Fixing things feels good

In the October Edition of Esquire the editor shares his reasons for introducing a whole section on manual competences like how to survive a 100 feet wave, how to snack with style, how to turn away a Jehovah's Witness, who to talk your way around a car engine or how to hypnotize a chicken".

The satisfaction of manifesting oneself concretely in the world through manual competence have been known to make us quiet and easy. They seem to relieve us from the felt need of offering chattering interpretations of ourselves to vindicate our worth. We can simply point: The Ikea shelf stands, the car now runs, the lights are on. Same is valid for doing sports or getting up early, all ways to manifest achievement that also have pleasant side effects like the pleasure of heaving nicely prepared skiing slopes at 9 AM in the morning.