The existential vacuum manifests itself mainly in a state of boredom
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The existential vacuum manifests itself mainly in a state of boredom.
— VIKTOR FRANKL, Auschwitz survivor and founder of Logotherapy, Man’s Search for Meaning
Life is too short to be small.
— BENJAMIN DISRAELI
D keamtinine will be fun, and it will be hard. The harder it is, the more you need it. To save time, I
recommend using the automatic calculators and forms at www.fourhourblog.com. Refer to the model
worksheet as you complete the following steps:
1. What would you do if there were no way you could fail? If you were 10 times smarter than the
rest of the world?
Create two timelines—6 months and 12 months—and list up to five things you dream of having
(including, but not limited to, material wants: house, car, clothing, etc.), being (be a great cook, be fluent
in Chinese, etc.), and doing (visiting Thailand, tracing your roots overseas, racing ostriches, etc.) in that
order. If you have difficulty identifying what you want in some categories, as most will, consider what
you hate or fear in each and write down the opposite. Do not limit yourself, and do not concern yourself
with how these things will be accomplished. For now, it’s unimportant. This is an exercise in reversing
repression.
Be sure not to judge or fool yourself. If you really want a Ferrari, don’t put down solving world
hunger out of guilt. For some, the dream will be fame, for others fortune or prestige. All people have
their vices and insecurities. If something will improve your feeling of self-worth, put it down. I have a
racing motorcycle, and quite apart from the fact that I love speed, it just makes me feel like a cool dude.
There is nothing wrong with that. Put it all down.
2. Drawing a blank?
For all their bitching about what’s holding them back, most people have a lot of trouble coming up with
the defined dreams they’re being held from. This is particularly true with the “doing” category. In that
case, consider these questions:
1. | What would you do, day to day, if you had $100 million in the bank?
2. | What would make you most excited to wake up in the morning to another day?
Don’t rush—think about it for a few minutes. If still blocked, fill in the five “doing” spots with the
following:
one place to visit
one thing to do before you die (a memory of a lifetime)
one thing to do daily
one thing to do weekly
one thing you’ ve always wanted to learn
3. What does “being” entail doing?
Convert each “being” into a “doing” to make it actionable. Identify an action that would characterize this
state of being or a task that would mean you had achieved it. People find it easier to brainstorm “being”
first, but this column is just a temporary holding spot for “doing” actions. Here are a few examples:
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_013834
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