Move Slow and Fix Things

Instead of “Move Fast and Break Things,” as the popular Silicon Valley mantra goes. Also, “less despair, more repair.” I’ve heard Austin Kleon joke about this a few times in interviews. He’s pointed out the masochism and aggressive culture that permeates current culture, epitomized by figures idolized like Tim Ferris (whom I do respect, though I enjoy his books more than his podcast). It’s made me think more about the mentalities that drive the world and how vandalizing, breaking, stealing, etc. is seen as cool because it’s shocking.

Moving slow and fixing things doesn’t sound as enticing or daring. It’s not exciting, but from my personal experience it’s the most sustainable way toward lasting progress. I think about this when observing all the things I tried to rush, and in doing so just hurt myself in the end, or regressed rather than progressed.

“Less despair, more repair” also resonates because the more I break, the more despair I feel. I’d rather patch everything up first. When I look at the world as a whole, it’s definitely possible to both invent and fix at the same time. Inventions are fixes. But the macho attitude of breaking things has pushed some people to their breaking points.