"Our narrative defeats our surroundings. Every time."
-Seth Godin
We find ourselves in a magnificent era where it is increasingly easier to create — first paper, then the printing press, then computers, and now almost independent machines. The future is bright.
Creating is easy. Deleting it is hard. To delete the long-held beliefs about ourselves, the world, status, money, fear, love, or insert your whatever - that’s hard.
Increasingly, the most valuable use of my time is not to create but to remove the un-useful. The activities that I do automatically or out of obligation that don’t bring joy, wisdom, peace, or progress to me or someone around me. I’m working to remove my desire for material things to make room for memories. To question old beliefs so that I can make sure there is room for truth. Most importantly, delete my untrue stories. Ted Chiang reminds us about the reality of our narrative,
"People are made of stories. Our memories are not the impartial accumulation of every second we’ve lived; they’re the narrative that we assembled out of selected moments."
—Ted Chiang
Take a moment to reflect: What thoughts and beliefs should you delete from your life? How much of your day is consumed by emotional stories that lack rationality or usefulness? Are there ideas so deeply ingrained that you rarely contemplate their opposites?
If history has taught us one thing, we are usually wrong in the short term. The world was flat. Now it’s not. The universe revolved around the Earth. Now it doesn’t. Humanity’s journey has been a continuous correction of mistaken notions. As Marcus Aurelius knew this when he said,
"It’s the truth I’m after, and the truth never harmed anyone. What harms us is to persist in self-deceit and ignorance."
Here is an exercise to take with you this week. When you use the delete key on your phone or computer, think about what else you should delete.
The work that doesn’t add value, but for some reason, you are still doing it.
The meeting someone put on repeat that keeps showing up.
The 80% of your closet you don’t wear.
The relationships that take energy but don’t give it.
But above all, be courageous enough to confront the untrue stories — about yourself, your humans, and the world.
Warning: The truth is usually painful and complicated.
Good luck, friend.
The delete key is the most important key on the keyboard.