Howdy Traipser!

Today's world faces so many difficult choices. This week's newsletter stays in that vein.

Well, minus tanks and crazy autocrats. Unless you count T. rex, who can be quite stupid, but rarely invades countries.

Kicking things off with a quote via Cal Newport's latest blog:

“I can do hard things. Doing hard things has intrinsic value, and they will make me a better person, even if I end up failing.”
-Brandon Sanderson, author of Mistborn (the trilogy blew my mind)

Thorny Situationing About (bit of a stretch...), Edition 97 features:

-Hard choices, easy life
-Time alone as we age
-Proof that I play piano
-Playing the minimalism game

Onward!
Dakota

Hard choices, easy life

(read this on the blog)

As I cryptically referenced recently, it’s been a full-on start to 2022 in Traipsingville.

Curveballs have included drama for my biz, tenant trouble in a rental property, a couple of minor surgeries for Chelsea, and more.

Curveball after curveball. My dad reassured me I've always excelled at hitting, but wow.

Along with my “this is why I get paid” mantra, I also returned to this one:

Hard choices, easy life.

You can sit and watch a situation in your life grow increasingly difficult. Or you can choose the harder, better choice, the one your future self will thank you for.

Step up to the plate and smack those damn curveballs.

Pick up the phone and make the tough business calls.

Say goodbye to a bad tenant.

Get the surgery for the belly button hernia you've had since birth that flared up when your pushy husband made you hoist a heavy solar panel up to the roof. (SORRY, CHELSEA.)

Just do it

None of those actions are easy. They require confrontation, research, stress, and potential conflict.

Ahh, but the result? An easier life, back on cruise control until the next bump in the road.

A stronger, more resilient business.

A stable rental property (screw that, we're selling ours...which is even harder).

No more worrying about a physical ailment.

Hard choices, easy life. The way through is action.

Onward.

Proof's in the pudding

My friend John commented that sharing my piano progress might show people what is possible for adult learners. I'm sharing beginner composer portraits, share some music!
Fair enough: I've blabbed about piano for 1.5 years and haven't shared a single recording. SHOW ME THE MONEY.

Let's do this. Here's one I recorded recently, a modern piece titled Vivaldi Variations by Florian Christl. My practice hours are snowballing and it's satisfying to knock this out in a week. Now to improve recording sound quality...

Let's play the minimalism game

I’m an avowed minimalist. Hell, I have more bikes (4) than I do pairs of pants! (Non-cyclists, stop judging me: minimalism is about focusing on the things you truly value, not owning nothing at all.)

My general rule: If I don’t use something for a year, it is gone. And yet SOMEHOW, stuff walks into our lives.

Luckily, The Minimalists gamified decluttering. Just print the calendar and start by getting rid of 1 thing on day 1...then 2 things...then 3 things.
Perfect for post-surgery recovery, right?

We just hit day 24 and are going strong with 300 things offloaded EACH. (I'm keeping all my bikes and pants, let's not get crazy.)

It's not easy. Choices, attachments to memories, a suit I had tailored in Thailand in 2005...


Play the minimalism game with your partner or recruit a friend or two. So effective and oh-so-satisfying.

Edit: Chelsea thinks I deserve more credit for my minimalism. She wants you to know that I ran out of personal items on Day 9 and turned my energy to attacking decluttering shared things. (Think kitchen or garage.) *rubs hands together gleefully*