Garrett Kincaid
I’m WRITING to help you practice introspection. Every month, I update my LOGS with my latest batch of half-epiphanies. And if an idea is good enough, I’ll add it to my library of APHORISMS. For some context, you can read a bit ABOUT me.
I’m also COACHING to help self-published writers become better self-editors. (Public offer coming soon!)
If you want my essays delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to The Intronaut. Every issue includes a Springboard, which is a carefully crafted question to help you dive inwards.
Featured Essays
There is nothing more noble in Nature than a glacier.
2-min read
This is a rant, but it's also a call to use our democratic power of consumption to shape culture.
9-min read
.jpg!Large/w=1920,quality=90,fit=scale-down)
Don’t you want to remember them?
12-min read
The full answer to a frequently asked question
6-min read
Ground freedom in meaning, and laugh in the face of fate.
7-min read
APHORISMS
What is an aphorism? It’s a tool for deep thinking — a compass that points you toward a universal truth.
I have an organic library of aphorisms (with some maxims mixed in), written and curated by me, and it doubles as a crude map of my personal philosophy. I’ll add to and cut from this list regularly. Hopefully, it will become more compressed and more compelling over time.
The aphorisms are grouped into these seven topics, which are linked below, with an example from that section:
Autonomy There is no best way to go, but there is a worst way: to follow. Learn from others, lead yourself.
Humanity We each have an illimitable essence; the primary characteristic of man is his ineffability.
Meaning You can't retrieve anything from emptiness, but you can fill it. Fill it with meaning.
Mortality Birth is a leap, and death is a landing. Living can either feel like falling or flying.
Truth The ego is truth-averse; it seeks only comfort.
Creativity To reveal something about the forest, write about a leaf.
Relationships Say what you know is unsaid.
Ambition Success comes from repeated failure. If you want fertile soil, mix in manure.
LOGS
One essential part of my writing process is my idea-capture habit. I’m constantly pausing to record my thoughts in prose, as digital notes. I’ve had this habit for over a decade, but it was my friend Michael Dean who encouraged me to start publishing them. And I’ve stolen his term for this practice: logging.
If you’re curious, you can explore 10s of thousands of words of what is essentially a curated transcript of my inner monologue.
D I V E I N W A R D S
Coaching LPFree Feedback Nov ‘24