Carefully crafted articles on loneliness, philosophy, and transformative books.
It’s one of those books that, once I started reading, I couldn’t put down. And even if I managed to put it down, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I was fully immersed. That said, Flesh breaks many common writing and storytelling rules. For a start, it’s impossible to fully relate to the protagonist István. We rarely glimpse […] The post The Absurdity of Being a Living Body (Flesh by David…
I’ve been reading a lot lately. At least one book a week. Most of the books I’m reading are based off of a never-ending list; books that someone recommended to me at some point, uponwhich I jotted them down, hoping that I could work through them someday. Then again, other books are spontaneous finds, flushed […] The post On Keeping a Reading Journal appeared first on Stephan Joppich .
There’s a friend I haven’t contacted in months. In fact, it’s been almost a year. I care deeply about him. I think about him often. But whenever he enters my mind, along with the intention to call him, I tell myself, “Eh, now is not a good time.” If it’s daytime, surely, I’ll disturb him […] The post The Not-a-Good-Time Syndrome appeared first on Stephan Joppich .
Faster isn’t always better. Sometimes, taking a long, arduous detour is far more fulfilling than taking a shortcut to your destination. That’s all I want to say here. Those two sentences are the essence of what follows, and if you get what I mean, you can stop reading, and we can go our separate ways. […] The post The Tyranny of Efficiency appeared first on Stephan Joppich .
While I was living in Portugal some years ago, I once took a day trip to the Douro Valley, where on dry hills grow the famous Port wine grapes. The train ride was quite rocky, but the tracks were mostly built along the Douro River, which ensured a scenic view of the parallel-planted vineyards and […] The post Seriously, What’s Your Problem? appeared first on Stephan Joppich .
The other day, I was cycling through an avenue of yellow-leafed trees with bald crowns, while listening to an interview with the author George Saunders. The sun was piercing through the clouds and dazzling me when, suddenly, I heard Saunders say something that hasn’t left my mind since: “In the anxiety of this very subjective practice, […] The post Here’s the Method: There Is No Method appeared…
It’s often been said that the most important relationship in life is the one with yourself. If this is true — and let’s assume it is for a moment, even though, as we’ll see, it’s not really — I’m the first to acknowledge that, across many stretches of my life, I’ve suffered from a toxic relationship with myself. When […] The post The Most Important Relationship in Life appeared first on Stephan…
I recently went through the torturous experience of applying to several jobs where I could see myself having a future. I spent dozens of hours writing cover letters. I sent out a total of five applications. I received five rejections. It wasn’t even close. I didn’t even get invited to a job interview. Worse, I […] The post You Don’t Need to Love Yourself appeared first on Stephan Joppich .
When I was seventeen years old and clueless about what I wanted to do with my life, I attended a job fair, where I stumbled upon a stand advertising a study course in industrial engineering. “So,” I asked the lady behind the counter, “what do you do as an industrial engineer?” “You’ll develop a unique […] The post Escaping the Accomplishment Trap appeared first on Stephan Joppich .