that have contributed to our current state. I also believe there are things we can do without rejecting the system (fighting “the man”) that will make our lives better.

I am excited because I know these environmental factors have depressed many, meaning there is so much potential waiting to be released. I am excited to see what will happen when people can experience change on a biological level, to become more focused, motivated, and energized about their life. I think we can all move on to another level and it can be done without gadgets or gizmos. I am very excited about this new year.