Exercise 1:
Every time you think to search something (search engines like Google or AI chatbot search like ChatGPT), instead, write it down. Do this for a week. Then, look at the list of things you thought to look up and see if you're still interested in "knowing" the answer to these queries. Do you even remember, without context, why you wanted to know?
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Exercise 2:
Check your recent browser history. Note your open tabs (websites). Consider websites you frequent. This can be a great source of inspiration from time to time to check on: (a) self-awareness + what have you been paying attention to over time; (b) a list of things that seemed worthwhile to look up + how they relate to your day-to-day life.
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Some recent searches (and old tabs) of mine (feel free to use these for inspiration):
- Social determinants of health
- AI 2027
- Dogxim (a cross between a dog and fox) … some debate as to whether this is a real story from 2023 … very little coverage all things considered though National Geographic has a piece about the occurrence
- Axios Harris annual poll about company reputation rankings
- Parks AI (looks neat for travel)
- NetGalley (a way to read digital book ARCs in advance of their publication if you’re up for considering taking the time to review) – They recently rolled out ‘Booktrovert’
- PolyMarket (a disturbing website that allows non-U.S.-citizens from betting on pretty much anything) … I have a dark theory that I’ll share in a post… the central idea being that being able to bet publicly in this manner changes outcomes
- The Haiku Foundation Touchstone Awards
- ZenHabits
- Vera Pavlova’s ‘Heaven Is Not Verbose’ which I love to recommend
- My 2025 list of goals posted on substack for accountability purposes – let’s see how we’re all doing halfway through the year…
- A favorite artwork that I could buy a framed print of
- Paintings by Yves Tanguy (who I’ve loved since high school)
- Theodore Roethke’s poem ‘The Waking’
- An article that suggests questions to ask to learn about family stories
- An NPR article I saved (published on November 13, 2024) as a reminder that Trump said he wants to bring back mental institutions
- Wikipedia page for a list of satirical websites
- A memorial page for a childhood friend who died tragically young
- A link to an essay I wrote that was published a year ago
- Various links to films that seem worth seeing or potentially rewatching
- Poetry Foundation’s amazing piece on ‘Landays’ which is one of my favorite sections they’ve ever published
- The field of “neuroaesthetics”
- Searches about road trips in the Midwest
- Records indicating that old records suggested about a third of lobotomies were considered “successful” (at the time)
- Rawl’s “Veil of Ignorance”
- Brain fog
- Egocentric bias
- Senescence
- Shani Louk’s story
- Internecine
- A recipe for potato enchiladas
- Richard Hugo’s poem ‘Glen Uig’
- Summer chopped orzo salad
- Nustep recumbent bike
- Slow tv boat ride
- Benedictine recipe (you don’t need to dye it green)
- Number of cups of tea you can drink in a day without adverse side effects
- Causal efficacy and early Buddhist thinking
- Wood ear mushrooms
- A lake called “Mirror Lake”
- List of secular rituals
- Judgmental maps
- Price of simulinen napkins
- A sketch from Mr. Show
- A recipe for mediterranean chickpea soup
- John Murillo’s poem ‘Mercy, Mercy Me’
- Absurd Trolley Problems
- A recipe for Lebanese Fattoush salad
- A recipe for kasha varnishkes
- Birds of paradise
- A recipe for fluffy yellow rice
- Tulipiere vase
- The poem ‘Euphoria’ by Major Jackson
- The greatest commencement speeches of all time
- Stephen Crane’s poem ‘In the Desert’
- Rachel Sherwood’s poem ‘Lock and Key’
- Odds of dying from a series of preventable deaths
- Porcelain berry (sadly invasive here)
- The “We’ll be right back” screen image
- Info about a Venezuelan restaurant
- Info about a pizza parlor
- Jezz Bezos’ disturbing “Day Two” concept
- Iridium
- Spiderwort
- How “chiasmus” works in poetry (a favorite literary device)
- The locus of control
- A scene from That Mitchell & Webb Look
- Hopkin’s ‘Carrion Comfort’ poem
- That story about Alex Jones saying he’ll eat his neighbors
- Wikipedia about the hedonic treadmill
- The Winchester Mystery House
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I encourage you to share your experience working with these prompts.
Mark, I love these! I'm coming out of a bit of a funk. These will really help me get a kickstart. It's so crazy I read this today. I just gave a shoutout to you and Stay Curious in my most recent Substack post
https://open.substack.com/pub/saracastanedatheunderdogbet/p/how-i-broke-up-with-my-funk?r=3movsl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
and how your Substack got me out of my funk. If you want to check it out. I didn't do it for you to go to my Substack, I wrote it because, your Curated Selection of Quotes actually helped me get out of my funk. And now, this will too. Always a big thanks to you. Sara
LOVE these. Very smart!