Write to engage. Write to think. Read to focus. Using your gift. You are the leader. Do human things. Question more.
“Too often we… enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
– John F. Kennedy
1. “Writing helps you stay engaged”
Why Writing Is the Best Tool for Personal Growth – Anne-Laure Le Cunff – (Ness Labs)
It’s true. It also seems that people fall into two buckets: those who do (journal, write for themselves, write for introspection, etc.) and those who don’t. While I write extensively for my day job, the personal side has always been a struggle.
Taking the time to write slows you down just enough to notice what’s going on in your mind, clarify your thoughts, and explore your curiosity with intention.
Sometimes I really need to force myself. But I’m always glad I’ve done so. (Sometimes the results even appear as an eighth takeaway.)
Do this: Write, for yourself.
Support 7 Takeaways
(Or just forward this to a friend.)
2. “The first step is to write it down.”
How to think – Kevin Wammer – (cliophate.wtf)
A great piece on thinking, both the reasons and the methods. What got my attention, though, was the opening example resurfaced later in the essay:
Even writing down your problem as an AI prompt clarifies your thought.
I’m sure you’ve experienced that situation where you carefully craft a request for help, and perhaps even send it off, only to find the answer within moments of hitting “Send”. It’s the thought process you had to go through that brought you to the answer. Describing the problem for someone else made all the difference.
This, to me, highlights a skill that will be incredibly valuable in a world of AI: the ability to accurately and clearly describe what it is you’re looking for. Some call it “prompt engineering”, but honestly, it’s just thoroughly thinking through the problem at hand and then putting it into words clearly. It’s a skill: the ability to articulate precisely what you mean.
Do this: Think it through.
3. “What the hell is happening to my brain?”
Why Everybody Stopped Reading – Mark Manson – (YouTube)
In another look at the decline of book reading, Manson — a voracious reader himself — identifies AI as a recently added reason things are getting worse for him. Why wade through 80% of the noise in a book looking for the 20% that’s gold when you can just use an AI tool to do it for you? Attention spans are getting shorter, and we have all the tools at hand to encourage that.
Your attention is like a muscle. Right now, you might be sprinting from one app to another like a chihuahua in a crack house, but with the right exercises, you can slow down and get that deeper concentration back.
Manson suggests specific things you can to do reclaim your attention span.
Do this: Reclaim your attention span.
#attention-span #books #reading
4. “Gifts feel like breathing to those who possess them”
The Great Mystery of Life – Tome Greene – (Wit & Wisdom)
This caught my attention because it resonated so hard. Apparently, I have gifts when it comes to technology (or so I’m told). Indeed, it feels like breathing.
Yes, remarkable lives are forged through relentless practice and prioritization, not extraordinary talent.
It might be “relentless”, but it doesn’t feel that way. It feels like … breathing.
I’m blessed in that my vocation and avocation align. I’ve long said this is what I’d do even if I weren’t getting paid. In fact, this is where I disagree with Greene, who says that your vocation is not your gift. While I agree it’s a dangerous assumption to make, it’s not always the case. I’m one of a very lucky few.
Do this: Find your gift.
5. “Stop Waiting for A Grownup To Come Help”
All of Life Works If… – Carvell Wallace – (100 Days of Creative Resistance / Writing Co-Lab)
Wallace lays out nine items as “this is what I try to do to keep myself in working order”. I don’t agree with all, but this one spoke to me.
Rather, you are the leader you need. Your community and your neighbors are the leaders you need. Whatever you do every single day is exactly what the world you live in is going to look like, so stop giving your future and your life over to some idea of a person you saw on a screen.
A lot of hero worship, a lot of entitlement, a lot of just waiting for someone else to do what needs to be done is nothing more than our skirting personal responsibility. And even if it’s not technically responsibility, it’s almost certainly giving away our own power. You don’t need a leader; you are the leader.
Do this: Be the change you want to see.
6. “Aliveness is what generally feels absent”
Navigating by aliveness – Oliver Burkeman – (The Imperfectionist)
Burkeman begins by defining and discussing a concept of “aliveness”. To grossly over-simplify its both that feeling of being alive as events transpire, and yet more than that. To the point here, it’s a distinctly human thing.
About two thirds of the way in, Burkeman takes a turn towards AI, and how while some of it is good enough to fool him, what he most often notices is that this feeling of “aliveness” is absent. It’s more than uncanny valley, it’s more than things not looking quite right, it’s about things that just don’t feel human.
And there will never be a shortage of desire for things that resonate as human.
Humans doing human things, with other humans, is and will remain at the vital heart of human existence.
To be clear, he’s not anti-AI, but rather, as with any tool, evaluating its use “in the context of navigating toward more aliveness”.
Do this: Notice your aliveness.
7. “The moment we think we’re not vulnerable is when we’re vulnerable.”
Falling For Misinformation – Melanie Trecek-King – (YouTube)
“Those people” believe stupid things. “Those people” are so easily mislead. How can “those people” believe what they believe? News flash: we are all “those people”. And your visceral gut reaction about how absolutely certain you are that you’re not is exactly what makes you vulnerable.
Trecek-King’s talk is wide-ranging and worth watching, covering many of the ways misinformation and disinformation spread. One aspect that stood out for me is this:
The goal of disinformation is to sow distrust; it’s not necessarily to convince us of something that’s not true, or to convince us of a false narrative.
That feels very meta.
Do this: Please, question what you read and hear more.
#disinformation #misinformation
What I’m reading now
- Swamp Sweets – Jana Deleon
- Nudge: The Final Edition – Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein
- Messengers: Who We Listen To, Who We Don’t, and Why – Stephen Martin, Joseph Marks (Audio)
My Reading List – everything I’ve read since 2021.
My Sources Page – the common sources I scan/read regularly.
Support 7 Takeaways
Your support helps keep 7 Takeaways viable. I appreciate your consideration VERY much. I have options for recurring Support (Monthly/Quarterly/Yearly options) as well as one-time support over in The Ask Leo! (my “day job”) store. Purchasing any of the books using the links on my Reading List also helps.
Another thing that really helps is sharing 7 Takeaways with a friend. Just forward this email on. And if you received this email from a friend, you can subscribe at 7takeaways.com to get your own copy every Sunday.
Note that some links above may be affiliate links.
Thanks!
If you’re having difficulty viewing this email, visit 7takeaways.com/latest.
If a link to a source above leads you to a paywall, please read my note on paywalls.
If someone forwarded you this email, subscribe at 7takeaways.com.