Years ago, I wrote to Seth Godin.

He wrote back:

“it’s tragic
and I wish I knew a way forward, but I don’t
so much pain in the world”

It’s true, for those who care, sometimes there really isn’t a way forward.

It’s discomforting, painful and pure suck.

And if we are not careful, compounding social media, you will beat you down to the knees. The day, gone.

Day after day, it repeats, and a downward cycle in motion. Your agency, gone.

An alternative is a practice. It’s not the insulation from bad news. A practice that prioritise contribution, a win for the day.

Help one person. Write one article. Send a “thank you” note.

It’s not perfect but it’s better than wasting the day.

There are times in life when activities that were exciting, are now a repeated task on the to-do list.

I don’t mean dental, exercising, or housework. Not all activities are joyful. I mean those which are supposed to be joyful.

One of the insights from a recent retreat, is that my desire to be optimal (and helpful) has made me forget about joy.

I don’t know my favourite food, music and what’s fun.

I started publishing weekly because of Seth Godin. It was joyful to share. But now, I publish to keep up with the momentum.

Maybe Seth finds joy in teaching and writing. Perhaps, not for me right now.

The reason for writing was for me to learn, to share, and most importantly, to feel joyful.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not unbearable. It’s simply not joyful now.

Perhaps, like Seth, who announces this book will be the “last book”, then another one comes along. He knows that the next book will be an act of contribution and joy, not because he needs to write another book.

So, this blog and newsletter will be on pause. I’m going on a sabbatical.

And if you see a new article here, know that it’ll be an act of joy.

That irritating, pesky voice is not you.

To observe something, it requires distance. A vantage point.

An astronaut observes the earth only when she away from it.

Yes, you can see your eyes with a mirror. Don’t get tricked. That’s a reflection of the image of your eye. It’s not your eyes.

Recognising that those thoughts are not you. They are conditioned by your upbringing, society and experiences.

That’s the beginning of the journey of better thoughts.

In relationships, we work as a team for collective happiness.

A trap that we fall into is to withhold information because we don’t want to hurt the other person. Deep down, we do that to avoid the pain of confronting and making change.

When we start withholding, it leads to withdrawal from the relationship. We start to project and assume what others think.

Revealing is risky. We risk not being understood, an angry interaction and uncertainty.

It’s risking for the sake of closeness, better teamwork and our long-term happiness.

Revealing is a skill. Listening is a skill.

A book is a good place to start. Practice, commitment and recommitment get you there.

Here’s a collection of thoughts regarding the ‘definition of leadership’ that resonated.

I will add more as I find them.

“A leader is somebody who is taking radical responsibility for the influence they are having in the world. Don’t blame people, circumstance and experience.” — Jim Dethmer

A leader point to a destination. A new opportunity, a new way of doing things better.

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