Newsletter 12/10/2022

Oct 12, 2022 6:31 am

Update for 12/10/2022

as Salaamu Alaykum,

My intention with these newsletters is to synthesise beneficial information for you in sha Allah.

The Podcast with Imam Tom Facchine was released this week. Big news coming in sha Allah

On Happiness

"One of my favourite most profound effects is the effect of taking a little time for gratitude, the simple act of counting your blessings. There’s evidence that in as little as two weeks, the simple act of writing three to five things you’re grateful for down on a piece of paper can improve your well-being, and significantly improve your well-being

There’s also evidence that expressing gratitude to other people, like writing a detailed thank you note to someone that you’ve always wanted to thank but never got a chance to, the act of doing that, at least in Marty Seligman and others’ data, can improve your wellbeing not just significantly immediately but can give you an improved wellbeing effect that lasts for over a month, right, which is crazy." Laurie Santos, cognitive scientist and Professor of Psychology at Yale University

On Unearned Moral virtue

Purification of the Heart by Hamza Yusuf Exceptionally odious is the practice of bragging about what one has not done or exerted any effort toward, like bragging about one’s ancestry and borrowing from some past nobility. Boasting is a problematic behaviour that universally evokes objection and is considered a spiritual disease.

Some quotes from my readings:

The best way to improve your ability to think is to spend time thinking.

One way to force yourself to slow down and think is to write. Good writing requires good thinking.

Clear writing gives poor thinking nowhere to hide, making a lack of understanding visible. Shane Parrish

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “a man is what he thinks about all day long.”

William James said, “the greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.”

Clinical Psychology by Susan Llewelyn and Katie Aafjes-van Doorn Most of us are strongly affected by our early childhood experiences, although we are not determined by them. Early experiences affect how we perceive other people, the world, and ourselves. We all view new relationships partly through the lenses of early important relationships.

The Pocket Oracle and Art of Prudence by Baltasar GraciÃ¡n

The only solution for anyone of exceptional gifts is to exercise moderation in showing them: an excess of excellence, but moderation in displaying it. The stronger a torch shines, the more it burns itself up and the less time it lasts. Scarcity of appearance is rewarded with real esteem.

Loserthink by Scott Adams

Your smart friends don’t have the right tools and techniques to get out of their mental prisons, and there’s a good chance that describes you as well. The business models of the press and social media act in concert to keep you in your mental prison, like some sort of indentured servant working on a click farm

Sizing People Up by Robin Dreeke and Cameron Stauth

The actions of vulnerable people are the easiest to predict because they are the most accountable.

Something unrelated but I found interesting:

The blemishing effect describes the customers' tendency to perceive positive information more strongly when some negative information is presented.

Ever seen some negative reviews for products/services? Well, they can actually make you more likely to purchase than if you were to only see positive news. The "blemishing effect" makes the overall product seem more authentic.

An interesting quiz to work out how much your time is worth to you. Most people should outsource at least some of their least favourite tasks that take a disproportionate amount of time. People will talk of "burnout" and write Instagram posts about how they are taking weeks away to walk in forests to recover, but delegation and management could likely have avoided it in the first place.

https://programs.clearerthinking.org/what_is_your_time_really_worth_to_you

One question to ask ourselves

We already know what we need to do. Why are we not doing it? Who is to blame?

I want to hear from like-minded people, please feel free to reply.

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🎥 These traits make you a high performer (within a coaching context)