Prepare yourself for another half-baked thought.

Not totally off the rails, but one that continues last week’s idea that sometimes we just want to be told what to do.

Because I don’t think most of us mind being told what to do.

That part can feel like relief.

What I’ve noticed (at least in myself) is the anxiety and subtle frustration tends to appear when someone tells me how to do it.

Take this route.
Use this system.
Cook it this way.
Solve the problem like this.

Something tightens in me when the instruction moves from direction to method.

And I think it’s because autonomy has less to do with choosing what…and more with choosing how.

What carries some decision fatigue.
How carries some identity within a decision.

Which is probably why the how feels so personal.

It’s also probably why differentiation works the same way.

The rule of thumb is: don’t try to be the best, be the “only.”

But the “only” rarely comes from what you do, because if what you do is too novel, no one knows what to do with you.

The “only” comes from the how you do it.

The method.
The rhythm.
The taste.
The philosophy inside the process.

And maybe that’s why I protect the way of doing things so fiercely.

And just maybe you find yourself doing the same.

Thank you for reading.

Be well. Talk soon.

— Peter