BTS - Fake Love | YoutubeI wrote up a random workout generator (dice tables), and of all the various options--lifting this, running there--it dictated that I dance to this song for 20 minutes. I mean I was alone in my office, so it wasn't THAT embarrassing, and I went for a full 25 minutes because I thought it was a good tune. Wish I could rap in Korean but I am still struggling with those lyrics to Bilderbuch's 'Maschin'.
As a quick update on things, I’ve updated my Coaching Pricing Page with my latest service availability.
For a long time, I have had next-to-zero availability, due to the busy schedule here. So I’m excited to offer more services once again.
“What’s Next” is a coaching format designed for people who know their personality type. This is one of my main audiences, and I will be publishing more free stuff for those of you in that group.
I also added information on my Executive Retainer services, which were very popular during my last major coaching cycle. Executives, as a group, actually really helped me launch my career as a coach. So there’s more coming for those of you in that group as well.
Finally, I got pretty good at speaking to groups & carrying out training engagements over the years. I must have done this many hundreds of times by now…and as long as I have availability, I’ll leave it up there.
I like to keep all of this stuff pretty low-key and high-information.
If you have read my blog before, you probably get that I’m not in this to be a cheerleader, even though I like to make it fun if possible.
Anyway! If any of these services seem like a fit to you, please reach out.
i have to admit that i was recently, casually, & completely blown away by 1981’s Eki / Station.
in this film we have a hokkaido cop who gets sucked into a deep hokkaido winter, a season which is given nearly as much of a character role as the actors.
and, everybody knows that “winter” is a character. it just is.
the least character-y season to me is spring, though i can’t tell if that’s because it’s september and i’m looking forward to winter, or because i’m in a reflective mood, and spring energy doesn’t really feel that appealing right now.
either way, the sheer loneliness in this film absolutely crosses the line.
Eki (yes, that means “train station”) truly plays up the sense of loneliness around the main character to the point where it’s just inescapable.
everyone around him reflects it, absorbs it, casually tosses it around. the landscape, the people, hell, even the bright orange coin-operated TV set in the isolated hotel room.
loneliness is a schedule III controlled substance in this film.
and actually, that reminds me that it’s like that everywhere.
loneliness has addictive properties:
it forces a return to a focus on the self,
which pretty much everybody needs in different ways
it gives instant protection from self-expression,
which also everybody needs
it provides protection from dopamine,
same here – everybody needs that sometimes
if that seems weird to write all those compliments to loneliness, let me just make it clear that this is a bit more of a logical topic for me due to my line of work,
and i’m not here to write an ad for “not being lonely.”
(if you want to resolve some personal loneliness, one thing you do is express yourself. IDK if i’m here to self-help for my readers today though.)
but really, those unique benefits from experiencing loneliness are SOLID.
people will even just automatically DO what loneliness wants them to, because of the subconsciously-understood benefit. those benefits take place from stage 1, moreso the more we are aware of ourselves.
this film is solid in that way. you can use this film’s loneliness to really ask,
“what is WRONG with loneliness anyway,”
because it’s just so damn beautiful.
…within a certain range, amplitude, and frequency maybe, but the same is true with ice cream or anything else.
(again, if praise for loneliness makes anyone uncomfortable – i swear this is not meant to make anyone feel worse! i know i’m also lucky that i can celebrate it a bit here.)
and that’s just one question, but an important one to at least think about,
and i have met a lot of lonely people and wish for all of them that they can find the right place from which to ask it.
Some of you wrote very kind emails that I haven’t been able to reply to. Some of you wrote emails that I replied to, and then thought, “I should share this on the blog, or touch on it.”
Here are some highlights, from my intended responses and actual responses both:
Q: What should I focus on in my career? I am an INTJ.
That’s a deep question! A few basic things all INTJs should focus on:
Learning about their role, history of the role (! rarely focused on!), and the applicable techniques & technologies. Be open to new stuff!
Knowing those they work with, at the very least in terms of type. (Whether that’s coworker, boss, or customer) See if you can understand them well enough that they naturally want to listen to your feedback.
Establishing the right rhythm for work and recovery. Not only should you know when to take a break, you should know how, and for how long. If you can break through to this level, you’ll have an excellent platform for career growth. Tip: There are different types of breaks.
Think about those and try to organize your thoughts on them. Start a new doc, notes file, wiki page, etc…
Q: What do you think about 2026? It feels damn scary. From global politics to local issues in my city.
If you can influence the outcomes, go for it. Some of you really can! Please be careful of the Fe blind spot issue.
If you can’t, feel free to keep your head down, working on what works.
For a lot of you, social media is going to cause you to clown yourself and feel intractably frustrated.
In this situation I think it’s wise to develop a separate kind of system.
What is that? Only you can decide. But for me it involves a lot of direct study of various topics, tracking those, and processing the ideas.
Were you ever in school when somebody looked out the window and said, “look, there’s a fire downtown!” or similar?
That could really be a nice break. Something different.
But each one of you is of two mind-perspectives: Out there and in here. If “out here” isn’t really tractable…at some point “in here” is definitely going to seem much more attractive and doable.
And, for “in here” to work, we generally have to be emotionally settled, in a way…
So, if you want to “do,” maybe that’s where you have to go! Back into the mind and its various interesting directions.
(Am I saying: Don’t get involved in politics? No…but recognize both domains and make it a point to engage where you have tractability.)
Q: Are you religious? I saw that you used to be…
No, I’m no longer religious. But I still come from that world, so I try to make the best of my background. I have helped a lot of formerly-religious people sort out their next steps.
Also, being formerly-religious helps tremendously when it comes to sorting out the Inner Stoic, or the Inner Prophet, from The Fool. :-) (Just thinking in terms of archetypes!)
Q: Do you think an AI chatbot is a reasonable substitute for coaching?
In the sense that it’s better than nothing? Maybe!
In the sense that it’s “good”? Not really!
These LLMs are out here recommending “gentle” this and “mindful” that, as if they’re a very rough caricature of a life coach from the early 2000s. But even those actual life coaches tended to use more specifically-interesting technique.
To me, it’s crucial to make the delineation: If you just need shallow, one-off coaching, that’s just something different: “Look, just do anything!”
But if you need more serious tools and reflection, using an AI chatbot is not going to be it, and you already realize that at some level, and maybe that’s why you’re asking.
Q: I asked an LLM to coach me as if it was you. How did it do?
It got my bio kinda-right, so that’s worth a point.
The rest was BS and you should ask for your money back. Again with the mindfulness! Ten points are deducted.
Don’t be deceived…and I think that’s why you asked.
Q: Sometimes people complain about overthinking. Is writing in long form the same as overthinking?
This is a very good point! Is “needing to breathe in order to live” the same as “being addicted to breathing, and having an addiction problem?”
And generally, “some people” are not always worth your attention. Keep learning and growing, even if it means you do a LOT of writing.
Q: What big things are on your mind right now?
First: People are suffering. They are frustrated. We live in a world of volatility. It’s crucial to start stabilizing personal processes.
Second: People want to give, they want to help. They don’t know how. We live in a world where the “help” has been disconnected from the “need,” more than ever. If you can help re-map and re-connect the two, you are going to be able to help all of us. But for now, I think it’s important to at least share what you’re thinking & working on. A lot of those who need your help will find it.
Third: Disruption has reached a critical peak. It’s at the point where we see mainly the dark side of disruption: Disruption IS disruptive (bad meaning). That’s a huge problem, and always has been! People are going to start talking about stabilization again. Wisely so.
Finally: We are surrounded by a lot of really dumb problems. Primal emotions will tend to disconnect us from really basic logic. Don’t get caught out! Don’t apply too much complexity if you’re helping people. They want to feel OK again. People have very basic needs.
And so: Helping the world doesn’t have to be complex. Keep it simple.
Above: A still image from “The Quiet Earth” (1985)
Lately it’s been dark here. A dark time of year, a dark political era…hell, I am afraid I could just go on and on about darkness!
Everybody’s got their ways of coping with this, whether that’s done by the automatic / instinctive side of the personality, or in a more conscious way.
On the conscious side, one thing that reliably helps me out in dark times is engaging with the personal hobbies and interests that seem to call out to me for attention.
Personal Interests are Kinda Lit
This topic by itself has become a huge interest of mine over the years. I like to study the way our personal interests can guide us through life in a mysteriously helpful way. They often do this through symbolic language.
Our personal interests tend to bring light into the dark corners of our lives, if given proper attention. And even if they don’t seem directly related to “resolving issues in global politics” or “dealing with that one coworker”, they often do relate to those things, somehow. I’m often surprised to find just how direct the connection actually is!
People usually talk about “engagement with personal interests” as something that disconnects us from the broader world, for good or bad…but my experiences also seem to point out that this is quite the opposite in a lot of ways.
I believe there is a strong, symbiotic relationship between those two realms: Out there, and in here.
Getting Gripped (by an Interest)
Related, one of the techniques that’s seized me lately works a lot like this:
Get excited about something. Get sucked into it! (Wow, this movie, or wow, this book! Or hobby, or whatever it is…)
Identify that new world and its energy, as a specific type of view on things, or a specific approach to things. More on this below.
Live through that world—think about your life using the tools and viewpoints from that world.
Some of this process comes from my training in Jungian-oriented topics, and some from various corners of personality theory.
But, this past weekend, one of those excitements snuck up and gripped me something good. And I wanted to share how that worked out, mostly to review, but also in case it can help somebody else.
Roll Tape
This time, it was The Quiet Earth, an ’80s movie that grabbed me once again, and sucked me in. It’s definitely one of my favorite films.
Independent, plucky, unique, and deep, it’s also everything that doesn’t describe me on the average lazy Sunday.
In the movie, the main character wakes up to find that he’s the only person left alive. On the entire planet. This is the result of a scientific experiment in which he took part: Project Flashlight.
It soon becomes clear that this person bears some responsibility for ending up completely isolated, maybe even for killing almost everyone on the planet.
There is a tremendous moral burden on this character, but he’s also just barely realizing that he’s part of a broader, selfish, shortsighted, killing system…and now…
…what to do about it?
This Kind of Topic Helps Me Out Sometimes
Why this movie? Why this approach?
Personally, I didn’t pick this interest. But if I had to guess why my subconscious mind found it interesting: It often really helps me to look at the world from this kind of viewpoint: “Oh no, what’s happened? Things are so weird and disconcerting lately. And what can I do about it?”
Solving novel problems is one way to look at this, and that is one of the skills I have worked hard on in my professional practice in recent years. So, that connection makes sense to me.
Here are some more specific examples why this helps:
First, I notice that I get more energy if I decide that stuff is really weird lately. lol. It’s more fun to look at the world this way, for me. It opens up the imagination and anyway, my mind has always been naturally attuned to single out “something weird that’s going on.”
Second: “Maybe I had a part in it, but let’s find out.” I’m a character-motivated person. I like to think about my role in things. There’s some personal-discovery and maybe also a personal redemption arc here, as is usually true for all of us. One of us, is all of us.
Within each of us is every philosophical perspective, doing some sort of battle against another perspective from time to time. Is it better to be Simple with this project, or a bit more fancy? Is it better to be a pragmatic person, or more sensitive to broader issues? Looking back, or looking forward? Focused on the now, or lost in thought?
When one of those perspectives wins, another perfectly good perspective tends to lose. And that can be really, really unfortunate, because they’re also a full palette of helpful tools and techniques.
Third, I feel kind of alone in dealing with the problems at hand…but that’s also a strength. I mean, there’s always some clear need to link together, if possible, to solve huge problems in society. But there’s also a separate strength in looking at problems that only seem to affect us.
(Eventually, maybe we can even publish the problems in a way that helps us link up with others, so whether this “I’m alone in dealing with this” is a good thing is also an open, process-related question and a matter to sort out over time.)
And finally, I get the idea that I can probably make some sense of the problem at hand, but I need to watch closely and make observations. To activate some sensitivity, this powerful tool we can use to analyze and tackle problems.
How it worked out
Translating a personal interest, or a fantasy world, into personal perspectives and tools seems to be a really helpful practice so far.
And I have to say I love the advantages of the scientific angle:
Patience is rewarded. This is not an action movie. Think through the problem well.
Unique perspectives are welcome. Again, we need so many different tools in life. You never know what can help.
We embrace the fact that dark things can happen. Embracing darkness means that we don’t try to only look on the bright side of everything, because sometimes this is just the same as blinding ourselves. With closed-off perspectives, we close off access to many important problem-solving tools. And darkness is usually just “depth in disguise.”
In the event, I took up my notebook and drew out a pleasant, organized, scientific grid layout.
Then at the top of the paper, I wrote: PROJECTFLASHLIGHTLOG (a reference to the movie), merging the movie theme with my own inner world.
I worked through general descriptions: Something’s off. What will I try now? What do I need to do?
This soon included a little to-do list, on the side. “Drink some water.” Never leave out the mundane stuff!
But also: “Take crucial measurements.”
For me, this is a thing I do—I measure my personal energy, how I’m feeling. It’s an activity I do while I’m journaling.
What Does It Mean?
In the end…I moved ahead in that particular movie-mindset, as the scientist of who-knows-what-is-going-on.
I decided to do some very specific things next, as experiments, and I did those things, or scheduled them.
And on a Sunday, no less! Hah.
I don’t want to overstate this, but it really just helps to move ahead. For most of us, that’s most of what we need on any given day! The feeling of forging ahead in life doesn’t really have to be that fancy.
And the tools we use to move ahead may also seem fancy, but it’s important to realize: Even if they just help us keep going, that’s usually plenty of help, and who’s to say if that’s fancy, if it just works!
Still, everything’s dark, and I hate it, ugh
These are, in many ways, dark times. For all of us.
Tracking that, and managing its effect on our lives, can be very hard. Attention to global issues can easily cascade into dark fallout in our personal lives. This is generally true, the less-conscious we are of a need to find our own way of solving important problems in our lives, even the dark ones.
Circumstances seem dire, and the tools available to us even seem dire sometimes. Even scrolling on a social media site these days feels like flirting with dangerous mental conditions, inviting some new level of anxiety, or depression, or obsession with some disquieting thing in a disconcerting way.
So, in this case, recognizing and seizing a motivating personal interest, or personal fantasy, if I can call it that, is a very clear, straightforward win.
Every global problem is also a personal problem, and movement on either end of that chain is helpful.
(And maybe for another time: What the hell has gone wrong with social media, anyway?)
That’s it for now everybody! May you also find some weird thing in your life that’s really interesting and ideally, helpful. :-) —Marc
Happy New Year everyone. My hope is that your 2025 is just right.
I’m just over here, keepin’ it dumb ‘n fancy, thanks.
I thought I’d do some life-ing here on the blog ‘o war, insofar as life hits me as an expressionist activity right now.
I’m just gonna express myself, and here we go.
2024
2024 was a hard year, then a difficult one, then a challenging one, then in retrospect, something of a transitional year for me.
It was a year filled with new experiences. I made a lot of art. I published new information that didn’t exist before, and even got to invent a couple of things that helped me out a lot.
Still, while working on all that, plus the new technical forays, the consulting, the project directing, the business adminning, the coaching…I held lots of questions inside.
I was treasuring those questions, as if I thought they’d sort themselves out, and I’d get to watch as it happened. I was excited about ALL of them.
And nah, nope. So many of those questions practically rotted away inside of me, and I hated that feeling.
So one thing I’m thinking about 2025 is: I don’t care if I have to write a million words just to get one of them into that worked-on, processed state. It’s better than the alternative.
This Blog
About this blog, I wondered: Keep writing as much? And if so, write about which of the million topics that come to mind?
Which one?
But today, I think I get it: Let me just share this one, whatever it turns out to be.
I felt somehow dry inside, in some aspects of last year’s experience. Worn out, at times, by a strange sense of more new, troubling dichotomies to explore and reconcile.
And not even that they were painful to think about? But that I felt I could bring new perspectives to bear on them.
So this dryness and rot definitely set in when I kept seeing and thinking about the same old topics over and over, and I didn’t find the time to stop and explore all of them and apply my latest thinking to them…
…or probably more realistically—I experienced and explored other important stuff, and during that time, those things didn’t happen.
(Rest in Peace, Mom)
(And as a politically-charged year, 2024 was not helping with this dry part at all, either)
(Rest in Peace, Watson the Cat)
Discussing it With Us
This dry situation needed discussion. I felt blamed, somehow, internally.
I discussed it—so to speak—with my internal archetypes.
There was a stalemate. The voices of reason and progress were halted, temporarily, by considerations from a new source of inner critique.
And, aside: The inner critic can look like anyone, or anything.
Maybe we can say that, in your Internal Family System, or whatever model of “theoretical people inside you” that’s fairly constructive—it’s whoever picks up the mic and complains?
Yes, I’d say: Your inner critic is whoever picks up the mic and complains, is really getting at it.
And this seems more true, the more persistent and regular the complaints they make.
This time, the complaint I was hearing was about this tug of war between accomplishment and ultra-energy.
Which, WTF is Ultra-energy
Ultra-energy is the future you, probably. I don’t know. It just felt appropriate to write.
(Some people think being excited about future-potential is way too fancy, and corny, and BOY am I holding back, so if that’s you, please show yourself out or shield your eyes a bit, just in case more escapes below.)
And here’s how it goes:
You can make huge amounts of progress, and reach new milestones. You can enjoy it and feel great about it.
But this is, still, in some ways, the opposite of having another life that’s more fun, carefree, and also exploratory, creative.
Your future self wants to be more of those things FORSURE.
It is NOT SO SURE, on the other hand, about whether it wants the goals you are working at right now.
And if you continue to fall behind on the fun, on the exploration…then one day, that fun, carefree, laid back person inside—or their babysitter—might become the voice of your passionate inner critic!
Ouch.
The Most Painful Critic of All is Probably Super Laid-back
The normal critic—the Healthy, Developed, Experienced Critic—is not really that harsh of a critic.
You know? Like a really experienced movie critic you might watch on TV or Youtube or something…
That particular Critic is probably really good at measuring their words, they think about their audience’s needs, they allow some nuance in their conclusions, and they keep an open mind.
They might even have a sense of humor!
So yeah, it’s actually the PERIODIC or INEXPERIENCED Critic , someone normally very laid back, even—that’s just painfully annoying to deal with.
THAT critic thinks in black and white terms, they don’t seem to measure any words, they are angry, they want what’s theirs while not exactly giving you what’s yours, either.
I had a talk with this Critic, and I journaled my way through that, and realized:
This doesn’t mean they don’t have a point
Their inexperience and anger may seem annoying, but they may still have a really good point.
The point might be better described by looking at their archetype or their role, though. You might have to look past their language.
And so I realized that this critic was protecting my deepest values.
They were trying, I realized, to nurture a new me.
Oh no.
I thought about my thinking-environment, my day-to-day, and realized: It’s not that kind of environment.
I couldn’t nurture a new me that way. Not there.
New You Needs an Environment?
“New me needs an environment?…Huh!”
This particular thought really struck me as so different from the normal stuff we all think about. Still does.
At any given moment, a new you is taking shape.
Maybe it’s your inner child, or inner toddler, inner baby. Who knows.
But that inner being is often all of these things:
More innocent about / unplugged-from some things the “real life you” is involved in, so that it can focus on new experiences
Less protected from the current set of things you deal with on the daily, (so be careful about exposing it to that noise)
Just different, in ways that are probably really exciting to you, if you can see them and feel them.
This is good stuff. I can’t even describe how much I love all of that.
Creating the New Environment
I understood that I needed to create a new environment for this side of me. (This aspect, this inner person, this idea, this philosophy, whatever you want to call it.)
I looked around, too. I shopped for environments.
I didn’t find anything out there.
I found people, I found discussion groups, I found platforms, chats, forums. Training, certification. Theories, books, documentaries.
But they were all hitting so different, compared to what I could feel was needed.
I Went Outside
Last month I went outside on a sunny winter day, around lunchtime, and sat in the sunlight.
I felt the sun heating my back until I felt like I was too close to the heater. I needed to take off a layer. Maybe put shorts on today?? Wow. I’m warm!
It was 62F, in December.
This perspective felt so different from the way I had been treating the season so far.
That particular outside location was, until that day—and even at 62F!—a cold reality, merely a hallway I would pass through on my way to a working context, or to a resting context.
But maybe while I was going to work, or to rest, I was passing through an interesting, dynamic, exploratory context?
Could I Find AND Make a New Environment?
Was this the environment I wanted?
I could accept it: It presents itself to me, or my mind, as an exploratory realm. OK. It is in a state of accepting acceptance. It feels like it is ready to accommodate me.
I could work on it, in it: I thought about myself as a sculptor, architect. I already know how to work outside, to perform with and to palettize its elements to some degree.
I made a simple bench once. I made a pole saw with a super long stick and a swiss army knife. I made a hammer, I made a wooden gutter-cleaner.
This is not counting all the ridiculous stuff I made as a boy scout, either.
Was it that though? Outdoorsy…hands-onny…get out your saw…
Nah.
It wasn’t, and it isn’t, some creative-bushcrafting exercise. It’s not about connecting with nature.
It’s going to be about newness, and I am holding on to that.
What is New, Anyway?
I ask myself what’s new. What is really new, for me?
The unknown. That’s what’s new.
I’m on the Starship Enterprise, and so are you, and so is that person over there.
We’re explorers.
The outside is just a way for me to remember that. It’s just a different place.
Different place, different thoughts, unknown thoughts. A highway to somewhere, sometime, or even a highway to never.
And then:
You bump into something.
I realize I’ll bump into some things. I’ve done this before.
Some topic, you know? To explore.
Some of those old questions I didn’t explore already died. Some are still alive, and some are yet to be discovered.
Hopefully it’ll be fun, creative, interesting.
Err, I mean:
“Make it so…?”
I act, I charge into it all, and then I’m acted upon, and I’m nothing, and also maybe some things.
Author Note: While I offer a lot of speculation here, this analysis is based on my expert observations as a formally trained personality type coach with extensive experience administering restricted psychometric tests.
As the 2024 presidential election approaches, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are making waves with their unique personalities and leadership styles.
Harris is known for her executive charisma and high ambition, while Walz is recognized for his down-to-earth, pragmatic, friendly approach.
In this article, I’ll explore the potential strengths and weaknesses of each candidate’s personality type, and how these factors might interact and influence their leadership styles in a potential NT-temperament presidency.
Let’s start with VP Kamala Harris.
Kamala Harris: ENTJ Personality Type & Personal Traits
In my analysis, Kamala Harris seems to fit the ENTJ personality type extremely well.
So, first, it’s worth pointing out that this puts VP Harris in the same personality-type lineup as these public figures:
Winston Churchill
Margaret Thatcher
Napoleon Bonaparte
Steve Jobs
Elon Musk
Carl Icahn
Tucker Carlson
Glenn Greenwald
Sarah Ashton-Cirillo
What do they have in common?
First, since this article is about personality type theory, it can help to avoid projecting one’s own like/dislike take, for any of these personalities, onto Harris. Just adding this in case you are already working down the list, thinking “hate, hate, meh, OK, I like” or similar…!
So, reviewing the list generally / objectively, you can see that we have people who are very directive and energetic toward goals. They tend to pick up a cause and run with it. They also tend to want to delegate the details. And they would rather use “the now” to plan for the future, being generally sensitive about the future.
I would also point out that generally, this type group does not like to be caught thinking about the past, except for deriving very straightforward lessons in strategy or tactics. You may have noticed that Harris already made something of a slogan out of this!
Kamala Harris: Additional Trait-style Factors
…and what about the other glaring issue: She’s not exactly like any of those other ENTJ people?
OK, this is a basic lesson of personality type: While personality type theory is extremely helpful and powerful, people are more than just their type. We all have millions of traits that also set us apart from others. Everyone is unique, and a type is also meant to denote a group of people, helping individuals connect the “me” with “the group” for more objective help in understanding themselves.
So, looking into this individuality direction a bit, while still holding onto the strengths of type theory, I think we can see that Kamala Harris also has some traits that lean far into the opposite personality zone. This is fairly common. We all tend to become a bit like our opposite sometimes!
For example, it has been said of VP Harris that she can oscillate between:
In-charge Interaction Style (the ENTJ Interaction Style) – very executive & decisive, and
Behind-the-scenes Interaction Style (the ISFP Interaction Style – The opposite of ENTJ) – reserved, indecisive.
In my opinion, it’s best to look at these as two parts of a whole, like the yin & yang of her personality.
In general, these two points in isolation DO NOT matter that much…unless you tend to overuse one of them! This generally leads to the other one taking over with a vengeance.
Most people are not very skilled in handling the emergence of their opposite personality, and these changes over to the opposite side can cause quick, sudden damage to one’s image, reputation, or career.
So, we will see how this works out with VP Harris, especially given that she is an individual with her own traits, and not just an ENTJ.
Kamala Harris: Other ENTJ Personality Type Factors
Now let’s get back into the ENTJ type a bit more. We can learn a lot by knowing about the broader ENTJ personality type.
For example, how does Kamala Harris balance those general personality factors in her more individualized approach to life?
And, is she conscious of any typical ENTJ tendencies, like these, for example:
A tendency to overwork oneself and become a workaholic
A tendency to push people around (so to speak), or see them as cogs in machine, rather than working with them creatively, and directing them in a win-win manner
An extreme obsession with detail (see Steve Jobs, for example) that mainly takes over in high-stress situations
With some basic awareness and maturity, those problems can usually be overcome. So that’s the question: Do they apply, and if so, to what degree is she aware & attentive to them?
There are also many, many other ENTJ-related questions to consider:
There’s a lot of REALLY bad stuff behind us, in the past. But there’s also a lot of foundational stuff, even good stuff! (You can see a lot of this in her own past, like how she was raised. She understands the “good past” idea at a personal level.) So, can she give reasonably nuanced attention to the “our” past, and bring the best parts of the past forward? (Socionics ISTJ Supervisor Model)
Can she devote time to review relevant details with patience, when needed? (ENTJJCF Si Dynamics Model)
Does she give reasonable care to her health, not pushing herself too far before consequences kick in? (Socionics ISFJ Conflicting Type Model)
Can she deal deftly with her own personal feelings, actively processing them rather than setting them aside until they come back with a vengeance and drive her into forced solitude or executive lock-out? (ENTJJCF Fi Model)
Can she avoid pushing important allies away by seeming to strive for too much perfection, handing out severe critique? (NT Temperament)
Can she avoid detaching from important tasks when confronted with too much routine? (NT Temperament)
Can she act creatively AND decisively at the same time? (ENTJJCF Ne Model)
Is she tougher or more controlling than necessary? (ENTJ In-Charge Model / Overuse Potential)
So, just a bunch of interesting factors to think about.
It seems clear to me that VP Harris is generally ambitious, charismatic, and well-versed on a variety of topics and perspectives. Let’s see how the situation and her personality dynamics develop from here.
Tim Walz: INTP Personality Type & Personal Traits
In my own analysis, it seems that Tim Walz fits best into the INTP personality type. That puts him in company of these other INTP public figures:
Abraham Lincoln
Charles Darwin
Marie Curie
Stephen King
Paul Allen
Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia)
Jason Scott (Internet Archive)
Larry David
Scott Adams
Ryan McBeth (Youtuber)
I mention Ryan McBeth here because he’s an example of a pragmatic INTP who has served as an NCO in the US Military. I think you’ll see some similarities to Tim Walz’s style in Ryan.
Also, I personally know & have come across a LOT of INTPs who seem to have preferred the NCO path in the US Military, with Sergeant being a sort of favorite “understated, pragmatically valuable leadership” rank that they like to reach & really personify.
This could be a reflection of the ESFJ opposite-type motivational effect, in which the INTP naturally reaches toward their opposite type in developing themselves and their career. The leadership-oriented ESFJ is often seen focusing on more “humble, relatable” leadership roles, like becoming the mayor of a small town.
Some will relate this to the cognitive functions Si and Ti, both of which are generally little-picture focused, with Si also being somewhat associated with the understated “humble ol’ me” style. It can also be related back to a distaste for the “showy” cognitive function Se, or to the INTP’s preferred interaction style, “Behind the Scenes”. In any case, it’s nice to have a variety of perspectives from which to look at this, as each perspective will also tend to relate forward into the individual’s future.
Reviewing the list of INTPs above, you’ll find a lot of thoughtful people. They are interested in learning about, and analyzing problems. Even Larry David is basically ALL about that analytical approach, even though most of us only see that in his ‘it’s only logical’ style of humor.
Regarding “the past”, which is a very important psychological perspective: In contrast to the ENTJ, INTPs tend to be much more comfortable thinking in & about the past, and learning deeply from lessons of the past. Even to the degree that some INTPs are not fully comfortable introducing a new idea or theory unless it can be directly related to some aspect of the past.
I will also note that Walz has a very solid, grounded, yet flexible grasp on logical analysis in general, indicating maturity in the logic zone! This closely matches the style of the INTP’s foundational cognitive function, Ti. Most recently this gift was pointed out in the context of maps and mapping data.
Tim Walz: Additional Trait-style Factors
Just like VP Harris, Tim Walz is a unique individual. He also demonstrates these traits which are somewhat “less INTP”:
Gregarious and interested in “joy”
Down-to-earth and relatable
Caring for the individuals around him in an active way
It may be that he picked up some of these from how he was raised & where he was raised, as he has mentioned in public.
Also, I would note that all three of these points are valuable and effective career skills for a sergeant in the military.
Regarding any tendency to oscillate (basic cognitive function dynamics), we can’t really say much is on the record about that, or at least I haven’t seen it. But here is a simple example based on the INTP personality type and NT temperament:
A possible tendency to get cranky or irritable unless given plenty of time to withdraw and think things out with very precise logic
A counter-flow toward “joy” and “relating to others” as the other side of the oscillation (Opposite-type effect: ESFJ Get-Things Going / Energy Type)
It’s my guess that we may see him expanding his outward focus on “joy” around a hyper-serious Kamala Harris, creating a bit of an odd effect on the audience at times. If so, this may happen because of his effective, pragmatic grasp of the audience and how to relate to them, as opposed to the ENTJ style of simply directing the audience, or telling them what’s going to happen.
Tim Walz: Other INTP Personality Type Factors
While his potential role as a VP is still up in the air, I do ask myself:
Will Tim Walz gain more audience respect / public respect than Kamala Harris, in some awkward way? (Awkward for him as well as others!)
Will he care for his health, when big problems come up that require lots of mental focus?
What INTP-style mental contributions will he make, to campaign and/or US government thinking?
Will Walz overplay the opposite-type ESFJ “joy in relating” approach, when deeper logic is more appopriate?
Finally, I want to zoom out just a little bit, and get into the NT temperament.
Both Kamala Harris and Tim Walz share the NT temperament. (In this case, you can see the letters “NT” in each of their four-letter personality types.)
NT’s are also known as “Rationals” (David Kiersey) or “Theorists” (Linda Berens).
The ENTJ-NT (matching Kamala Harris) is known as the “Fieldmarshal” in the Kiersey model.
The INTP-NT (matching Tim Walz) is known as the “Architect” in the Kiersey model.
This close combination of two NTs leading a presidential administration seems like it could be a pretty huge factor in terms of outcomes for the US government, and possibly the world. It also potentially magnifies or potentiates the work of both figures together.
The Trump-Vance ticket is of the SP temperament, somewhat the opposite of the NT temperament in many ways. (You can see the letters S and P appearing in their four-letter types, with Trump being ESTP, and Vance being ESFP.)
SPs are also known as “Artisans” (David Kiersey) or “Improvisers” (Linda Berens).
The ESTP-SP (matching Donald Trump) is known as “Promoter” the in the Kiersey model.
The ESFP-SP (matching JD Vance) is known as the “Performer” in the Kiersey model.
These types are known to be more comfortable operating “in the moment” and may be less comfortable with topics like long-term planning, risk assessment, and big-picture strategy.
Is it an NT-Temperament Presidential Bid?
This is a really interesting question to me: Will we have an NT presidency? This would tend to create a ripple effect in US policy, strengthening these factors:
US diplomacy and strategy that are logically grounded in US values
A more logic-and-data focused approach to US strategic problem solving
More focus on technology and harnessing innovation in US policy
Broad-minded, future-thinking US policy and strategy
A possibly huge return of an active “big-picture focus” to US policy & strategy
Visionary acts of planning & policy that could set the US up for strength in the future
Forward thinking in general / Adaptability in general
Needed emphasis on the idea space in US politics
And finally…new political theory, diplomatic theory, or other strategic theory
Keep in mind that these new outcomes would not just be “coming from” these two individuals; rather it would tend to be heavily rewarded by these individuals and any system they lead.
So there is a big potential for many new NT-temperament-related wheels to start cranking, throughout government, economy, and almost any public concern.
How will this and other temperaments react?
This makes me think about the stark reality of personality type: Some people are similar…others are very, very different.
Some example questions that come to mind:
Will people like Mitt Romney, an ENTP type and therefore also-NT, play super-well with this team in some notable way? Personality type factors can have a surprisingly strong influence on outcomes involving persuasion and influence.
Will NF temperaments like AOC, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (ENFP), pick up on a “perceived lack of humanity” in some way, and run with it, causing friction? Such types are generally on the alert for a need to nurture and be kind to ourselves and those around us. But it’s also sometimes really hard to balance this with a need to be productive and get things done.
Will the strategy and big-picture logic work out too well, effectively alienating some important lower-level figures, who start to feel like cogs?
Since this website you are reading used to be called “Marc’s INTJ Blog”… will we see other NTs like INTJs and ENTPs way more engaged in such a presidency? As an example, INTJs basically own the auxiliary Ni-functionality for the ENTJ personality type…this can be extremely helpful as ENTJs engage with their thoughts & goals.
How will Trump (ESTP) and Vance (ESFP) respond? They are both of the SP temperament (Improvisers), so what looks like “scrambling to figure out a strategy” to others, like NT’s, may actually be more like “iterating until we find what works”. It will be interesting to see what they come up with.
How the heck will the NT vibe play with the Democratic party vibe? I’m not as doubtful about this one, as I am “intrigued”…I generally do not think of the Democratic party when I think about the NT temperament….but I also have to say: I generally don’t think about the Republican party when I think about the SP temperament, either!
These are just some casual examples of my thoughts on the temperament factor though, nothing serious in my mind yet.
Conclusion
OK, I don’t really have time for a long conclusion today. As usual, I ran out of time while writing this. But WOW this has been a very engaging presidential election bid so far…let’s see how it goes.
I wanted to share some quick personality analysis, after watching this interesting video by Allan Lichtman, author, researcher and professor behind the Keys to the White House theory.
In the video, Prof. Lichtman “schools” Cenk Uygur of the Young Turks, offering counter-critique to Uygur’s original call-out video.
Before I go further…a challenge…
If you have a prediction-oriented personality, please predict what I will say here, before you read the rest of the article! Make some simple notes, but add a reasonable amount of detail.
This can be an enlightening activity for predictive types to learn about their personality, their own predictive style, and potentially their gifts.
The personality breakdown, by those involved:
Quick Note: In case the following information does not seem obvious, it is based on my own experience in personality theory, in being extensively trained in the topic, in training and coaching hundreds of people, administering psychometric instruments, running a personality-theory blog for many years, etc.
Yes, you read that right, I am an EXPERIENCEDBLOGGER…hear my voice! :-)
The Breakdown
Here is a basic breakdown of the personalities involved, by type.
This is my best estimation right now:
Professor Allan Lichtman: ENTP (Theorist – Inventor – Professor Type)
First, Cenk says that Professor Lichtman is “entirely full of crap”. This is an emotionally-charged statement, and it’s also a considerable generalization.
Coming from an INTJ this kind of statement immediately causes some concern, as those are both common INTJ blind spots: 1) Overburdened emotional critique and 2) Lack of consideration for details. OK? Continuing…
Next, Cenk focuses on the professor’s statement: “Other people dont have any track record,” Cenk says. But then he jumps to his own track record.
Focusing on Cenk’s personality type, a Ni-dominant (a qualitative-prediction-oriented) type, this also causes some concern. In my experience, it leads me to wonder if Cenk sees himself as an up-and-comer, a contender, in the area where Professor Licthman has established himself: Prediction!
This takes us back into the theory. Let’s go:
Deeper Personality Breakdown
Let’s get deeper the personality theory a little bit:
First, these are both NT personality types (note the letters “NT” in both personality types).
NT personality types tend to think very fluidly with regard to time (notice how in these videos, both of them jump comfortably from past to future, making confident statements in both contexts), and prediction is a very common contested space for NT types.
Also, both of these personality types lead with intuition:
Lichtman had a new idea (his model) and really ran with it! That’s common for Inventor types.
An ENTP like Lichtman is also probably more likely to critique someone else’s lack of due care in organizing information. You can clearly see this approach in his video response to Uygur.
Te: Quantitative Logic (Building on Standardized Knowledge)
An INTJ like Uygur gets a singular, strong, intuitive summary-impression, and runs with it (his video calling out Prof. Lichtman as being “entirely full of crap”)! This general wholistic-summary-first approach is common for intuitive Critic types, even if the details may differ considerably.
An INTJ like Uygur is probably more likely to critique knowledge that seems “un-standardized” or “made up”. In my experience, Uygur would definitely focus on theories like Lichtman’s, in this mode.
In fact, he makes fun of the idea of “picking factors” at about 4:45 in the video. While his critique may be relevant in some ways, this kind of focus can also can indicate an INTJ’s lack of experience in working with qualitative logic, as opposed to broad, shared-knowledge quantitative logic.
To me this adds some weight to the idea that Cenk is in a very passionate, ego-driven mindset.
Predictive Style
There is also a strong difference in predictive style.
Cenk Uygur’s Predictive Style
Wholistic – Gestalt Prediction: Cenk makes direct, assertive, general predictions with phrases like a “message that will catch on,” and so on. In this way, he claims to read the emotive pulse of the American people. That’s no small feat!
Information-Collecting to Information-Deriving: Cenk says, “You look at how a campaign is going. You look at the dynamics of the campaign.” But he has no logical model (that he has shared, anyway), and seems to base this sense of the whole from discussions with others, news-consumption, and so on.
My guess is that Cenk has a sort of imagined “team” or “personal collection” of favorite news writers and sources, the commentators he subscribes to and trusts to deliver the highest-quality information to his inbox. This is the usual method for an INTJ to build up a strong predictive direction.
It’s important to consider this: Even if you don’t have your own logical model, what if you build your gestalt perspectives on top of others’ analysis and models, at least in part? Aren’t many minds greater than one? (Or is this even an appropriate question to compare these two individual styles?)
Emotive Certainty: Cenk’s style is to be “struck by” an impression that builds into a strong feeling about an outcome. This is very common for Ni-dominant INTJ types, for whom the secondary qualitative information function is Fi, or Introverted Feeling.
Fi tends to strongly lock in the effect of the conclusion, putting a personal stamp of “I stake my reputation on this” on one’s work.
INTJs think a lot about these Fi-related character-quality issues, such as having a good reputation, being a good person, and so on. (The downside is, it can make your side of the discussion seem like it’s all about you, as you become more and more of a main character, so to speak.)
Arrival at Subjective Focus: “I knew it” is kind of the backstop-phrase for his commentary. “Knew it” is less strong (as Lichtman points out) than “I”, and I think this is important to know. This is not the same as saying that Cenk is a self-centered person, but in this context I think he may have become **too* self-centered. (Possibly after growing frustrated by Lichtman?)
Cenk therefore starts to turn this into a contest of character and personality, rather than a contest of ideas.
This is characteristic of the inferior function of the INTJ, the emotive block of functionality.
To me, this is not a good sign for Cenk at this early point. An INTJ should be supported by that functionality in the background, and should not have to attempt to live in that space at this point.
I predict (ha) that if this contest continues into a debate format, Cenk will attempt to turn it into a sort of betting format: “Let’s see who wins,” (makes a better prediction) or similar.
To me this would be very unwise, but I don’t believe Cenk is able to do much more than that, given his current approach.
In effect, Cenk may tend to focus on showing in a variety of ways that he is a more trustworthy person than Lichtman. INTJ types can be intensely focused on individual character, especially during or past their mid-life stage.
To me, that’s very interesting…
Still, Cenk claims that he went 12-0 in publicly predicting elections. They weren’t all presidential elections, but still…
OK, and for Professor Lichtman:
Allan Lichtman’s Predictive Style
Diffuse – Open: You may not have noticed that he seems slightly more “meh” about outcomes than Cenk Uygur. For one, Cenk is very concerned about character critique. But also, Lichtman’s basic position is that he does not decide the outcome, but the formal, logical model does (see below).
He mostly tries to leave his own character out of the commentary, except to comment on his track record. This can be both a blessing and a curse, in different ways.
Model-deferential & Model-based Prediction: Lichtman’s conclusions draw the audience back into his Keys to the White House model. In this way, he becomes the “key” to a model which analyzes the “keys to” the American system. This is someone who likes figuring out how to unlock difficult locks, metaphorically speaking! Again—no small feat! But different than Cenk’s natural style which seems based on inputs like American politicians, commentary on them, and their character. What Cenk offers is more like a “highest-probability perspective” than a system of keys.
Qualitative Logical Certainty: Lichtman has his own logical model. This is a foundational aspect of the inventor personality. You must have a formal, logical model in some way or another. He has also put his logical model through its paces. He clearly worked on it until it became reliable for his purposes, which is a basic scientific standard.
Detail-focus: Lichtman’s attention to detail is comparatively very impressive. I note that where he could hand-wave at people, he often refers right back to specific details of his model, and very specific definitions which form its foundation. I don’t think Cenk would like this very much in a debate setting, because I doubt he has familiarized himself with the model, and as Lichtman showed, Cenk also got some important details wrong.
Because I Have to Go Now…Advice for the Debaters!
OK, I just looked at the clock and I spent wayyyy too much time writing this. And before closing, I wanted to touch on the fact that NT personality perspectives basically invented debate as we know it, due to the preference for information exchange and resolution of perspectives based on the presentation of information.
This leads us to a situation where, of course, one or more of these NT types will tend to lean into the idea of having a debate! And Professor Lichtman threw down the gauntlet at the end of his video.
So, to wrap up the article in a kinda-fun way, here are my tips for both Cenk Uygur and Professor Lichtman, should they ever debate one another:
Do’s and Don’ts: Personality-centered Debate Tips for Cenk Uygur
DO… Be very upfront about your personal style. Admit that these big-picture conclusions just hit you sometimes, share your qualifications, and talk about the fact that you have honed a fine sense for an outcome!
DON’T… Get caught up in character critique during a debate. If you have to critique someone’s character, make sure it’s coming from “what people generally say / think” about a person, and not just your own impression of their character. Debates are different! Some of this stuff is OK, but becoming a populist roast-machine is probably not ideal in a debate setting, especially if that becomes your foundation.
DO… Share what you learned from some of your favorite sources! Talk about what they say. Don’t worry about giving out your best “secret” sources, they carry important logical value and weight that your breezy style doesn’t need to produce on its own. This will help you in a debate.
DON’T… Lose track of the details. Give the important details some time and reason about them logically. Write down your thoughts before any debates happen. Don’t feel pressured to rush into this situation!
For extra credit, Uygur should also study and carefully critique Professor Lichtman’s model. Lichtman will gain extra points every time Uygur shows that he doesn’t understand the basic functionality of the Keys model. Remember what George E.P. Box said—all models are broken, even if some are useful! (Paraphrased!) Build on any relevant weaknesses that you can, and will, find if you study out the logic.
Do’s and Don’ts: Personality-centered Debate Tips for Allan Lichtman
DO… Build a model for Uygur’s style. Use your formal logic to analyze and model Uygur’s approach. Then, leverage this in the debate to predict and talk about the flaws in his approach, if you want!
DON’T… Ignore Uygur’s populist-appeal style. The assumptions he makes about what everybody knows and feels! Focus in on the times when he lets himself get illogical, and point it out (as gently as you like!)
DO… Share new facets of your model, things that excite you about your work. This shows strong personal character! It will take some of the wind out of Uygur’s character-critique style, if you seem authentically and emotively excited about what you continue to invent, or plan, rather than just a “my existing model is all there is to it” guy. Uygur wants to believe in people who are pushing the power of ideas forward in our society, and you can help deflate his character critique by showing that you are continuing to give growth-oriented attention to your own system, as if taking your own little Pinocchio under your wing!
DON’T… Let yourself get worked up! If you can, use humor rather than intensity. The inventor is much more loved as a humorous archetype than as an intense one. Roast yourself, if you can, as well—this will also play against Uygur’s style.
For extra credit, Lichtman should also integrate a gestalt sub-model into his existing model! Directly integrate the big-picture, rather than generating it! This will seem more authentically interesting and trustworthy to people like Uygur, many of whom want a reason to trust your model.
Remember, a personality type is a group and not an individual. Individuals always vary in different ways, even though personality type tools can give us a powerful analytical perspective.
OK, that’s all for now everybody. Have a great day! —Marc
Above: The author used this journaling page to do some mind-mapping, doodling, and To-Do listing. (In shorthand…sorry it’s not super readable). Some pages are structured…others more chaotic!
This is a favorite topic that I wrote about a tiny bit on Reddit recently. But I wanted to flesh the full thing out, so here we go.
This is how I organize or structure a new binder or notebook. I’ve been honing this practice for close to 10 years now, and this is the current version that works best for me.
The Four Important Notebook Sections
There are four main sections to the notebook.
1. The “Meta” Section
(Named after Mark Zuckerberg, who I believe invented this word…kidding!)
The Meta section is “about” the notebook. In this section the very front of the notebook, you can:
Add your name, contact info.
Write a bit about the notebook / what it’s for
Create a table of contents (you can fill it in later, and it can help to use a pencil),
Start a Master to-do list, or write down your goals in starting the notebook
Add some tips for use of the notebook. Things you learn from your own practice.
Keep a general notebook-usage & updates log (where you moved stuff, etc.).
You can do this all on one page, or spread it across a few pages.
You may also want to use or affix a simple way to keep needed tools or documents up in front. Like a stencil, ruler, random number picker, etc.
Sometimes I have my fold-out random number picker (printable PDF) in this section. I use it for games, simulations, creative journaling methods I’ve blogged about before.
2. The “Topics” Section
“Topics” sections are a mix of structured sections or single pages for specific topics, or other specific, structured uses.
For example:
A section for monthly planner pages
A section for budgeting layouts
A section for learning & interests like “My Framework for Getting Better at Chess” or “What to Do if There’s an Earthquake”.
You may wish to put tabs on the outside of these pages if you use them frequently.
Important: Each section / page in Topics copies the overall notebook organization style: 1. Meta / To-Do – 2. Topics – 3. Free Logging – 4. Extra Space. This is why I call this the Fractal Method. The organization of Topics pages, or even Free Logging pages, is a micro-copy of the organization of the whole notebook.
3. The “Free Journaling / Log-keeping Pages” Section
These are pages you can just date & write on. The newest entries go in the back of this section.
Journaling / Log-keeping Tip #1: For best results in learning and remembering things, some of the contents here can eventually be structured and moved into Topics pages above.
For example, if you went to a seminar about Earthquake Preparedness, and wrote about it in the Journaling section, you can later create a structured summary of those notes, and add it to your Topics section.
Ta-Da, now you have a super-helpful quick reference that’s not buried in your logging & journaling pages, all mixed in with hurried notes from a phone call with your plumber.
Journaling / Log-keeping Tip #2: You can also experiment with drawing lines that divide the page up quickly.
I like to create a thick right-margin by drawing a vertical line about an inch and a half from the right edge of the page.
In that margin space on the right side, I usually put the date at top of the column, an optional location like “At the Beach”, then a to-do list & schedule beneath it.
You can think of this right-side column as my “Meta” space for each page.
Journaling / Log-keeping Tip #3: To me, it’s important to follow these steps when Journaling for productivity:
Free-write. Get out the main topics that you need to get on paper.
Underline. Underline the main ideas that are shorter. Like I’d underline the words “Send the draft” in “Send the draft email I wrote this morning.”
Migrate to To-Do list. I write the underlined words in the right margin, with a checkbox next to each. At the end of each item, I may also estimate the time each item takes, like “5m” for “5 Minutes”. This is a really helpful little way to keep from overwhelming yourself. And in case you really care, see my free productivity system or the Procrastination tag for more information on this.
Schedule or Order the To-Do list. Once I have 4-5 to-do list items, I start to schedule them. I put a letter next to each, then a list below the checkboxes, like this:
1 p.m.: A
2 p.m.: D
2:30 p.m.: B
4 p.m.: C
Now, each of my To-Do list items is simplified, clarified (in terms of time / duration), and scheduled. This is super important for unlocking productivity!
So by this time, I’m usually very ready to get on with my day and the next steps!
Of course, this is still a Journaling section! You should feel free to journal in whatever way sounds best to you. Write poetry, draw pictures, complain, and so on. It’s all good.
To help with this, on the left side of the page, I often draw 2-3 horizontal divider lines, creating 3-4 rectangle-shaped areas running down the page.
I use these areas for different things like free writing, sketching little pictures or icons, developing or structuring new topics, and so on.
4. The “Extra Paper” Section
This section is pretty simple!
I like to have a mix of lined & gridded paper at least. Blank paper is OK, but I love to work with linear sections, so I do prefer some lines or dots on the paper.
Never underestimate the power of starting from a blank page though! You can use this section to reinvent your own method of journaling, if you’d like.
How About A Digital Version of All of This?
OK, that was the paper version. And yes, I do this in my digital notes, too:
Digital Meta Section
I have a sort of root-folder where I keep all my notes.
It has some general information about how I organize things.
(I kid you not, I even have a file full of instructions for myself in case I completely forget who I am! I admit I was a little bored and a little daydreamy when I created that)
Nerd Alert: I write my stuff in Emacs with Org Mode, because I am super-duper into tech. I like being able to write & run custom software directly inside my topics pages, for example.
To me, that’s really exciting. I mean imagine sketching out an app right inside your journal! An app that actually works! To you though, maybe that’s not interesting.
So, pick the system that seems a good fit for you, and count on changing it later! I started out with Windows Notepad, and have used over 50 different writing & journaling apps since that time. (Some of them were graceful, beautiful to look at, and terrible to print or export. Others were the opposite)
Digital Topics
I keep Topics in separate sub-folders.
These Include:
Work Topics
Computer Topics (Programming Languages, Home Wi-Fi details, etc.)
Psychology (from Personality Type to other topics)
Family and Personal topics (Health records, List of People I Wish I Had Been Born As, etc.)
…and a bunch more.
If I can, I try to keep info in sub-folders where appropriate, to avoid having too many folders in my face.
Digital Journaling
This section is for daily journaling. It contains:
A journaling folder with sub-folders, like 2023, 2024, and so on
A file like YYYY-MM-DD in each folder
Each file has some journaling structure
And yes, each one of these journaling templates has a ton of blank space for doodling in my text files!
Custom Tools
Just like I have some custom tools in my paper notebook, I’ve written some software to do specific searches, or to add specific things to my notebook files:
Search for my weight records from every day in the past and create a terrifying & huge graph
Dump a random list of movies to watch, from my purchased movies list
Same for books to read
Pick some random journaling question for me to answer
The paper version of this system kind of assumes you are using something like a binder, where you can move papers around. But if you use something like a composition notebook instead, it should be pretty simple to adapt things. It will be more important to leave a bit of extra space after each section, for example.
So, that’s the basic idea that has served me really well.
I find that these notebooks are useful for far longer this way, and the system is very easy to work with.
In the future, I hope to add some photos here, to make things clearer.
In the meantime though: I hope this method can be helpful to you!
Above: It’s finally sunny here again. So, a snack, some radio time, some whittling (snack whittling!).
More stuff has been on my mind again, so I should let it out.
As usual, this post will be very theoretical (“I’m GROUNDED, in theory”), somewhat grandiose, awkwardly self-deprecating for vague reasons, detail-oriented over here, but concept-oriented over there, and other dumb things like that. You have been warned!
So, no particular order:
Tools, Knives, Pocketknives, Paracord
I’ve learned a lot about sharpening my various tools and knives. This kind of started after I realized I never really found a favorite method for sharpening and honing.
Just when I thought I was settled on “I kind of like dull knives?” (long story, but as a Scout I sure did a lot with nothing very sharp…), I get interested in the sharp ones!
I think this has also been an interesting topic to me lately in part because of the idea of making solid, direct judgement calls relating to “moving on” with different aspects of life. (You could call them severance-related, cutting-off related even? But those terms while helpful to communicate the concept, are also way too harsh in a big way) So, there’s certainly a sort of archetypal tie-in energy that seems to be behind the interest.
I settled on a pretty simple double-sided whetstone for now, and the results are good enough. I’ve been able to get some edges up to “crazy sharp”, but I’m sure I have a lot more to discover.
I’ve been using and abusing various tools and knives. I learned to braid and wrap paracord, and I’ve played a lot with different color combinations.
Tarot and the Occult
It’s been fun to use the tarot deck as a creativity tool. There are some books out there that cover this topic really well. And they’ve helped open my mind to angles and aspects I haven’t considered.
I have a little tarot-draw script in my text editor, which pulls the cards for me and it’s all pretty simple.
Emacs Progress
I continue to study Emacs. My latest changes are:
Randomized themes: Every time my init file is loaded, I get a random editor theme (background color, colors per level in org mode, and a random font), or I can use C-S-c to cycle through random themes. It’s pretty fun, the change is instantaneous, and I like this way more than actually creating and managing many different themes, which I’ve also done before.
Using TempEl like crazy. This snippets-like add-on is a must for me. I have so many shortcuts I use with it that help me do just about anything I do in an editor during the day.
Writing more of my own functions. I’m using elisp a lot more. This is causing me to want to use or learn more of other lisp or scheme dialects.
Ham Radio Hobby
I’m still quietly listening and learning, mostly. I do still use my radios a ton when I’m out hiking.
My latest interest here is the firmware-modified Quansheng UV-K6, which has kind of blown my mind! It’s really pretty amazing what that thing can do, and how many little checkboxes it can check! Just about every little portable / hiking annoyance I’ve ever had has now been solved by that radio and its custom firmware (I’m using EZGumer).
Hiking
My practices here have evolved a lot.
I do a lot more trail maintenance now.
I have lots of favorite tools, and I have cut and moved a LOT more wood than I thought I would, after storms rolled through.
I didn’t imagine I’d end up carrying a 10 inch folding saw up there, and wondering about even longer ones! These things are pretty amazing.
Sometimes I’ll leave the house and walk + hike for a couple hours to get to where up in the hills where there’s a fallen tree, then I’ll cut it up, move the pieces off the trail, and head home for another couple of hours. I really enjoy this.
I also love listening to movie podcasts and local radio stations while I’m hiking around. Just getting a nice mix of sounds going in the background is really pleasant (Se/Te in a Big Wey)
Movies
The Long Good Friday (1980) was excellent.
I feel very lucky to have seen a lot of really good movies lately.
I also feel lucky to have seen a lot of really bad movies that were a lot of fun.
Reading
I’m still reading books, and listening to them, a lot more than I had in previous years. This has been a fun change. Some recent fun ones:
War Stories of the Tankers by Michael Green
Nisei by J.J. White
The Drawing Ideas Book by Frances Stanfield
This Explains Everything by John Brockman
Star Trek Voyager: Battle Lines by Dave Galanter and Greg Brodeur
Healing in Hell by Ken Adams
Bird’s-Eye View by J.F. Freedman
NATO and Warsaw Pact Tanks of the Cold War also by Michael Green
Reading is kinda interesting in itself, now that I’m really into archetypes and symbolism. I try to see some aspect of myself in the cover art, in the topic, the title, or just the vibe.
War. Relations with friends, loved ones, family. Creativity. Ideas. Space. Battle. Hell. Birds. Viewing. Pacts, Commands, Wars. Hot and Cold.
Are these really my mental state? I find that war is an emotionally-expressive, boundary-reclaiming metaphor for me. I was raised by an army officer, so that’s a big part of my symbolic vocabulary.
See, sometimes as I wrap up in my nostalgic camouflage woobie and read a bit more about the T-80, or someone’s favorite theory, I just get a feeling of comfort from familiarity. I’m reading my own past, and I’m reviewing it, and I’m trying to bring a few more of those experiences and points of view and strengths forward.
This, to me, is a lot of what the midlife change really dwells on: Your past was a vocabulary, a language. You’re still fluent in it. So why are you trying so hard to move away from that fluency? You could get what you wanted, life wasn’t so bad, and hey, what about…(good points aplenty)
There are so many good points in even some of my dumbest past experiences. Ugh!
Art and Drawing
I’ve been doing a lot more drawing, with something of an energy-reset.
I’m rebuilding on past successes more than I did before. I feel like I have a pretty good assortment of media and methods to pick from, and so I’m more likely to use some of those.
So, I still draw with pencil on lined paper, in cheap spiral-bound school notebooks, a lot. I draw mechs, I draw mind maps, flow charts, and hundreds of checkboxes.
I’ve made some textile art, painting T-shirts and such. I’m going to continue that, because it’s been really enjoyable.
I also modded a backpack with some custom paracord decorations and patches, and had a lot of fun doing so.
Art is so restorative in its way. It brings back these expressive energies and says, “is it so purely emotional to simply create? Can’t creation be recognized as amazing on its own, even if backed by pure emotion, pure intuition, pure logic, and so on?”
This is another one of those “good points”. Not every hobby has to be integrative at any given point, even if it ends up taking that route.
Business Hours
I talked a bit about energy fluctuations last time.
I think of them as “Business Hours” now.
During parts of the day, your body and mind are open for business. During this time, you can do integrative work. New stuff meets your same-old me, and new activities meet your same-old ways, and it’s normal and fine.
And during other parts, you’re closed. No vacancy. During this time, you can do personal work. Stuff you WANNA do. None of that integrative BS! If you force it during these hours—forcing personal time to be business hours? Your body and mood chemistry will make you pay, sometimes dearly.
The weird thing is, the timing of all of this is utterly predictable, once you’ve given it some basic analysis.
If you can predict it, you’ll have better control over your life. You’ll probably wonder what happened, or why no one taught you this.
So, I think everyone should try learning their business hours. I find I get about three to four solid business-hours periods during normal workday hours. When they’re over though, they’re over!
Someday I’ll write up a formal method, maybe.
But for now, consider yourself aware! It may not just be your mood, or your attitude. It may not be your life choices.
Find my way to keyback cluster
On my way to nearest home
Find my way to this, my universe
Toward my puddle in the stone
Find my face just blown away
Mouth agape, eyes blazing
The inferno looks right back at me
and points to keyback cluster
It shouts and screams and kicks and thrusts
Landed on a foreign, shore
Yet here we are, and here we’ll be
until I reorient my core—
So to speak—so to put it!
For surely some translation’s needed.
(There isn’t any way I’d risk another
little thing to block our lines.)
It’s getting late and while things are
starry, stories are told.
Men once me, no doubt
are sorry.
Staring.
Fire.
Sorry.
Plus there just aren’t many that I know
who must find their way back, and muster,
put due diligence into finding
their way to keyback cluster.
