Fewer Better Things

Fewer Better Things

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Fewer Better Things
Fewer Better Things
Building Mind and Muscles

Building Mind and Muscles

Issue No. 30 : Going offline for long-term betterment

Per Håkansson's avatar
Per Håkansson
Aug 13, 2025
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Fewer Better Things
Fewer Better Things
Building Mind and Muscles
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How to know what to read? Ask your librarian. Photo: Per Håkansson.

After my daily swim practice at the local pool I always head over to the local library with a quick stop to pick up a healthy lunch in between.

It’s a really well designed library with an open layout and large windows facing the Pacific Ocean and plenty of spaces to sit down to read and write. There is even an outdoor patio where you can eat your lunch and feel the ocean breeze sweep in and cool down the hot summer air.

Could life and living be any better? I ponder. Daily water workouts and access to lots of interesting books almost for free? I think not. In our never-ending chase for more I think we often forget the simple things that make life worth living: building mind and muscles (includes intellectual, emotional, social et cetera).

In a society that has become hyper-obsessed with flaunting material wealth and financial riches, from Jeff Bezos over the top wedding to Mark Zuckerberg’s illegal Palo Alto compound, the simple life has become a scarcity. I honestly feel sorry for them both, having exchanged privacy and solitude for glitter and gold.

There are so many reasons to join the rat race, built into the human character, and it takes real work to let go of the primal urge to acquire and hoard any new wants that is being presented and algorithmically packaged just for you. In the current zeitgeist any incremental innovation is worth its weight in gold.

Ambition and drive have now become synonymous with having more of everything that is collectively desirable. Hard work is rewarded with hard play until it’s left to gather dust in the corner of the garage bursting with things that are never used beyond the first short-lasting shot of dopamine.

From the perspective of overconsumption, daily swimming and reading practices might seem like a mind both lacking imagination and wasting its potential. I’d argue that it’s not, it’s about building mind and muscles that can weather any storm and take you on the most amazing lifelong adventures.

What has more value in life than building mind and muscles that will last for a lifetime? That should be our focus, personal betterment in all shapes and forms, but it’s not. We’re wrestling will all kinds of distractions when our time, focus, and energy should be spent on becoming better.

And we’re told that if we aren’t chasing we lack ambition and drive; if we’re not chasing we’ll fall behind, and if we’re not chasing we’ll only survive and never thrive. What a bunch of bollocks!

I cannot think of anything more ambitious than building mind and muscles. The drive you need to develop, the focus you need to sharpen, and the energy you need to generate is nothing but Herculean. And maybe that’s why it’s still the road less travelled and such a beautiful opportunity: no one cares, no one is watching.

Hemingway was spot on when he said that you must work without seeking applause. But how do you do that in a world that is awarding humblebrags and person cults? By turning the shit off.

Over the course of the past few years I’ve gradually turned off all social media, divested all devices except for my iPad, and as recent as a few days ago let go of my cellular subscription. All things that are considered necessary to exist today.

I want, no scratch that. I need to explore a world where I go all-in on building mind and muscles. I need to design a life that is fulfilling beyond material wealth and social recognition, an adventurous life filled with deeper meaning.

For that to happen, I need to get rid of all distractions and build a new kind of daily schedule with a few focused activities that will build mind and muscles. Since most mental distractions are digital, turning off the mindless entertainment we’re constantly being served is a necessity.

It’s also about challenging all perceived dependencies, the things in life that you think you need but you might not. It’s about discovering and learning how to let go of what seems good on the surface for what’s really much better deep below.

So I’ve turned back the volume dial on digital to the point where I can now hear and enjoy the real music without getting all the insular noise. Getting rid of the cellular plan just felt natural as it will free up more time, attention, and energy.

It’s not for everyone, I get that. And at any point I can turn it on again so it’s not that I’m stranded in the analog world forever. I get to explore a calmer and more peaceful world without all facilitated distractions, designed to sell me stuff that I don’t need. And I can already feel that it’s working.

To give you, the reader, an idea of how this lifestyle works here is a summary:

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