Something to Keep
“What I learned on my own I still remember.”
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
A Second Look
I’ve been watching some movies lately, but more importantly, I’ve been reading a lot about them. And let me tell you, there is something intoxicating about learning something new on your own terms, without external pressure, and with no specific goals. This has been a godsend because I feel drained when I consume short-form content, but revitalized when I consume long-form content.
For the last couple of years, I wrote about self-development, but I feel somewhat disillusioned with it. It’s not that I don’t have anything to improve (far from it), but I don’t want to treat life as a project. Life’s meant to be lived, not optimized. As I said, watching movies or playing the guitar shouldn’t be the answer for everyone, but I completely lose track of time when I do those activities, so I keep coming back to them.
We live in an era when everything you do is supposed to generate income. This is why many people monetize their hobbies or start something on the side. That sounds great at first, but it might lead to resentment and emptiness. Everyone should let themselves suck at something, but have fun doing it anyway.
One fun project I’ve worked on for years is keeping a movie journal. It’s fascinating to go back to those reviews (if you can even call them that) because even when the writing isn’t that good, it’s fun to see how I felt watching a specific movie. As I said, it’s fun, even when I’m terrible at it.
Something I Liked
Since I’m already talking about cinema and how much I’ve enjoyed it, I’m glad I found this interview. In the video, the British Film Institute talks with Tom Cruise for an hour. It’s fascinating to hear him discuss his obsession with movies from a young age. Say what you will about Tom Cruise, but you can’t deny his dedication to being one of the best actors in the world.
If you enjoyed this, you might also like last week’s article where I talk about a Tom Cruise film called Vanilla Sky.
