What I'm Reading, Watching, and Thinking About This Winter
December tends to be the month I actually slow down enough to read properly. Here's what I've been into, what's been on my mind, and a few things I'd recommend if you have some downtime.
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Reading
Meditations — Marcus Aurelius. I come back to this every year. Not because it's dramatically different each time, but because where you are in life determines which parts land. This read, the material on impermanence and not getting too attached to outcome hit differently. Worth reading if you've never read it. Worth rereading if you have.
The Body Keeps the Score — Bessel van der Kolk. Dense, important, occasionally overwhelming. The research on how trauma lives in the body and the limitations of purely talk-based therapy is legitimately paradigm-shifting. Takes a while but it's worth the investment.
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Watching
Nothing I can recommend with full enthusiasm right now. I've been cycling through older stuff instead of chasing new releases. 2025 felt like a year where finding things worth watching required more effort than usual.
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Thinking About
The gap between information and action. We've never had more access to what to do — about health, habits, money, relationships, pretty much everything. The limiting factor isn't information anymore. It's the decision to act on what you already know.
Most people reading a post like this one know more than enough to dramatically improve their lives. The question is always the same: are you going to do something with it?
That's the one I keep coming back to. Have a good December.
— Dr. Scott