We’re all working on something. Or maybe we haven’t started, but we’ve been meaning to get around to it — one of these days. Regardless of what stage we’re at, staying motivated is a challenge. The excitement of a new endeavor wears off; it’s all too easy to brush a project aside and pretend it doesn’t exist sometimes. Pushing through it means encountering problems. It means struggle. It means potentially falling into (another) existential crisis. Scrolling through your Twitter timeline, reading a book, or watching TV is infinitely more comfy.

For me, I’ve never been one of those people who…

You just sat down at a table across from a complete stranger, and are each handed a dinner menu. It lists courses from Starters, Soups, Fish, Grills, to Desserts; but instead of culinary dishes, the menu proposes topics of conversation. The themes are not cookie-cutter ‘conversation card’ questions either; there are no trite small-talk openers such as your favorite movie or dream travel destination. Instead, the menu presents an array of stimulating, thought-provoking topics ranging from ambition to idleness, success to failure, friendship to isolation, joy to fear. You and your dinner partner, your ‘muse,’ are ready to discuss and…

I was discussing prospective travel plans with a group of people the other day when one of them, after expressing her interest in visiting Lyon, remarked, “But I have to find someone to go with — I’m not going to travel there by myself. Nobody wants to do that.”

The same afternoon, I walked into a cafe with a friend to grab lunch. Upon seeing an acquaintance there eating solo, my friend commented, “Aw, he’s by himself. Maybe we can say hi. No one should have to eat alone. That’s so sad.”

These statements started a train of thought on…