- The concept of feeling stuck is often a sign of being in the wrong direction or mode, not a 'funk'.
- There are two primary life modes: Expansion (engaging with the world, meeting people, collecting inputs) and Introspection (pulling inward, processing deeply, focusing on a few key ideas or people).
- Modes are not fixed identities like introversion or extroversion; they are situational positions that everyone alternates between.
- You cannot effectively run both modes simultaneously; they compete for the same mental and emotional resources.
- Life's productive stretches resemble terrain: expansion is the climb, introspection is the descent, with corners as transitions between them.
- The slopes (climb or descent) are straightforward and linear, while corners require skill and judgment to navigate.
- Missing a corner leads to a 'funk'—staleness from refusing to turn when the road changes direction.
- Each cycle has two corners: the top of the climb (transition to introspection) and the bottom of the descent (transition to expansion).
- Your weak corner is typically the one that turns you away from your perceived identity (e.g., an extrovert struggles to turn inward).
- Signs a corner is coming include: for the top of a climb, feeling drained after social interactions and collecting unprocessed inputs; for the bottom of a descent, restlessness, predictable thoughts, and comfort turning into laziness.
- Distraction-seeking is a common alarm at both corners, signaling it's time to check the road ahead.
- Use 'levers'—specific activities that helped you get unstuck in the past—to navigate corners intentionally, adjusting them to point inward or outward as needed.
- Levers often work both ways; small changes can redirect their effect (e.g., a solo trip vs. a business trip).
- Pulling a lever early at the corner maximizes its torque, while delaying requires a rescue operation with higher cost.
- With practice, you can shorten transition times from months to days, feeling the road bend before it happens.
- Avoid turning too early; the skill lies in sensing the turn and timing it correctly to maintain momentum.
- Navigating corners well compounds over time, leading to growth where each phase builds on the last, creating an upward spiral or 'helix'.
- Corners determine the momentum carried between phases; mastering them allows expansion and introspection to become more effective and aligned.
- A practical framework: know your current slope, watch for corner tells, maintain a lever list for both directions, and act early at corners.
- Start by reflecting on past instances of getting unstuck to identify personal levers, which can be applied in short timeframes.