12-08-2024, 11:33 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-09-2024, 04:24 AM by Johannesbrst.)
As I’ve passed the two-month mark of running Maverick, I thought I’d share a bit about my experience so far.
I’d like to start with something that happened just 20 minutes ago during my daily walk to work. I live in a larger city in a country with right-side traffic, which the overwhelming majority of people—if not everyone—follow, not just in vehicles but also as pedestrians. Sure, people sometimes pass on "the wrong side" for convenience, but when in doubt, you stick to the right.
As I was walking to work, thinking about writing a post here on the forum and wondering what I could share, I wasn’t sure I had anything specific to contribute. About ten minutes later, I was crossing a small bridge, staying to the far right of the sidewalk, enjoying my walk on this dark December morning. I noticed a woman, around my age, walking her dog in the opposite direction. She was sticking firmly to the far left of the sidewalk, heading straight toward me. As we got closer, neither of us deviated from our paths, and eventually, we stopped face to face. Sometimes this happens when people are preoccupied with their phones or lost in thought, but that wasn’t the case here.
She looked at me, and I looked back at her. I kept my gaze—not confrontational, just polite and a bit curious—trying to figure out what was going through her mind. After a moment, she scoffed, “SERIOUSLY?” (in English), before stepping around my left side and leaving with a loud “ASSHOLE!”. During the whole time I was more curious than on high-alert as I would usually have been.
This story may seem trivial to some of you, but for me, it was a clear example of a shift in my ability to face conflict and stand my ground when I feel justified in doing so. Symbolically, it also might be seen as my ability to keep walking my own path, even if others don’t agree with it. Not in a “My way or the highway” sense, but more of an “I’ll maintain my direction and collaborate with others as long as they’re also willing to cooperate and adapt to the norms we’ve agreed on” approach.
This brings me to the point that Maverick, as previous users have highlighted, is a deeply individual experience. My journey hasn’t mirrored any of the other Maverick journals I’ve read on the forum. While the end result may share similarities, the path to get there depends on where each of us starts. None of us has lived the exact same life; we each stand in different places in the landscape. Maverick offers a guiding star to follow, but the obstacles we face on the way towards it—whether they’re towering mountains or expansive lakes—will differ from person to person.
As others have noted, the experience feels highly “integrated,” tailored to my current challenges, motivations, and stage of life. It hasn’t pushed me to do anything I didn’t want to do. Instead, it’s helped me uncover what I truly want to do with my life. It has shown me that the excuses I’ve used to hold back from pursuing my goals are self-imposed limitations, not actual barriers. Maverick has helped me decide where I want to go, offering a steady hand to guide me firmly in that direction.
I’d like to start with something that happened just 20 minutes ago during my daily walk to work. I live in a larger city in a country with right-side traffic, which the overwhelming majority of people—if not everyone—follow, not just in vehicles but also as pedestrians. Sure, people sometimes pass on "the wrong side" for convenience, but when in doubt, you stick to the right.
As I was walking to work, thinking about writing a post here on the forum and wondering what I could share, I wasn’t sure I had anything specific to contribute. About ten minutes later, I was crossing a small bridge, staying to the far right of the sidewalk, enjoying my walk on this dark December morning. I noticed a woman, around my age, walking her dog in the opposite direction. She was sticking firmly to the far left of the sidewalk, heading straight toward me. As we got closer, neither of us deviated from our paths, and eventually, we stopped face to face. Sometimes this happens when people are preoccupied with their phones or lost in thought, but that wasn’t the case here.
She looked at me, and I looked back at her. I kept my gaze—not confrontational, just polite and a bit curious—trying to figure out what was going through her mind. After a moment, she scoffed, “SERIOUSLY?” (in English), before stepping around my left side and leaving with a loud “ASSHOLE!”. During the whole time I was more curious than on high-alert as I would usually have been.
This story may seem trivial to some of you, but for me, it was a clear example of a shift in my ability to face conflict and stand my ground when I feel justified in doing so. Symbolically, it also might be seen as my ability to keep walking my own path, even if others don’t agree with it. Not in a “My way or the highway” sense, but more of an “I’ll maintain my direction and collaborate with others as long as they’re also willing to cooperate and adapt to the norms we’ve agreed on” approach.
This brings me to the point that Maverick, as previous users have highlighted, is a deeply individual experience. My journey hasn’t mirrored any of the other Maverick journals I’ve read on the forum. While the end result may share similarities, the path to get there depends on where each of us starts. None of us has lived the exact same life; we each stand in different places in the landscape. Maverick offers a guiding star to follow, but the obstacles we face on the way towards it—whether they’re towering mountains or expansive lakes—will differ from person to person.
As others have noted, the experience feels highly “integrated,” tailored to my current challenges, motivations, and stage of life. It hasn’t pushed me to do anything I didn’t want to do. Instead, it’s helped me uncover what I truly want to do with my life. It has shown me that the excuses I’ve used to hold back from pursuing my goals are self-imposed limitations, not actual barriers. Maverick has helped me decide where I want to go, offering a steady hand to guide me firmly in that direction.
