Kourosh Dini's Blog, page 3

Fears of Victory, Dogs, and Podcasts

Follow your passion…

“Yeah, but what if it works?”

There are many reasons we can stumble when trying to begin something. Fear of failure is understandable and readily recognized.

But a fear of success is not always so obvious.

Fears Big and Small

Fear can trip us in smallest moments. If we start a thing, we might get into it. But getting into it means that other things might get lost.

What if something else is more important, and I don’t realize it?

If I get into this, I’ll need to stay with it ...

Ah, consistency…

Exercise every day!
Brush teeth twice a day!
Write newsletter on Fridays!

“Be consistent.”

or so goes the common advice. But,

Why bother?Can’t consistency be a means of procrastination?Where is the line with perfectionism?

The power of consistency is clear. We see it in the practice of any master at their craft. We see it in those who are successful at work or in relationships. Consistency can create a dependability in self and others.

But there are concerns.

It can indeed become its own for...

Just What is a “Wandering Mind”? (Part 2) – A Paradox of Potential

Riding a Wave…

When conditions are right, we sail strong, getting more done in a shorter time than most. Ideas click. Insights seem obvious, if not simple. In diving deep, the world fades away as the inner critic mercifully loosens its grip.

We are creative.

Feeling that free flow, we may wonder why we cannot always be here. But its conditions are ephemeral, a mysterious muse drifting off far sooner than we’d want. Trying to hold on beyond its natural end creates tension, exhaustion, and a blind...

Just What is a “Wandering Mind”? (Part 1) – From Scatter to Flow: Harnessing the Power of Visits

Dropping things, losing things, forgetting things, …

“I’ll do it later…”

“Why can’t I just do the thing?

Many of us wrestle with a wandering mind—a mind that feels magnified in the present moment but struggles to connect with the broader flow of time.

What Is a Wandering Mind?

Imagine looking through a magnifying lens. At its center, everything is vivid and detailed, but the edges blur into obscurity. A wandering mind works similarly—not in space, but in awareness. It amplifies the Now, making i...

Fears of the End Prevent Beginnings

Have you ever had something scheduled later in the day and felt that the day was shot?

In this particular ADHDino (non-affiliate link) comic, we see our hero defeated by “a thing at 5”.

They could seemingly engage any number of things before 5, but somehow cannot with this sudden mark on the clock.

What gives?

There are likely several fears in action.

Fear #1: The Groove

“What if I get in a groove?”

Seemingly, this would be a wonderful thing. We get into the work, diving in and perhaps even enj...

Control vs Guidance

“Why can’t I make myself do this?”

So often, we can run into situations where we know something to be important to do, but cannot “make” ourselves do it.

A False Appeal to “Willpower”

Perhaps, we believe we do not have the willpower.

So we “try harder.” We can:

Yell at ourselvesPut our reputation on the line by announcing our intentionsInduce urgency by waiting for deadlines (real or fake)Hope that someone else will continue to remind us until we are somehow ready

But in such cases, we are ...

The Danger of Hope

A Reader’s Concern

A couple of weeks ago, I posed play in opposition to depression, one of many of possible perspectives on this age-old ailment.

One reader wrote in to say that I implied that those who are depressed are just not trying hard enough, not playing enough. Therefore, they are at fault for their own circumstance.

I have blamed the victim.

When someone writes, I can only assume there are others who may well hold similar thoughts and feelings. And it is important to give voice to such ...

Stealing Time

Staring at the clock, the second hand sweeps.
Is it faster now than when I was younger?

The clock ticks. Incompressible seconds relentlessly remind us of some next impending deadline.

Meanwhile, when we are in a groove, time suspends. We are there. Composing, creating, reacting, playing! It’s only when we look up that we notice how much has passed.

We have an internal sense of time. But there is often a disconnect between this experience and the mechanical march of the clock that can shape how w...

Play and Depression

Dear Reader,

In the psychiatric world, we look at depression quite clinically. But there is also an experience. I drafted today’s newsletter between sessions of a recent psychiatric conference.

– Kourosh

The Weight

Depression is a slog through muddy water. Moving through, even the simplest gestures require deliberate effort.

When the world seems not in our favor, when nothing moves, we are more than not “inspired.” Emptiness pervades as we fall into depression, if not despair.

We care less, abou...

Member Doors Closing on the Waves of Focus

“How does anyone get anything done?”

“How does anyone get anything done?”

Growing up with a wandering mind, my productivity “system” was rather simple, and dare I say elegant:

Put stuff to do on the left,Put stuff I’m doing in front of mePut stuff I’ve finished on the right

Somewhere along the way, music would blast from my dual tape deck boombox, likely old-school Metallica.

 

When Simple Isn’t Enough

Unfortunately, this did little for getting many things done.

I’d struggle to start things ...