What is Essential?

League of Wildness,

“I think all of us are prisoners to the way our mind currently works, and we’re prisoners until we become observers to it.”
— Greg McKeown

Have you ever considered what is essential in your life?

And if so, have you ever explored how you might make the essential effortless?

I recently listened to a podcast with Tim Ferriss and Greg McKeown where they dive into these topics. Greg is the author of the aptly titled books, Essentialism and Effortless.

In short -
Essentialism is what to do.

Effortless is how to do it.

I've brought up this concept of, "living the examined life" and the quote at the top is an excellent framing of the idea.

The mind is extremely powerful and also extremely malleable to our own will if we are willing to do the work in order to bend it.

In Stoicism, the underlying principle is that our thoughts are within our control, and by mastering them, we can cultivate inner peace, resilience, and rational decision-making regardless of external circumstances.

I don't know exactly where this comes from, as in - I cannot point to a specific experience, but I have long been captured by the idea that if I do not experience pain through my efforts the end result has less value.

It's important to note that Essentialism and Effortlessness are NOT about taking the easy path.

They are about clarity and identifying your top values and then ruthlessly pursuing those values while eliminating superfluous thoughts and activities.

Hard work can become effortless when you are oriented correctly.

As a small business owner and entrepreneur, my attitude is one of possibility and optimism.

I see the opportunity in everything.

This is useful when launching a new Ruck design.

But dangerous when you allow your mind to explore too many "what ifs" that are outside of your highest values.

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean that you should.

Essentialism and Effortlessness are much more about saying no to the myriad of "good things" in order to focus on the truly essential.

At their core, Essentialism and Effortlessness are about controlling your thoughts and maintaining focus - much like Stoicism.

There are times when I've been rock climbing and I find myself in an exceptionally precarious position. Once recognized, my mind immediately wants to go to dark places that will only hinder my physical performance and make my situation way worse. I must maintain life-or-death focus on the next move which is my only path to salvation.

With finances, there are periods where I perceive the fiscal situation to be completely insurmountable and the end result can only be certain doom. This is much worse in some ways that the threat of imminent death while climbing as the consequences of my immediate decisions may not be know for weeks, months, or even years.

The antidote I've developed has been the ability to "push" these thoughts out of my consciousness and build a blockade.

It really does feel like a physical wall that I'm building within my mind to keep these thoughts at bay.

From time to time a crack may form and they seep back in, but this repair is relatively effortless once the initial decision has been made to no longer entertain these deleterious thoughts.

Every time I get lost, I'm amazed at how effortless challenging work (that I might not be super excited to do) becomes when I know I'm pursuing the essential.

But first, you have to do the work to identify what is essential.

And after that - life becomes much more effortless.

What is essential in your life and how can you make it effortless?

Much love,

-Dan, wild gym founder

What is Essential?

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