These are elegantly dressed forms of staying blocked. They mistake the absence of friction for the presence of motion. Here’s what the “more or less” state teaches you: you are stronger than your own resistance.
Blockage, in small doses, is what makes movement felt . I’ve come to love the phrase “more or less unblocked.” It’s honest. It’s lived-in. It admits that there’s still a pebble in your shoe, but you’re walking anyway. There’s still a knot in the rope, but you’re pulling it through.
Partial blockage breeds creativity. Total blockage breeds despair. But total unblocking ? That breeds shallowness. If you take one thing from this, let it be this small, unglamorous practice: more or less unblocked
But decks are never fully clear. There is always another email. Another ache. Another doubt. The pursuit of total clearance becomes a procrastination masquerading as preparation.
It promises a clean slate. An open road. A cleared throat. We chase it in productivity apps, in therapy sessions, in the ruthless act of deleting old photos or cutting off a draining friend. We believe that on the other side of unblocked lies freedom. These are elegantly dressed forms of staying blocked
One step doesn’t require a clear mind. It requires a willing foot. One paragraph doesn’t require a perfect outline. It requires a single sentence. One conversation doesn’t require a healed heart. It requires an open mouth.
“I’ll start when I feel ready.” “I’ll write when I have the perfect idea.” “I’ll love again when I’m fully healed.” Blockage, in small doses, is what makes movement felt
But have you ever actually driven that road for more than an hour? It becomes hypnotic. Then boring. Then terrifying. Without resistance, without the small friction of a curve or a slowdown, the mind wanders into dangerous blankness. You stop paying attention. You stop feeling the wheel.