The Fritz Letter: October 27, 2024

Fight Fear With Focus

What’s On My Mind This Week

Fear has held me back in many ways throughout my life. Fear of failure. Fear of disapproval. Fear of conflict. Fear of change.

Inversely, I can connect all the progress I’ve made in my life to courage.

I see courage as the act of facing fear directly and moving through it in service of a virtuous goal.

In alignment with this, I had a recent realization: Courage is a natural consequence of unwavering Focus.

Every time I’ve acted courageously in my life, I was focused on a specific end goal. That focus helped me to think clearly and act courageously in pursuit of that goal.

Those end goals?

• Seeking justice

• Defending the innocent

• Serving the neglected and downtrodden

• Resisting peer pressure to protect my health

• Setting healthy boundaries with others

• Leaving toxic relationships

• Creating new habits

• Building skills

I’ve learned that the way fear manifests in my mind is in the form of shattered focus. At the foundational level of my fear is the question: “What’s going to happen? What am I supposed to do?”

Then my monkey mind starts creating different scenarios of how disaster will strike, and how I might try to avoid it.

I jump from one half-baked solution to the next in rapid succession, my heart rate rising with every second. I toss and turn in my bed all night, drenched in sweat, unable to sleep until I either concoct an escape plan from the object I fear or I simply pass out from total exhaustion.

But when I’m solely focused on escaping my fears, a clear path never emerges, because no strategy guarantees safety or success.

However, when I combine my desire to escape from one scenario with a desire to move towards a specific goal, a clear path appears.

In this way, focus destroys my fears.

I develop a plan of attack, and then my anxieties melt away because, finally, I have resolutely decided on what I’m going to do.

Of course, outcomes aren’t guaranteed, so a little bit of amor fati helps, too.

Focus on what you can control, accept what you can’t.

This is the narrow path to peace.

Yeehamaste 🤠

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Quote Of The Week

“If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable.”

— Seneca

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What I’m Working On This Week

I’ve been thinking about my life’s trajectory lately: where my skills, experiences, and perspective are likely to lead me in the near future.

I’m also working to align my current lifestyle with my 30-year goal of becoming a world-renowned author, speaker, and educator at the cross-section of philosophy, psychology, spirituality, and communication theory.

For now, that means establishing a new rhythm of creativity. I’ve been pretty scattered the last few years, chasing trends and looking for quick paths to brand growth.

I’m more certain now of where my interests lie and what I have to offer.

So, I’ve done a bit of restructuring on my Substack. I’m planning to adopt more of an online magazine structure than a newsletter.

I’ll publish a few different types of content, most of which will release on an “as I’m inspired” schedule:

• Fritz Letters will feature updates like this one, published on a weekly-ish basis, where I will write candidly about what’s on my mind, what I’m working on, and what music I’m enjoying on repeat.

• The Art Of Living will feature short, actionable self-improvement advice rooted in philosophy, psychology, spirituality, and communication theory.

• Soulosophy 101 will feature intro-level overviews of different schools, concepts, thinkers, and notable works in the disciplines of philosophy, psychology, spirituality, and communication theory.

• Interdisciplinary Essays will feature longer works of original content addressing new philosophical ideas, current events, predictions and exhortations about the future, examinations of consciousness, and unanswered questions from history.

• Original Fiction will feature short and serial original fiction, primarily in the genres of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror.

This year has been pretty chaotic for me, and the result is that I’ve disconnected from my primary forms of creative expression, which has led me to kind of lose my “center.”

Since I haven’t been transmuting my chaos into creativity, it has been taking its toll on my discipline and behavior. I’ve been more restless, less patient, and much more volatile.

I don’t like this version of me. I want tranquility again.

For me, that means getting back to a regular cadence of creativity.

Inhale chaos. Exhale order.

This is what it means to be created in the image of The Creator.

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What I’m Listening To This Week

I come back to this playlist of Organic House & Desert Blues at least once a month. I’ve easily listened to it for over 50 hours this year.

Check it out. You won’t regret it.

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Explore My Other Work (Or Hire Me)

• Hire me as a marketing consultant here.

• Listen to my original music here.

• Listen to my podcast here.

• Read my fiction writing here.

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