Focus on your values rather than your fears to steer through troubled times
Another challenging week goes by. This week’s issue is full of tips to help build your adaptive capacity, distracting fascinations, and articles that cut through the noise to help you see other perspectives.
Reminding ourselves of what’s important to us — family, friends, religious convictions, scientific achievement, glorious music, creative expression, and so on - this can create a powerful buffer against whatever troubles that may ail us.
In a series of studies spanning more than a decade, researchers have shown how people of all ages in a range of circumstances, from new schools and new relationships to new jobs, can strengthen their minds with a simple exercise: spending 10 minutes writing about a time when a particular value you hold has positively affected you.
The technique works because reflecting on a personal value helps us rise above the immediate threat, and makes us realise that one challenging situation can’t compromise our identity.
Don’t forget to share this tip and this entire newsletter with your network. Building up my subscriber network is my priority for my newsletter right now, and I’d really appreciate your help with that. Thanks, and onwards.
NZ v Aus at the Basin Reserve, Cricket World Cup 2022. Let's not dwell on the result ...
Stop doomscrolling! The 50 cheeriest social media accounts
Now more than ever we all need to sprinkle some happiness into our social media feeds. Here are the best accounts to follow, whether you love spectacular jelly creations or hilarious Japanese mascots.
Massive container ship #EVERFORWARD has run aground in the Chesapeake Bay.
Yes, same operator as #EVERGIVEN.
Yes, almost exactly a year later. 1/ https://t.co/z4rCjGSbzR
There’s lots more below the paywall fold for subscribers and you’ll also get access to my 30,000 Days project too. Thanks to all my paid subscribers who make all this possible.
Study Maps The Odd Structural Similarities Between The Human Brain And The Universe
When an astrophysicist and a neurosurgeon spend a few years investigating if the similarities are more than skin-deep.
The UCL Institute of Health Informatics
😷Behaviour is key to suppressing COVID-19, but how did the public engage with the recommended protective behaviours, such as hand washing and face covering?
CORSAIR investigates 👉https://t.co/ulVk2iYbMl
@SusanMichie @louisesmith142 @ntfear @DrRichardAmlot @EPR_HPRU @HWWPotts
Covid deaths probably three times higher than records say
Official records say six million have died, but the accurate figure may be over 18 million, say researchers.
The U.S. Needs a New Strategy Toward the Autocratic World
By enabling Putin and other global kleptocrats, the West undermined democracy. It’s time to change tactics.
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Behaviour insights
"We don’t only seek pleasure, we also want to live meaningful lives - and this involves willingly experiencing pain, anxiety, and struggle" - this makes for a fascinating read on hedonism and eudaimonia:
https://t.co/evM8la91Q6 @Guardian @paulbloomatyale
Slobbing out and giving up: why are so many people going ‘goblin mode’?
The term embraces the comforts of depravity and a direct departure from the ‘cottagecore’ influence of early pandemic days
How Covid Stole Our Time and How We Can Get It Back
We can think of identity as a decision rather than as destiny. Two delusions — that we have countless time ahead of us and that we can’t change our course — are a recipe for complacency. Shedding them can wake us up and inspire us to live more wisely. Made free for you to read and learn from.
The Benefits of Mixed Emotions
We’ve all been in situations where we experience mixed emotions. Maybe you’ve felt both joy and sadness during a big life decision, such as whether to purchase a home or accept a job offer. Or maybe you’ve experienced mixed feelings about the ways the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped your life. Psychologist Naomi Rothman says that while these feelings of ambivalence are uncomfortable, they can also serve us in important ways.
Journaling Therapy: Types, Effectiveness, and Benefits
More than a diary-like, surface-level account of one’s day or week, therapeutic journaling is a deep, internal process in which people express their emotions, reactions, and perceptions. If you’re interested in journaling, but perhaps have never got around to it, or you want to re-boot how you do yours, here’s an excellent brief guide about how you can switch up your game.
What I'm listening to
This is a deep comfort listen for me.
It is often said that the reading of the Shipping Forecast is akin to the recital of a poem. I used to have an old radio set on my bedside table when I was a kid - and old box type with 4 bands of SW radio. When I was about 10 or 11 years old, I would wake up around midnight and turn on the radio quietly to help me fall asleep again. I’d move my pillow on to my bedside table, so my ear would be right by the speaker. On Radio 4, an interlude followed the midnight news, and then the shipping and inshore forecast began at 12:15 a.m. It was Sailing By that filled that interlude, and this is what I find such a comfort, as well as the reading of the forecast. It is often said that the reading of the Shipping Forecast is akin to the recital of a poem, and it certainly evokes a sense of reverie for me. The forecast is read by Laurie MacMillan.
When you can remember first being on the internet? In March 15, 1985 The first Internet domain symbolics.com was registered by Symbolics, a Massachusetts computer company. I didn’t get on until 1991, but that was a text only experience. I used to hang around on the CERN Undernet Internet Relay Chat servers. I’m sure that wouldn’t be allowed these days…
It does not matter how slow you go as long as you do not stop. –Confucius
This cat is so unhinged but living his best liiiiifeeee??!!! https://t.co/6Ij2zNlTjq
It’s been in and around the NZ Top 10 Bestseller List since release 6 weeks ago. My book gives a range of practical skills to help anyone come to terms with feelings of anxiety and learn to thrive. Click through to buy online in NZ and Australia in paperback and eBook globally.
Thanks for reading: I hope this week’s issue has offered you a little joy, some solace, and much food for your brain. Until next week, take care out there.
Cheers,
Sarb
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