It’s a Friday afternoon and maybe Russell is a rather odd person. So he goes to a coffee shop with his laptop to catch up with his own brain with a caffeine overdose.

Russell.

As a surfer catching a wave, I have the opportunity to catch my monkey brain as it turns into a horde of chimpanzees after having chili. Without getting trashed by it.

A sudden unleash of mental shallowness that would be forever trapped inside a synaptic neural path if not by having my hands at the keyboard and a high tolerance for typos.

I find this complementary to the flow state. I like to call it the shallow state which I consider my biggest strength if I can catch the wave. Many ideas are born from this state to become the raw material for deep work.

Being opposite to deep work you let yourself go from top-down control (If you don’t know what it is then be my guest to have a great hour of neuroscience with Andrew Huberman!). Similar to what any meditation guide will talk about letting your mind wander except that in this state you are no putting yourself as an abstract entity watching thoughts happen from afar. You are actively going where the mind wants to take you. This is a peak point for creativity, outside-the-box thinking and deep thoughts.

Ride a wave or resist it statically?

I could easily say that this is my greatest strength and yet one of the things I have fought with for the most part of my life. Trying to harness a monkey-to-chimp-horde is like trying to control the waves in the sea. The wave is there and is going to you. You may either ride it or let it crash you at some point. No surfer ever rode a huge wave by forcing herself to resist it statically.

Fortunately we have an automation system withing our nervous system. There’s a set of cues to our brains that may trigger this state, so keeping a keen eye when this happens really helps with three things: know what may trigger one so you may try to avoid or start it, know when your brain is actually claiming it’s shallow time, and know how you are going to tackle it in a smart way.

As an example I know I can trigger a wave of shallow thinking by making my journal or opening linkedin as soon as I start my computer which risks my whole morning to follow a rabbit hole of shallow thinking. My mind is claimed by a set of non-work related stuff competing for my attention. So my first action after turning on my computer is to jump into the notes of my last task and catch a different flow. The brain follows the cues like Pavlov’s dogs hearing a bell.

However, if I go to the coffee shop a Friday afternoon it is also triggered, but now in a very delivered and desired way. This is why I annoy my friends by sharing ideas on a Friday after work. Same happens while working out.

As this may happen, there are days where it simply happens at random. Experience has taught me that when this happens the fastest way out is through. Also when the frequency of this episodes raises too quick is for me an indicator that I’m tired or overworking. I view this as if the brain was claiming it’s own time.

What does this lead to?

Just out of my Friday-afternoon shallow time, I wanted to create an space in my blog to share deep thoughts.

This is a space for sharing ideas, personal philosophies, lessons learned, reflections and sharing the best things I may learn from the minds of other people. There’s always a chance to see a bigger picture beyond what we train ourselves to see. It is my desire to look over what’s immediately obvious.

And also, a space to be myself. One of the greatest joys in this life is to be able to express who you are and how you are, and loving every aspect of it without any type of self censorship.

Which are going to be the most exiting things from me catching waves

As I was developing myself to be a coach and a physical educator, college gave me the chance to practice many sports. Gymnastics, Volleyball, Basketball, track and field, basic movement, etc. I found a joy in doing a bit from too much. A joy in going beyond a single sport which let me to practice gymnastics, triathlon, mid-distance running, Crossfit and lately OCR. While having a long out of sport period in between.

Something similar happened in sciences. I majored physics, but was enrolled in chemistry and math, a tiny bit of engineering, a tiny bit of robotics and a minor in computer science.

Worked as a coach, as a teacher, as a lifeguard, covering a reception, a bit of a baker and as an SDE. Was also an assistant in a nuclear research facility at college and a voluntary researcher in quantum computing. Added to that, my layoff backup plan is to become a baker while searching for an SDE position.

It took me 10 years to major a career. It took me a lot of jobs to settle one, it took me a lot of time dedicated to a single sport at the time and, I must say, I totally love every tiny bit of my non-linear path that set the building blocks of who I am today.

In all this path I’ve always refused to let a career and society bound me into only what is competent to a profession.

Which is why I’m thrilled to say that eve when I’m strongly settling as an SDE. I won’t stay in a linear path of knowledge.

So what I’m currently engaging in that gives me goosebumps and makes me be me?

• I’m writing a book of short horror stories
• I’ll be enrolling into an MBA engaging into an exciting new field
• I’m extending my tech knowledge from SDE to SDM and PM.