Old School and New School

Source teaching · Alex Julian, 2024

The original lesson

Sometimes the original movie is the best and sequels should not have been made. Sometimes old school is better than new school. Throughout my life, I have learned about the power of bringing opposites together. Just because we are now in the era of AI doesn’t mean we should throw away all older technology and methods. Yes, get rid of the outdated ones that no longer serve a purpose, but don’t throw away gold.

The golden nugget of this lesson is the power of journaling. There is just something about being the author of your own life. I am still blown away at how effective it can be. I know journaling can be done on a laptop, and I know it could be faster. But writing things out is the way I like to do it. I’m not writing pages in a diary, but I like to write down bullets with old school pen and paper, then have it in view while working. It almost becomes a focusing tool, because any time I get distracted, my goal is written right in front of me. It brings me back to focusing on the present moment and the task at hand.

This is an insight I got from my Mom. There is something just so satisfying about physically checking things off on a to-do list. You visually see that you got the job done, and it boosts confidence. Once you do it enough times, it almost becomes as if anything you write down will be accomplished.

There are obviously other examples of combining old school and new school, and it can get subtler — like combining that old school grit with new school innovation. However, for this lesson, I just wanted to give you my favorite.

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