Just Because…
From Safety Razors to Fixed Gear Bikes & Finding Enjoyment in “Have To’s”
The lack of reason is the fastest and most reasonable road to satisfaction. It might be equated to the satisfaction that a parent gets from finishing a heated debate with “Because!” Grammatically, logically, and to a child it doesn’t make sense, but how satisfying it must be because of that. How great it must be to regain power with out reason. That’s why personally from waking to work reason has no place in my routine.
After the alarm everything starts with a steamy room, white powdered soap in a mirror finished bowl, and more than a few stirs with a classic badger hair brush. They say the soap is better for your skin, but it’s also minutes further away than a press of a button. When the shaving does start it’s not a firm press and flick of the wrist affair cause real cuts come at five times the speed of a Mach 5. There are the pro’s to the process, but the cost of the blades will not offset the costs of a classic weighted razor and a brush made out of badger hair that can only be collected in the winter. The extra time it took also had to be stolen from sleep and the alarm clock the night before.
Then there’s the commute, and it would be a stroke of luck if it were uphill both ways. That’s because on a fixed gear one does not simply coast downhill. The pedals are firmly fixed to the rotation of the wheel, so along with coasting repositioning pedals is a think of the past… or present for anyone logical. A smooth start on a fixed gear means either a lame excuse of a hop skip or lifting the back wheel as the pedals are rotated into place. It’s likely this picture can’t be painted for someone who hasn’t ridden a fixed gear, because it’s something that goes completely unnoticed on a modern bike. Some may counter with the fact that “trackstands” are possible and not having to put a foot on the ground while waiting at lights, but all this requires far more concentration and core muscles than any slight step off the pedal.
So why would anyone buy a fixed gear or a single blade razor?
It’s likely because all the ridiculousness is what makes them great. It’s all bout taking back the power of a “have to” and turning it back into a conscious personal decision.
No longer is it just a shave, but a conscious choice of how to behave.
No more is it a commute, but a chance to break free of the fixed lanes and daily route.
Charles Duhigg writes about the difference of extrinsic (have to’s) & intrinsic (get to’s) motivators in The Power of Habit. He also makes clear the point that the most satisfaction can be found in activities that are not done due to an outside motivation, but because of an inner personal choice. It’s why a child that practices the piano for pure joy, not from the fear of a Suzuki method teacher, is far more likely to reach Carnegie hall someday. It’s why a startup is different than a day job.
Every day we’re faced with hundreds of “have to’s”, even in a startup. “Have to’s” require stamina and we all only have so much, which is why I choose to be unreasonable each day, all the while wondering why…
