Random Thoughts

• I have been in a  slump the last few months. I have not made any progress on my 2021 goals, and I haven't felt like doing anything lately. But this time, I did not want to force myself to do things that I did not want to do. So, I cut myself some slack, and  generally chilled out for a while, doing nothing in particular :) Now, slowly, the motivation is beginning to return, though I am cool if I don't do much for the next month or two.. 
• I continue to make good progress as a speaker. I surprised myself by convincingly taking on the persona of a narcissistic actor in a recent table topics session. But, I've been told, overwhelmingly so, that my real talent lies in speech evaluation. Apparently, I provide insightful and encouraging feedback .. And I enjoy doing speech evaluations. I sometimes feel like I was born to do this ;) 
• I am reading this brilliant book called 'Digital Minimalism' by Cal Newport. Please read the book, if you haven't already, even if you think you already know how susceptible we are to being manipulated into excessively using smartphones and apps. One thing becomes clear as I read this book - If anyone wants to have any semblance of meaning and intention in their life, they've got to move further and further away from the mainstream common practices. And somehow find a like-minded community to retain some sanity; else we'll all just squander away our lives engaging in shallow gossip and casting furtive glances at our smartphones every few minutes. 
• I'm starting to sound so negative :) One progress I've certainly made in the last decade is that I was an idealist 10 years ago. Today, I certainly am not, and yes, that does qualify as progress..