Life in a Box

12×12. Then, go 8×8. Rest there for a bit, not too long, and you are on to 6×6. You won’t want to continue, won’t even see the point. Do it anyway: 3×3. You have no more ideas now. 2×2. This has to be beyond your limit. But if that’s true, what do limits even mean?

Easy there. Hey. Stop. Breathe. Stop. Breathe. Seriously, you are gonna hyperventilaHEY FUCKER: STOP. Thank you. Jesus. I promise you can handle this. I know nobody actually wants to put himself in a box, especially ever smaller ones, but this is your reality.

You come from a world of abundance that panics itself about scarcity. Now, you are in a world of scarcity, but one that can be of abundance. The outcome is entirely up to you – abundance can be yours simply by not tapping out. That’s it, that’s all.

“Simply” was an unfair word to use. I apologize. The advice is simple enough, but enacting it is far from simple. I get that. I get that change is scary. I get that losing so many parts of your identity, the parts too big for 2×2, is disarming. I get that you want desperately to do the one thing I urge you not to do.

I know, I know. Please. Jesus. Stop. Give me just another minute. My god. See, now I’m annoyed with you. SHUT THE FUCK UP.

Don’t you comprehend that 2×2 is no different from your world? The “things” are different – no things here, many things in your world – but the real, live truth is exactly the same: if you can find purpose in yourself, by yourself, you are unbreakable. Now, you may prefer to find purpose in other ways, that’s fine. But that’s not an option here in 2×2. That’s why I implore you to grind (again, sorry for ever using the world “simply”) against the part of you that wants to build nothing but forgettable days. There is purpose to be had in this resistance, of that I promise you. Nobody is asking you to answer big life questions or have immediately summoned wonderful ways to spend your 2×2 time; thinking that’s what this is about is the precursor to a tap out.

No, I want you to get small in your thinking. Two questions. What do you feel guilty about doing? What do you kinda want to do but always avoid completing? Stop doing some of the former, start doing some of the latter. Note the word “some.” I’m not advising a 24hr revolution, nor “productivity” or anything like that, just a tweak here and there so purpose begins to creep into this space. It won’t be joy-filled or sudden, though. You just have to trust me that persistence in these areas is effective in moving you toward unbreakability.