Have hope. Connect with real people. Share your appreciation. Choose to think. You don't matter, but you do. Another algorithm casualty. Choosing growth.
Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary?
– Various
1. “Hope is like breathing”
Hope isn’t naive — it’s necessary – Katie Hawkins-Gaar – (My Sweet Dumb Brain)
It may be difficult to feel hope as this year dawns. There’s a lot of bad, scary stuff happening or on the horizon. Even though it’s always been thus, it just feels like more this year.
And yet, hope.
Choosing hope, like love, is brave. It’s the antidote for what ails us. Hope drives us to fight, believe in, and work toward something better. It’s exactly what we need …
Hope means having something to fight for.
Do this: Hope.
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2. “Real connections take work, vulnerability, reciprocation, and showing up”
Your 2025 Resolution? Stop Treating Celebrities Like Your Best Friend – Joan Westenberg – (Blog)
It’s easy to consume a creator’s content and fall into the trap of thinking you’ve established a relationship with the author; an author who has no idea you even exist. These parasocial relationships have existed for a long time, but the ease in becoming an online content creator, and the ease of consuming online content have made it much more common.
Westenberg’s admonition is simple:
You can still enjoy content. You can still learn from people you admire. You can still participate in online communities. But you can do it without the fantasy of personal connection with people who don’t know you exist.
As both a content creator and consumer I see it from both sides, and understand just how easy a trap it is to fall into.
Do this: Connect with the people around you.
3. “Don’t wait to express admiration”
Never Admire Quietly: The Importance of Giving People Their Flowers While They’re Here – Warren Moyce – (Blog)
You know that old adage that we shouldn’t wait until the funeral to share our appreciation of someone? This is that. And I know I’m quite guilty of (not) doing it as often as I should.
Life is fragile, and none of us knows how long we have to appreciate the people we love, the people who inspire us, or the people who make a difference in our lives.
I think one of the realizations as we get older is exactly that: life is fragile, opportunities may be fleeting.
The essay goes into some details about why we might all feel this way (it’s nearly universal, after all), and the steps we can take.
Do this: Tell someone.
#appreciation #shortness-of-life
4. “To write well you have to think clearly.”
Writes and Write-Nots – Paul Graham – (Blog)
The premise is that writing is hard (it is), and AI has the potential to do the job for us. The result? People who can write, and people who can’t. But writing well requires thinking well. In fact, writing is one way we develop our thinking skills.
So a world divided into writes and write-nots is more dangerous than it sounds. It will be a world of thinks and think-nots. I know which half I want to be in, and I bet you do too.
As he points out, this isn’t even unprecedented. In years past our physical work made us physically strong. For most of us that’s no longer true. There are still strong people, but it’s more of a choice and less of a side effect.
There will still be smart people, but only those who choose to be.
Do this: Choose wisely.
5. “I’m reminded of my almost complete lack of importance”
Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts – Oliver Burkeman – (ebook)
Structured as daily reading for 4 weeks, the goal of the book is to give you tools and perspectives to live a more meaningful life. It questions many assumptions, both the societal assumptions we feel we need to live up to, and the ones we impose on ourselves.
You don’t much matter – yet you matter as much as anyone ever did.
This item from the last chapter is freeing. Knowing that in the grand scheme of things we each mean little, frees us to do more of what we already know matters most: “nurture your relationships, pursue challenging goals, spend time in nature, and make room for fun.”
Do this: Know your place, and let that knowledge free you to do what you know matters most.
6. “We need books that affect us like a disaster”
Battles With Censorship – Martin Vidal – (Medium: The Writing Cooperative)
I think we’ve all heard or read about content being censored in the name of … well, something. This isn’t really that.
We’ve also seen that the information we’re being shown is more and more under the control of algorithms that boil down to “show more of same” in order to maximize some platform’s engagement and revenue. This is kind of that, but from the author’s perspective, rather than the consumer’s.
It’s very difficult to push any boundaries without triggering anyone, and that means the social dialogue is bound for stagnation.
Content that might push boundaries gets reduced exposure. As a result minds are not changed, and opposites become more opposite.
It’s a challenge for authors as well: do you write something bland and acceptable to all? If so, what value does it really have? Or do you choose a topic that’s likely to evoke a response in the hope of getting people to think, running the risk of “the algorithm” deciding that people don’t like to think, and thus there’s no economic incentive to show anyone your content?
It’s a complicated mix of how what we choose to consume drives what’s available to be consumed — whether that’s the right thing or not.
Do this: Let your boundaries be pushed.
#thinking #cancel-culture #algorithms
7. “It just takes a moment of adventurousness”
Growth Means Choosing a Different Kind of Pain – David Cain – (Raptitude)
Growth almost always involves some amount of pain. Cain’s message is that very often we’re in a place that already involves pain and discomfort. While the pain you know might be more comfortable than the pain you envision might be required to change, it’s almost always not the case. In fact, the result is usually better.
I think this situation is common – to be giving up way too much in an effort to protect against certain kinds of pain.
We often do give up much more than we need to simply because we’re scared of the pain of change, not realizing how little the pain might be, and how great the growth might be.
Do this: Choose wisely.
Random links
What I’m reading
In progress:
- Reel of Fortune – Jana DeLeon
- It’s Easier Than You Think – Sylvia Boorstein (reRead)
- The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century – Steven Pinker (audio)
A full list of my common sources is on the sources page, and I list the books I’ve read on my Reading List page.
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-Leo
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“Hope is like breathing” ✔
“Don’t wait to express admiration” ✔
“To write well you have to think clearly.” ✔