Adam Lafferty
@adamlafferty.bsky.social
Connecting the many you's.
Less dogma. More dojo.
📬 Field Notes Sundays. Downshift Wednesdays.
adamlafferty.substack.com
Less dogma. More dojo.
📬 Field Notes Sundays. Downshift Wednesdays.
adamlafferty.substack.com
You can get extremely good at opposition. Sharp critique. Perfect rebuttals. Knowing exactly what's wrong.
And still be completely governed by the thing you oppose.
And still be completely governed by the thing you oppose.
February 14, 2026 at 1:08 PM
You can get extremely good at opposition. Sharp critique. Perfect rebuttals. Knowing exactly what's wrong.
And still be completely governed by the thing you oppose.
And still be completely governed by the thing you oppose.
We keep trying to turn aliveness into a recipe. Then we wonder why the recipe tastes like nothing.
February 13, 2026 at 11:27 AM
We keep trying to turn aliveness into a recipe. Then we wonder why the recipe tastes like nothing.
You're allowed to admit it. The cause can be right and still stop feeling like yours. That's not betrayal. That's what happens when the fight becomes the whole identity and the person inside it stops getting consulted.
February 12, 2026 at 11:55 AM
You're allowed to admit it. The cause can be right and still stop feeling like yours. That's not betrayal. That's what happens when the fight becomes the whole identity and the person inside it stops getting consulted.
We built entire vocabularies for intensity. Crisis. Breakthrough. Overwhelm.
We have almost nothing for the moment aliveness quietly walks out. Cultures that can't name the exit can't change the system.
We have almost nothing for the moment aliveness quietly walks out. Cultures that can't name the exit can't change the system.
February 11, 2026 at 12:04 PM
We built entire vocabularies for intensity. Crisis. Breakthrough. Overwhelm.
We have almost nothing for the moment aliveness quietly walks out. Cultures that can't name the exit can't change the system.
We have almost nothing for the moment aliveness quietly walks out. Cultures that can't name the exit can't change the system.
If you're only reacting to what happened last time, you're not responding to what's here. That's how movements — and lives — get trapped in repetition.
February 9, 2026 at 12:19 PM
If you're only reacting to what happened last time, you're not responding to what's here. That's how movements — and lives — get trapped in repetition.
The alive work usually arrives before "you" show up to manage it.
February 8, 2026 at 12:44 PM
The alive work usually arrives before "you" show up to manage it.
Fighting something long enough, you start to run its code.
February 7, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Fighting something long enough, you start to run its code.
Safe and right feel identical at 19. By 40, only one of them is still running your life.
February 5, 2026 at 1:02 PM
Safe and right feel identical at 19. By 40, only one of them is still running your life.
The most expensive certainty is the kind that feels like competence.
February 4, 2026 at 11:55 AM
The most expensive certainty is the kind that feels like competence.
Your brain is a terrible place to store a decision.
January 31, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Your brain is a terrible place to store a decision.
What went quiet so you could keep winning?
January 30, 2026 at 3:06 PM
What went quiet so you could keep winning?
Some selves only exist in a certain room.
When the room disappears, they don’t die — they go quiet.
What version of you is waiting for the right field?
When the room disappears, they don’t die — they go quiet.
What version of you is waiting for the right field?
January 29, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Some selves only exist in a certain room.
When the room disappears, they don’t die — they go quiet.
What version of you is waiting for the right field?
When the room disappears, they don’t die — they go quiet.
What version of you is waiting for the right field?
Stuck is a shape. Shapes can shift.
January 28, 2026 at 11:20 AM
Stuck is a shape. Shapes can shift.
What are you still scanning for?
January 25, 2026 at 11:57 AM
What are you still scanning for?
What are you trying to rush that’s ocean‑timed?
January 24, 2026 at 1:52 PM
What are you trying to rush that’s ocean‑timed?
Five syncs in, the truth stops arriving. It starts hiding.
January 23, 2026 at 11:41 AM
Five syncs in, the truth stops arriving. It starts hiding.
A true no leaves you calmer — not busier.
January 22, 2026 at 12:19 PM
A true no leaves you calmer — not busier.
You committed. Something abstained.
January 21, 2026 at 12:26 PM
You committed. Something abstained.
Pressure produces-
until it only spins.
until it only spins.
January 20, 2026 at 11:47 AM
Pressure produces-
until it only spins.
until it only spins.
If checking helped, you’d only need to check once.
The rest is reassurance.
The rest is reassurance.
January 19, 2026 at 12:29 PM
If checking helped, you’d only need to check once.
The rest is reassurance.
The rest is reassurance.
The dream didn't disappear.
It just stopped penciling.
So it lost its seat at the table.
Funny how "realistic" and "controllable" wear the same suit.
It just stopped penciling.
So it lost its seat at the table.
Funny how "realistic" and "controllable" wear the same suit.
January 18, 2026 at 12:42 PM
The dream didn't disappear.
It just stopped penciling.
So it lost its seat at the table.
Funny how "realistic" and "controllable" wear the same suit.
It just stopped penciling.
So it lost its seat at the table.
Funny how "realistic" and "controllable" wear the same suit.
Same grip on the steering wheel. Same grip on the call. The body keeps score.
January 17, 2026 at 1:10 PM
Same grip on the steering wheel. Same grip on the call. The body keeps score.
When did ignoring your own dashboard become a success skill?
January 16, 2026 at 11:48 AM
When did ignoring your own dashboard become a success skill?
When did discipline stop meaning devotion and start meaning depletion?
January 15, 2026 at 12:01 PM
When did discipline stop meaning devotion and start meaning depletion?
Pressure puts your brain on 200% zoom—what looks different back at 1x?
January 14, 2026 at 1:18 PM
Pressure puts your brain on 200% zoom—what looks different back at 1x?