In our previous letter we saw how unnatural acceleration to seek things sooner, leads to depletion of energy, resources- all hidden away from this fabric of reality. We borrow from our future at the expense of depleting our present stability! But what does this borrowing represent? this invisible reservoir is where life truly happens, we are able to breathe and relax, and find our true selves. It's what we call MARGIN- the space or gap between load and our limits!

What is load? the burden of doing, being, someway, somewhere, better than our current selves.

What is limit? This is where we are close to breaking, decomposing, risking our ability to seek, that too permanently

the architecture of margin

Margin isn'r just the gap between our load and limit, it is what allows our identity to thrive and not perish! There are multiple dimensions of this margin:

• Time: the breathing room between what we commit and get done
• Finance: the gap between expenses and income or affordability
• Emotion: the space between stimulus and how we respond
• Physical: the gap between exertion and exhaustion
• Creative: silence or stillness where insights emerge from our thoughts and new found awareness or experiences

These spaces are sacred, not meant to be collapsed- they are meant to be respected, protected, since they are the very foundation of our identity.

domino effect of diminishing margins

when we try to accelerate in any one dimension, to attain certain outcomes faster, or decrease our load or burden, we eventually do it by drawing resources from other dimensions- this transfer diminishes our wholeness, and we struggle to strike a balance since it remains unknown to us when, how, and what we should stop pursuing.

Take for example, we often borrow financially to meet our longing for material acquisition. What happens then?

[Financial Margin Depleted] → 
  [Time Margin Reduced to Service Debt] → 
    [Emotional Margin Contracted Under Stress] → 
      [Physical Margin Compromised by Tension] →
        [Identity Regress]

The type of collapse isn't just inconvenient, it is existentially threatening to the very identity we are trying to build.

IN TOTALITY, we end up farther from being the person we want to become, in a desperate attempt to have what we think that ideal person should possess now

planned margin reduction vs dopaminergic depletion

Well, not all margin reduction is harmful. When it is planned, well thought with clearly outlined intention of a temporary imbalance to server a greater purpose- that way we strengthen our identity. This is a mindful sacrifice, or rebalance of margins done keeping in mind we should act in tandem with who we want to become.

It's rather those unplanned, dopamine driven unreal anticipation that leads to a decay of our identity, and giving way for addictive immediate outcomes. This is a huge blow to our very foundation!

The difference is in consciously reflecting in silence:

• planned margin reduction: " I choose to focus and prioritise attaining certain outcomes that positively reflects renewed margins, by redirecting resources with full knowledge, accountability of temporary systemic consequences and in no way this endangers my identity "
• dopaminergic impulse- driven margin depletion: " no matter the consequence, or dangers to my identity, I want this now! and certainly do not care any systemic risks or hidden costs "

margin strengthens that Identity Moat!

In our very first letter, we had discussed how a clear picture of identity is important to protect it from being programmed by external conditions- those that eventually reduces our choices, actions, outcomes to ascertain effortless average outcomes! Margin is in fact a very important component of our Identity Moat!

What is Moat? think of them like guardrails of protection for the very foundation of what is being built.

Without margin, we become extremely reactive, to external triggers, and every social validation hook. With margin, we create space for our conscious intervention between stimulus and response.

This is also how we secretly, but slowly break free from average- not by filling our margins with more activity, acquisition but by protecting them as sacred spaces, allowing us to be more intentional rather than just react automatically like dummies 😆