Buddhists talk about the mind being a spastic, unruly monkey. When the monkey is under control, it’s a wonderful pet, but give it the chance, and it will bounce around, looking for bananas and mischief. Getting it under control requires a wide variety of tricks and tranquilizers (television, anyone?).

For creative types, we need to have zen-like control of our mind. However, if you’re not the mediating, yoga-ing zen type, journaling provides the fastest way to get the monkey under control.

“Why would you bother to learn Korean? You’ll never use it when you leave here, it’s a useless skill.”
When I heard these words, I rolled my eyes and thought the speaker had had too much soju. Later, though, I realized his attitude was a fairly common one. Many people see learning things like Korean, falconry, card tricks, and origami as investing time in useless skills.
I’m not sure how this idea began to spread, but I think this attitude springs from two causes. One, a belief that a person should only …

In a rare moment of blinding self-awareness, I became conscious of a trick I use to motivate myself. I use this trick when I realize I’m running from the lumbering monster on my to-kill list rather than having it the other way around. This hack is actually mental macro, and the operation goes something like this:
“Dude. You used to spend twelve hours a day delivering pizza. Surely you can spend x (hours doing) x (useful thing).”
Quick, dirty, and effective. Imagine something you’ve done in the past that you really hated. …

Living abroad isn’t easy. Staying sane is even harder. I’ve relatively new at this expat business, but the past six months have been fun and rewarding. However, I sometimes wonder if my baseline for sanity is changing. I’ve met some crazy people and heard some sordid tales about people breaking down. For example, one guy in Korea apparently skinned somebody’s pet bunny and hung the pelt over a fan to dry. Kimchi fever? Don’t be that guy.
Here’s a few things I think have helped me. Your mileage will vary.
1. Learn …