Learn Technical Things Faster

Welcome to Gratitude Driven, a weekly newsletter where I share practical ideas and insights across personal growth, professional development, and the world of AI and data science.

In This Newsletter

• The 5-Step Method That Changed How I Learn Technic …

• The Monk and the Party Guy

The 5-Step Method That Changed How I Learn Technical Skills

Learning how to learn is a skill in and of itself.

In this week’s video, I’m breaking down the exact method I’ve been using for almost two decades to learn technical skills.

The blog is here.

The Monk and the Party Guy

I used to drink a lot.

In my 20s, I drank four to six times a week. Never a ton at one go (I’m a lightweight), but WAY too frequently for optimal health.

I had a wakeup call when I drank too much on my 28th birthday (I was too old for that shit), and I took a month off drinking after that. In the years that followed, I periodically took longer and longer times off, until about two years ago when I quit for a whole year.

During that time I learned a lot. I learned I can still have fun sober, and that I’m actually better socially without alcohol. I was more consistent with the gym, and honestly the sobriety probably played a role in my ability to develop the habits that got me to where I am professionally.

But even though I can have fun, I do not have as much fun. It’s just the truth. There’s always going to be this pull between wanting to “be the best possible version of myself,” and wanting to get drunk and go dancing (I know you technically can go dancing sober…..but……..)

I’m currently reading Never Let Go by Dan John, and he had a quote that perfectly captured this tension when talking about starting a really difficult diet:

“Part of me, the part who wants to be a monk, loved the idea. My favorite part of me, the party guy, objected.”

This is the eternal struggle, isn't it? The monk vs. the party guy.

I think it's easy for highly-motivated people to get so sucked into goals and pushing ourselves that we shove down the part of us that just wants to have fun. We become all monk, no party.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all about working hard, especially if that work is meaningful (the next video on my mindset channel will be all about that). But we also need to consider what Chris Williamson calls Frankl's Inverse Law.

The idea is that when people are unable to enjoy life, they may substitute happiness by constantly pursuing meaning or goals. This concept is the opposite of Viktor Frankl's original idea that a lack of meaning leads to a pursuit of pleasure. Basically, you can hide from joy in work just as easily as you can hide from purpose in pleasure.

We need to find a way to do both. We need to pursue meaningful, big goals and make space for levity and silliness. There's a balance here that's really important for sustainability and the quality of our outputs.

Now, this assumes that you're someone too obsessed with goals. If you're instead struggling to get momentum going in the first place, this advice probably isn't for you. You might need to lean into the monk for a while.

But if you're anything like me, here’s a reminder that it's ok to let the party guy win sometimes. In fact, it might make the monk more effective in the long run.

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