A.B Watson A.B Watson

Finding meaning beyond pleasure

“When a person can’t find a deep sense of meaning, they distract themselves with pleasure.” - Viktor Frankl

This quote has had a deep impact on me. When you think about it, when we’re bored, we instinctively look for the quickest and easiest dopamine hit. Sometimes, we’ll even resort to discomfort or pain just to fill the void. And when we feel lost, with no sense of direction, it’s easy to turn to destructive habits or meaningless distractions.

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A.B Watson A.B Watson

Everything is impermanent

Emotions, money, your health, time on this earth—none of it lasts. Some of us know this and become crippled with anxiety. Others see this reality and feel true freedom, finding beauty and peace.

How can one thing—the same reality—have such different outcomes? It all comes down to perception. Is the glass half-empty or half-full? The way you perceive the world around you determines your inner world.

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A.B Watson A.B Watson

Contentment, Empathy and Entropy

I don’t want to constantly come up with advice or lists of things to do to better your life. That’s not what this is about. What I truly want is for more people to feel contentment, empathy, and an understanding—and acceptance—of entropy. I would happily say the same thing over and over and live by example if it could help even one person.

These are the three things I believe could make your life better, easier, and happier, no matter who you are, where you live, or what your circumstances are:

  • Contentment

  • Empathy

  • Acceptance of Entropy

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A.B Watson A.B Watson

Pick one system and stick with it

I have been watching, reading, and following productivity gurus for over five years. And I have come to realise something: none of them follow their own advice. Many of them just push out the latest “best thing” or study to back up their claims. Very few of them are actual products outside of making content on productivity.

They say: "Don't trust a chief who is thin." I would say: "Don't trust a productivity guru, full stop." Why is this? Didn’t you just say that you have been following them for over five years?

Let me give you my reason.

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A.B Watson A.B Watson

You don’t need a reason, but it sure does help

We often go through life without truly understanding the deeper reasons behind our actions. You don't need a reason to live, but having one certainly helps. It’s the difference between moving through life on autopilot and truly engaging with it.

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson.
This suggests that purpose doesn’t always align with personal happiness but with a greater good—something beyond the self.

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A.B Watson A.B Watson

The Philosopher's Omelette

Making an omelette is more than a simple act—it's a philosophical journey. From the crack of the egg to the final bite, we confront questions of existence, choice, and ethics. Existentialists challenge us with uncertainty, Stoics teach acceptance, and Taoists urge us to flow with nature. The philosopher’s omelette is a metaphor for life itself—complex, fleeting, and full of meaning waiting to be discovered.

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A.B Watson A.B Watson

Books killed the YouTube star.

The more I watch YouTube, the more surface-level I see it for.

I am someone who watches YouTube a lot. I don’t have a subscription service—no Amazon Prime, no Netflix, no Apple TV+. I watch YouTube. My problem is that I’ve started reading again... let me explain.

This year, my goal is to read every single day. Since the start of the year, I’ve already read more than I did last year, and we are not even halfway through. Why is this a problem?

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These 6 items are all I need to create
A.B Watson A.B Watson

These 6 items are all I need to create

When it comes to creating and working in the digital age, we are fortunate to need so little. With the wonders of the internet, we can work from pretty much anywhere.

These are the 6 items I need to work from anywhere in the world.

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A.B Watson A.B Watson

Are we over stimulated?

Are videos to stimulating.
Are photos to stimulating.

Are things that require less effort actually good for us?

The harder something is to do, the simpler it is, the longer it takes. For the most part, in life things that are slow and take time are better for us.

Walking, Cooking, Taking care of our dwelling, A craft, spending time with people, our physical health.

The more modern our world is becoming the less we seem to be interacting with it. Less touch, less time, less being there present in the moment. 

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A.B Watson A.B Watson

Do it because you love it

Do it because it’s your default.
Do it because it’s how you think.

Don’t do it because of the money.
Don’t do it for the followers.

Do it for yourself.
Do it because it’s all you ever want to do.

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A.B Watson A.B Watson

Resilience

Humans are so resilient, fail, get up keep going forward, if your starving, you better believe you will do anything to feed yourself. 

Now take that same drive to survive and channel it into what you really really want. because lets be honest, your doing tell, your reading this, you prosperously have a roof over your head, and access to running water and the ability to obtain food. these are all necessary to live a comfortable life. And you have them.

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A.B Watson A.B Watson

Burnout

Why does everyone want to become a working powerhouse, a productivity machine? We all know we are animals and need rest, sleep, recovery, joy, support, and time to process. If you are on 24/7 or working non-stop from 9-5 plus overtime, you are burning the candle at both ends.

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A.B Watson A.B Watson

Consistency

I don't think I am a very consistent man.

I work out three times a week.
I write almost daily.
I don't practise my sport every week.
And I definitely don't take photos every day.

The problem isn't that I don't have enough time or money, or the right gear, or even that life gets in the way. My problem is me, and anything else is an excuse.

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A.B Watson A.B Watson

Power, control, knowledge

How can such a small device hold so much, do so much, control so much?

We live in a time where information and knowledge are abundant, but the facts and truths are diluted with opinions and idealism.

Some of us have thrived in the information age, some of us just exist, and some of us have been left behind, clinging to the romanticism of the old.

I find myself in the middle: some things I love, some things I hate, and some things I am so abundantly aware of that I avoid them as best I can.

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A.B Watson A.B Watson

Golden Handcuffs

Do you feel stuck, like you could be doing more, doing something more fulfilling, a job or career that brings you closer to your dream life, but it’s just that your current one is so demanding? Or do you feel that you just don’t have the time to do, study, work, or create the life you truly want?

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A.B Watson A.B Watson

The erosion of quality in modern consumer goods

We live in a world where quality no longer seems to matter as much as it once did. A recent visit to a high-end clothing store revealed this stark reality. While my wife was browsing, I decided to count how many loose threads I could find on the new garments on display. The sheer number was shocking. This observation is not just about clothing; it reflects a broader trend affecting many products and services.

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A.B Watson A.B Watson

The spaghetti test, crafting your path to content creation success

Choosing a system for content creation is like throwing spaghetti at a wall, hoping one piece sticks out of the hundred. Finding one that resonates with you, whether it's a specific software, pen, style, or platform, doesn't matter; what matters is committing to it consistently.

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A.B Watson A.B Watson

My late-night epiphany, whilst look inside a barren fridge and choosing a path of self-improvement or something

It's 11:13 pm, and I'm hungry. The only source of light is coming from the TV across the room; it dancing like ripples of sunlight reflecting off a pool, all over the kitchen walls. I'm dragging my feet as if they have weights attached, like some productivity guru. I finally get to the fridge. I swing it open, and as the beam of light hits my half-closed retinas, I flinch violently. It takes me a moment to adjust as I rub my eyes half-heartedly. I peer into the fridge, and all I see are instant foods, if anything is in there at all, nothing healthy that is for sure. I contemplate what I can make with what's left of this barren wasteland, something that would put a middle-aged man to shame, knowing how empty his fridge is. Then it hits me—why do I feel like complete and utter crap? Why is opening a fridge and just trying to exist so darn hard?

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