It was an insightfully eerie yet reassuring experience to go back and calculate my molts. Many centered around coming-of-age crises, relationships, and career shifts.
Thank you for this (and the footnotes). Your description of a mantis molt reminds me of Kafka’s Metamorphosis
Ego as an anti-molt machine. That’s really good. This model well conveys our supressed terror and avoidance of transformational change, lest that claw tear out of the top of our head. What do you think of mini-molts? Engaging the habit of sacrificing small identifications, territory, habits, maybe even possessions as a way of becoming less resistant to molting in bigger ways when the time comes? The footnotes were really good, I like it, except that I am traveling and without access to my laptop it was a lot of scrolling. But I managed ok. I grew a third thumb in my last molt.
I dig it. I think mini-molts make you more open to change, and more likely to embrace a mega-molt, but there's still tension when the key pillars of your life have to change. I don't know if you can ever be fully prepared for those. But maybe after each mega-molt, you get better at adapting.
Great work on this piece, Michael! I was surprised to see that my last 1,000-day cycle started a week after I started dating my girlfriend. And my current cycle started a week before what’s called the Tragos Quest to Greece — a 10-day study abroad trip that I applied for through my fraternity.
I’m going to plan for next April’s molt, maybe hang upside down as the clock strikes midnight.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately--about non-standard ways to divide the time in our lives. Going to really chew on this one for a while. Starting in adolescence, my life followed three year cycles (about 1,000 days) up until I turned 25 when it switched to every two years.
You wove together a lot of ideas seamlessly. I love the molt/ change analogy. I'm going to sit with the 1,000 day cycle and see if I notice that pattern too. This spoke to me:
"When you molt, you don’t completely abandon your past. You retain your relationships, skills, and perspectives. Many of the same parts are still in the picture; they’re just re-connected in a new way."
And, I so appreciated having the footnotes near the text, so I didn't have to scroll!
It was an insightfully eerie yet reassuring experience to go back and calculate my molts. Many centered around coming-of-age crises, relationships, and career shifts.
Thank you for this (and the footnotes). Your description of a mantis molt reminds me of Kafka’s Metamorphosis
n=3, the cycle is real!
I need to go back and finish Metamorphosis now. I was amazed by the first section recently, but got distracted and never went back.
“This all started when my brother (the king of weird stats) congratulated me on turning 10,000 days old. “
This is a great hook you could repurpose as an opening line for a standalone piece on this concept (you could just change “This” to “It”).
Good point! Maybe I could turn that whole section into a thread, and use this as the hook. Thanks.
Ego as an anti-molt machine. That’s really good. This model well conveys our supressed terror and avoidance of transformational change, lest that claw tear out of the top of our head. What do you think of mini-molts? Engaging the habit of sacrificing small identifications, territory, habits, maybe even possessions as a way of becoming less resistant to molting in bigger ways when the time comes? The footnotes were really good, I like it, except that I am traveling and without access to my laptop it was a lot of scrolling. But I managed ok. I grew a third thumb in my last molt.
I dig it. I think mini-molts make you more open to change, and more likely to embrace a mega-molt, but there's still tension when the key pillars of your life have to change. I don't know if you can ever be fully prepared for those. But maybe after each mega-molt, you get better at adapting.
This was very insightful Michael, and the beginning is perfect. Writing down "your thorny decisions need a deadline".
(Yes to footnotes)
Great work on this piece, Michael! I was surprised to see that my last 1,000-day cycle started a week after I started dating my girlfriend. And my current cycle started a week before what’s called the Tragos Quest to Greece — a 10-day study abroad trip that I applied for through my fraternity.
I’m going to plan for next April’s molt, maybe hang upside down as the clock strikes midnight.
n = 4! Warning, there's a 3% degree of variance in cycle length, so you might be up there for a few weeks.
I did not find any pattern in my look back but still appreciate the interval and concept. Helps with perception of time.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately--about non-standard ways to divide the time in our lives. Going to really chew on this one for a while. Starting in adolescence, my life followed three year cycles (about 1,000 days) up until I turned 25 when it switched to every two years.
Sounds like you have a rare case of 'exponential molting cycles.' In your 40s you'll be molting every 10 minutes.
Love the footnotes. Has Obsidian feel
Michael-
You wove together a lot of ideas seamlessly. I love the molt/ change analogy. I'm going to sit with the 1,000 day cycle and see if I notice that pattern too. This spoke to me:
"When you molt, you don’t completely abandon your past. You retain your relationships, skills, and perspectives. Many of the same parts are still in the picture; they’re just re-connected in a new way."
And, I so appreciated having the footnotes near the text, so I didn't have to scroll!