Some things for you to ponder, if you'd like
Things I've been thinking about this week.
Hey friend,
I hope you had a marvellous week.
I’ve been thinking about mortality, consumption vs. creation, pondering, and relationships this week.
Here are four questions for you to get you thinking too:
Do you ignore your mortality, pretending that death won’t get you? What would it look like if you embraced your mortality?
We all consume lots of content and information these days, but what do you create? What’s your ratio of consuming / creating?
Do you consider thinking to be an activity? Do you let yourself ponder thoughts, or do you keep your mind busy?
Are you intentional about building and maintaining your relationships? How’s the ‘relationships’ section of life going out of 10?
Have a great week ahead,
Ben x
Three quotes that made me think this week
James Clear on the illusion of social judgement:
"When I notice myself worrying about 'what other people will think,' I find I'm usually not worried about any single person's opinion. If I pick a specific person, I'm rarely concerned about what they will think. What I fear is the collective opinion in my head. It's imaginary."
Anthony De Mello (The Way to Love) on challenging your perspective, surfaced by Tim Ferris:
“Now keep looking at this unpleasant situation or person until you realize that it isn’t they that are causing the negative emotions. They are just going their way, being themselves, doing their thing whether right or wrong, good or bad. It is your computer that, thanks to your programming, insists on your reacting with negative emotions. You will see this better if you realize that someone with a different programming when faced with this same situation or person or event would react quite calmly, even happily. Don’t stop till you have grasped this truth: The only reason why you too are not reacting calmly and happily is your computer that is stubbornly insisting that reality be reshaped to conform to its programming. Observe all of this from the outside so to speak and see the marvelous change that comes about in you.”
James Clear on the impactful character traits:
"Three qualities that have nothing to do with talent or intelligence, but can make a dramatic impact on your results:
Cheerful. You are pleasant to work with and generally raise the level of energy in the room.
Accountable. You feel personally responsible for what you want to accomplish. It is not someone else's job. It's your job.
Adaptable. You can find alternate paths to success. You don't need things to be a certain way to be happy."