What I Shared and Saved in November & December ✨

Thoughts, notes, and bits that made me 1% Wiser this month.

Every month, I come across ideas, quotes, and conversations that stay with me a little longer than the rest. Some I share with friends, others I save to enjoy again later.

This is a small collection of both:
What I shared and saved in November & December.
The thoughts, notes, and bits that made me 1% wiser these couple of months.

Maybe one of them will do the same for you✨

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1. My favorite note

Sinem Günel nailed the entire premise of my publication in one note:

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2. A podcast episode I loved - The most vulnerable emotion: Joy

One thing Brené Brown does exceptionally well is verbalising specific emotional experiences in a way that brings immense clarity on my own inner world.
It feels like turning on a big spotlight in a dusty, cluttered room, so I can get to work and clear the mess.

In this conversation on The Diary of a CEO, here’s the part that made me feel the most seen (minute 1:14:38).

“The most vulnerable human emotion: Joy.
Joy is so vulnerable that when some of us get close to it, we dress rehearse tragedy to prepare for disappointment.
Like it’s so vulnerable that we don’t even let ourselves feel joy because we’re so afraid someone’s going to rip it away and we’re going to get sucker punched by disappointment. Yes or No?”

YES, Brené!

“We call it foreboding joy.
That joy is so good just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
And people who have trauma histories are really like that.
Like for me, because of the way I was raised, when something good happens, I’m like, “Oh god, now what’s going to happen? Statistically, bad shit’s going to roll around any second now.”

I meaaan! 🎯
She goes on to explain how gratitude can help us navigate those moments.
A gem of a podcast episode overall 💎

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3. This old post of mine - Justice Is a Myth. Disaster Is Inevitable. And Why That’s Actually Great News

November was the darkest month I’ve ever known.
In the spinner wheel of life, it was time for my most feared demon: Grief.

And although I knew the theory, “life’s not supposed to be fair, yada yada yada”, there was no escape from facing the storm head on.

I had to return to one of my own pieces, to remind myself that this was nothing but an expected part of the experience of being human. It helped a little.

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4. A different approach to meditation - Why Meditation Feels Hard (And How to Break Through)

If you’ve been reading my stuff lately, you know I’ve been a little obsessed with meditation. I desperately want to make it part of my daily life.

This article from my friend Nick Hashemi is an excellent introductory piece for those of us who find the practice hard.
Nick’s unique soothing voice is one of my favorite on Substack. Enjoy.

More on the subject from Nick and 5 other brilliant creators in our “Trying to Meditate” mini-series.
Here’s chapter 1 if you missed it: What If We’ve Been Thinking About Meditation All Wrong?

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5. On Emotions in the Workplace - Acting like emotions don't exist is a poor strategy

An incredibly clever piece on emotions at work from Sasha Chapin. I loved this part:

“Often, learning how to communicate emotion is more like getting over your fear of heights than it is like learning a recipe. The hard part is that it’s scary, not that you don’t know the right words.”

Do it scared. Just do it. It’s always worth it.

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That’s it for this month’s collection! If one of them stays with you too, then it’s done its job ✨

Here’s to getting 1% wiser, one idea at a time.

What’s one idea, quote, or moment that made you 1% wiser this month? Let me know in the comments👇🏼