Jonah’s 3-2-1 Newsletter
3 ideas from me, 2 quotes from others, and 1 question for you.
This week, I’m riffing off James Clear’s weekly newsletter to see if I can get back into writing more consistently. Without further ado, here’s my version of Clear’s weekly 3-2-1 newsletter.
3 ideas from me
- Begin with the end in mind, and end with the beginning in mind.
I find this idea especially relevant as I find myself hurtling towards the end of my first year in college. I recall coming into UW with things I wanted to accomplish and working backwards throughout the year to achieve them and writing a brief reflection about the experience once it was over. Rarely have I found myself going back to those reflections and valuable insights as I being my approach to new and familiar challenges– this is something I want to see change.
- If you are dissatisfied with something, you have two choices– accept things as they are or move to change your circumstances. If you do neither, you will suffer from indecision and dissatisfaction no matter how much you struggle.
For the first few months of college, I disliked the need that many people, including myself, had about the constant need to be busy and occupied with something all the time. The time I had to spend on things I didn’t care much about felt oppressive, and I complained about ‘the grind’ often without doing anything to change my circumstances. Realizing that I was completely responsible for the conditions I was creating let me ruthlessly cut down on the activities that I didn’t care about, or I felt no longer served me.
- Stop chasing self help, start seeking self-discovery.
I’ve written a lot about self-help on this blog, but one way or another there’s always been some level of apprehension towards the practices I put into my own life. Recently, I’ve been trying to opt into self-discovery– joyful act of uncovering who you are through slow and intentional progress. Where self-help practices are prescriptive and homogenized, self-discovery is a more compassionate progress where you try and make sustainable change that aligns with your values rather than the values of others.
2 quotes from others
- Venture capitalist Jerry Colonna on dissatisfaction with where you are in life:
“… I ask myself, how am I complicit in creating conditions I don’t want?”
Source: Jerry Colonna on the Tim Ferriss Show
- Magicians Penn and Teller on, well, magic:
“Sometimes, magic is what happens if you put more time into something than any reasonable person would do”.
Source: Ali Abdaal’s Twitter Thread
1 question for you
What is something that I can quit today that would make tomorrow better?
Until next week,
Jonah