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How to Expose Yourself to Randomness (casnocha.com)
15 points by talkingquickly on July 20, 2011 | hide | past | favorite | 7 comments


I love the idea that we shouldn't inhibit ourselves or get stuck in ruts. But I felt like many of the items on this lit boiled down to 'Consume. But consume something novel and tell yourself it's somehow virtuous'


Anyone remotely interested in living a "random" life should read this book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dice_Man


I love randomness. Breaking out of the pattern and being impulsive is how 90 % of the fun stuff in my life happens.

The rule is: If you see something interesting, perhaps a group of people you would like to talk or engage with, give your self at most 3 seconds to take action or else; don't do it.

Why 3 seconds? If you spend more time, you will start considering the consequences inhibiting yourself -- your freudian conscious guard is activited.


lol That would practically guarantee that I never did anything spontaneous. I'm much more likely to weigh it all out, then finally decide, "Ah, what the heck" and go do it anyhow, against logic and sense.

It stops me from doing anything truly stupid or rude, but doesn't restrict me from doing fun and interesting things.


Problem:

1. Do fewer structured activities.

vs.

19. You’re really pissed off at what’s going on in your kid’s school. So run for the school board.


tl;dr - Do things you wouldn't normally do, especially if they 'waste time'.

Because really, that's the essence of it. We get so into spending our time wisely that we don't stop and look around. Rather than trying to follow the list, I'd recommend just doing things that you feel like doing, but normally wouldn't because they aren't something you'd normally do. (It's a self-reinforcing cycle.)


what a stupid article




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