Date: 04.11.2023

Why am I doing this?

So, two weeks ago, I announced the rename of my newsletter - it's now called Farview (formerly The Study).

And while I mentioned why I did the rename. I wanted to elaborate a bit more on the signature idea of my newsletter - and my site as a whole.

It starts with the following... 

To promote a certain distaste for the modern values set by society.

We are primed to want the following: Go make money and then go on social media to showcase how good you look.

That's a dangerous multiplayer competitive game where others can see if I am doing a good job.

If I am regularly posting pictures wearing brand-new pajamas across different hotels around the world, I am winning in life.

But am I really?

What we externally showcase rarely represents our internal state.

I can look magnificent but feel awful at the same time.

Yes, it surely feels rewarding at the immediate moment when we obtain new items. Items that steer the attention towards our persona. But for how long, and at what price?

Society rewards externally showcasing your awesomeness but undermines the important aspect of a happy life - fortifying our internal state. Focusing on things like being calm, content, and forever working on yourself. All things that are invisible to spectators. All things that are internal with no external validation nor progress to brag about. All things with zero social rewards - only internal rewards.

With my newsletter and the articles I publish on my site, I focus on the latter.

Help readers transition from... Neurotic humans trapped in the idea that demonstrating your awesomeness is going to save your life. To... A person who is thinking farther ahead and thinking holistically. A person capable of not only considering his actions and their immediate consequences, but the subsequent effects of those actions as well.

Having Zero Addictions

We are all addicts. We are simply addicted to different things.

Me?

Well, a couple of years ago, I was addicted to alcohol, cigarettes, shopping, partying, social media, sugar, and television (probably the list is even longer).

I am not going to lie. Life felt great. Or at least, it felt great when I was in the middle of a spectacular party holding a bottle of vodka. The next day? Not so great.

Some of my peers were buying houses and thinking about starting a family. Me? I was buying a temporary ticket to happiness by going out.

My life dramatically changed since then.

Now I am mainly addicted to books, trail running, and writing. Plus, addicted to reading about books, watching people running, and reading about writing.

Of course, like any other breathing mammal, I have other vices, too. But an interesting idea that circles my mind these days is this: Working towards having zero addictions.

Wouldn't it be great if you stopped craving sugar and stopped thinking endlessly about checking your phone?

It's surely going to be hard. But this aim is definitely something worth pursuing.

You will no longer need to scavenge the internet for diet plans every quarter, the desire to bathe in chocolate will simply evaporate.

From my desk:

• What is Existential Nihilism and How to Navigate The Cosmic Void: "If life is indeed meaningless – as stated by the concept of existential nihilism. And if we have the power to create our own subjective meaning and purpose in order to escape bad faith – as the school of existentialism suggests. Why are we not introduced to this choice early in life?"

From around the web:

• Fake Journal Club: Teaching Critical Reading: "No matter how many decades you spend commuting, you won’t become a skilled professional race driver. Similarly, many people can spend decades reading papers and come out the other end still taking every paper at face-value and believing things like..."

Two weeks ago, I also announced my flagship course on self-discipline - Beyond Discipline. I just wanted to say thank you to all the people who signed up (surely more than what I expected).

Talk soon,

Ivaylo Durmonski