The Lure of Research

I get so distracted with so many topics. A lot of topics bring me to the rabbit hole and since I have no self-control, I jump. I imagine the articles I can write about the topics I research. Man, I believe that I can bring a different perspective to what has been written. I don't know if that's delusional or optimistic or an attempt at confidence.

My desk where the research magic happens. Photograph done by me.

But here is a list of what I have spent a great amount of time researching (like a lot):

1. Eddie Gallagher. He is the Navy Seal whose team went against him saying that he shot civilians and committed war crimes. His wife got involved with his case by appealing to the conservative media. It's interesting that he and his wife spun his story so that he was a victim of millennial mentality. He is full of grit and can truly embrace the suck. But is that what the military needs? That's what I want to discuss. Also, he and I are the same age but I think we look at things differently.

2. Caroline Calloway. She's an internet scammer. She just turned thirty and she went to Cambridge. She "wrote" on Instagram about her time there. I put wrote in quotes because her best friend wrote an article saying that she wrote those captions. She's more low-key than Anna Delvey but she's still scamming. I mean, she hasn't gone to jail, yet. Last year, she released a skincare product called "Snake Oil." She had a contract to write her memoir and received a $500,000 advance. She has yet to write it.

3. Stoicism, emotions, and the patriarchy. I am currently reading a daily meditation that focuses on Stoicism and how to apply it in life. I read works by a lot of famous "self-help" male authors and they peddle Stoicism as a means for a successful life. While I see the merit in Stoicism, I believe that emotions need to be expressed. Should we make decisions based on pure emotion? No but I think we need to give emotions a place in our lives. I don't think emotions should be pushed aside. We shouldn't be consumed with emotion but we should sit in our emotions and acknowledge them.

4. Slow living and minimalism. I have read articles about how these can help with a more meaningful life. These things discuss paring down things in life from owning material things to hobbies. They discuss how time matters. I look at these lifestyles and I think I could write how I'm trying to adopt some of these methods.

5. Writing. I read a lot about writing. I think it has come to point where I need to reading about writing and just write. I think I have paralyzed myself to not write by reading so much about writing.

In my research, I read some articles that say that I should focus on one thing at a time. But it's so hard when the whole world is interesting. Hopefully I can focus enough to produce something out of this list.