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Points of failure: Catastrophizing.
I went to Colombia to play shows last month. I’d planned the trip for most of the year; flights for five people, housing, gear, promotion, filming, and thousand other details to mold it all together. It went flawlessly. The shows were electric, the mountains mystical, the coffee superb. Everything was a ten out of ten. But before we’d left for Bogotá, I had already lived through an imaginary version of the experience, one that played out less favorably. I’d catastroph
Oct 262 min read


Points of failure: The complaining experiment.
For the past few months I’ve been listing a few things to be grateful for each night. I’m often surprised at how small things that I...
Sep 212 min read


Points of failure: The comparison trap
I’d been in a funk since last month. It came out of nowhere. Summer has been enjoyable and I’ve felt excited about my progress on a few...
Aug 172 min read


Points of failure: Avoid the second arrow.
At the urging of multiple close friends, I went to see Sinners last month. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have. I have a long track record...
Jul 132 min read


Points of failure: Falling out of practice
In May I passed a milestone; one year since I stopped seeing my therapist. Our work together changed me, and before we parted ways I...
Jun 222 min read


Points of Failure: choose your wave.
In January I surfed for the first time. Even with having been born and raised on an island, it’s something I kept filed away for...
Feb 162 min read


Points of failure: Driving in the wrong direction
In November I had a five-thousand-pound failure. Over two years ago I started a small transportation business; renting out a van to musicians. After a successful first year, I scaled to two vehicles earlier this spring. Already working a full-time job, this growing side gig meant transferring hours from the time I had to write and make music, onto business. Here it comes! I thought, my road to financial independence! Halfway through year two, one of my vehicles became undriv
Dec 24, 20242 min read
Paúl Rivera Melo

Paúl Rivera Melo is a Dominican-born, Chicago-based touring musician and writer of essays and short fiction. With roots in the Caribbean, his work draws from the melodies and vocabulary of the region, while using the unique scope of his diaspora experience to craft stories of striving and survival.
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