Shu Omi - Issue #26
Hi :) How are you doing today?
š« New Video + Notes
1) My new video āBecome A Learning Machineā is now up on Youtube!
2) Added more notes to my mind garden! Iām getting lots of positive feedback from people, which makes me happy :) Check it out if youāre interested in my notes!
Anyways, here are the best articles, books, podcasts, tweets I found this week in Mind | Money | Relationships | Health.
Itās a long list, so Iād recommend using a read-later service like Pocket Instapaper or mymind, which is the app I use ;)
Save them š Read them later š Take notes š Create your own content!
š§ Mind
This short piece by Brad Stulberg - the author of Peak Performance - is a nice reminder of things we all know are good, but tend to forget.
Build community. The people with whom you surround yourself shape you. Being super productive is fine, but not if it crowds out time for cultivating relationships. Most people feel best in a tribe. Itās our nature.
This reminds me of the Five Chimp theory. Itās a theory that states you can predict the mood, behaviour patterns of any chimp by which five chimps they hang out with the most with.
Similar to the saying āShow me your closest friends, and Iāll show you the futureā.
You really want to be careful who you hang out with.
Language Shapes Your Thoughts, Your Perspective, and Your Worldview
Do you speak multiple languages? I speak Japanese and English and always felt my thought patterns differ depending on which language Iām speaking.
I find it easier to be logical when I think in English than in Japanese. Maybe itās because how English language is structured.
Do you experience something like this too?
As the Roman Emperor Charlemagne once said: āTo have another language is to possess a second soul.ā
Since language is the tool we use to mentally categorize emotions and communicate experiences, itās the primary method through which humans organize and express thought.
Being multilingual can open your world to alternative perspectives, allowing you to more easily understand that your own perception of reality isnāt absolute.
I realised breaking something down makes lots of things easier.
Like James Clear says in this tweet, it applies to exercising, studying and developing habits.
Go smaller.
Can't learn an exercise? Reduce the range of motion.
Struggling to grasp a new concept? Break it down.
Failing to stick with a habit? Make it easy.
Master stage one, then advance.
It also applies to note-taking too.
You want to make sure each note contains only ONE atomic idea!
By doing so, it becomes easier to use these atoms of thought to reconstruct new ideas.
The Parable of the Pottery Class
I learned one of my most valuable lessons about writing online/making videos from the parable of the pottery class - that is, Quantity > Quality.
There was once a pottery teacher called Brian. One month, he decided to split his class into two groups. Group A had to make a pot every day for 30 days (so 30 pots in total). Group B had to work on a single pot for the whole 30 days.
At the end of the month, Brian judged the quality of the pots. Without exception, every one of the top 10 pots came from Group A, the guys that made one pot per day. None came from the group that focused on perfecting their single pot.
My advice is to always focus on quantity over quality, at least for the first few years.
I find this advice useful to beat perfectionism and the fear of āwhat if this isnāt good enough?ā.
Incidentally, Sia seems to have the same mindset:
Sia on making hit songs:
āI donāt think that Iām necessarily, like, a super-talented songwriter. I think Iām just really productive. One out of 10 songs is a hit. So where a lot of people will spend three weeks on one song, I will write 10 in three weeks.ā
šµ Money
Like many things, building an audience on Twitter is mostly about consistency. But there are some useful hacks you can use.
This thread contains a few of them:
If we're talking growth only
There are two phases
Phase one is all about networking and connections
You need to establish yourself in your community
Basically, if you want a lot of followers, get a little first
If you want to take Twitter ever more seriously, here are 5 pieces of advice from James Clear.
How to grow on Twitter:
1. Write about what fascinates you.
2. Post at least 1 tweet per day.
3. If it doesnāt provide insane value, don't post it.
4. Always post your best idea right now. Donāt save it for later.
5. Take 10+ min to edit each tweet and find the perfect word.
I find #3 a bitā¦ much? I donāt think most of my tweets provide āinsaneā value, but I post them anyway. I apply the same rule āQuantity > Qualityā to Twitter.
But, I guess if youāre really serious about growing on Twitter, perhaps this is what it takes.
š¤ Relationships
Who Initiates Sex: and Why It Matters So Much
I believe this is one of the most common struggles for couples. It may sound silly but matters a lot more than you think:
Itās at the root of many affairs, it is the catalyst for vicious arguments and bitterness, the long-term future of small children can be decided by it ā and couples routinely end up in therapy or (more often) the divorce courts because of it.
The willingness to initiate sex can appear like the litmus test of whether one is appreciated within the relationship as a whole ā and therefore whether a couple remains a going concern or not.
We all know a lack of initiation or response can mean many things. Maybe they are just tired from work. However,
Unreciprocated touch becomes properly dangerous when it comes into contact with a high degree of self-suspicion or self-hatred on the part of the person who has dared to slide their hand across.
As a resultā¦
ā¦we feel rejected, need to be understood and are looking for change. We will either say nothing at all and might have an affair ā or else explode into a rage that guarantees our message wonāt be heard.
So, what should we do?
We should not leave the untouched hand for too long in the darkness. We should dare to switch on the light, express our pain and consider our options without shame.
š§¬ Health
When Vegetable Oil Isnāt as Healthy as You Think
My parents always told me to avoid eating too much butter because itās bad for your heart.
But now Iām a grown up and capable of doing some research online, I learned that what they taught me was a complete lie.
in a study published in the BMJ, researchers re-analyzed data from older unpublished studies and found the link between vegetable oil and heart health may not hold. They revealed that itās possible that too much vegetable oil could actually increase the risk of heart disease ā rather than decrease it.
More on why butter is not as bad as you think:
Why Drink Butter Coffee? The Science of Bulletproof Coffee
This Is Why Deep Breathing Makes You Feel so Chill
Iāve been doing research on breathing and how itās related to stress, anxiety and focus lately.
There seems to be a large body of evidence suggesting some breathing exercises can reduce your stress and anxiety and improve your concentration.
Deep breathing (sometimes called diaphragmatic breathing) is a practice that enables more air to flow into your body and can help calm your nerves, reducing stress and anxiety. It can also help you improve your attention span and lower pain levels.
Latest Video - Become A Learning Machine
Become A Learning Machine
Idea Sketch of the Week - Perfectionism
Note
We can never recreate what we envisioned. 100% (Perfect) is a construct of your mind. We should aim for 95% (Good Enough) instead.
Hit publish if you think your work is good enough rather than trying to make it āperfectā.
More notes in here: https://www.shuomi.me/sketches
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Thank you!
Have a great week
Shu