This is not a weightlifting plea. Barbell is a shape: massive on the ends, thin in the middle. So, a barbell investing strategy, in finance is usually focusing on the very safe (e.g. AAA government bonds) on one side and on the very risky (startups, cryptocurrency) where you could lose everything, yet have unlimited upside potential. And less focus on the middle: stocks... the extremes get balance. If US Treasuries can't

We can apply this strategy beyond financial. We invest our time, attention, our hopes in a variety, a portfolio of things ...

examples:

News:

• extreme local & extreme distance / alien
  • I clearly see local effects me—and more importantly, I see how I can affect it, I can use it...
  • distant I learn about: it truly informs, i.e. it can't conform, as I don't know about the place
  • This means I spend little time in the middle: which is usually national politics

Personally, : focus 1) on areas where I have control or very high leverage AND 2) huge problems: those things where there is little attention, but tremendous upside