Saturday 7

Published: Sat, 09/07/19

Hey, good morning!

Here is your Saturday 7 roundup of this week's findings, fun, and f'ups...

🖼 What I went all week without doing -

For the 1st time this year I went the whole week without posting on social media. This wasn't intentional. Quite the opposite. By nature, I'm more of a private person. Not a big sharer. I have to force myself to post on social media. Literally I put "Post on Social Media" on my calendar. I often contemplate ditching social media. But I resist this temptation because I believe if you have something worth saying, it's worth sharing, and social media is where people are. So I'll likely get back on the social posting schedule this week :)

🎉 What becomes fun -

Even though I don't love social media, one thing I've learned is that what starts off feeling like "work" can become fun. In fact, I think the things we enjoy the most often start as labors of love. When I 1st started going to the gym it was work. Now it's one thing that I get to look forward to every day. When I started my "learn how to draw" New Year's challenge this year, it felt a lot like work. Now I look forward to this time every day. The key is passing through the dip.

🍌 What's coming -

I didn't post on social media this week because I've been deep in projects. I prefer doing deep work. Social media often feels shallow. It lacks context. The reason my articles tend to be so long is that in order to make a point, I feel like I need to paint a complete picture. For example, I've been working on an article about carbohydrates for months. It's a behemoth. I could post on social media "carbs are bad." And in certain contexts I think that is accurate. Yet without the whole picture, it's also completely wrong. Anywho - this article on carbs should be finished this month - and I'll let you know right here in the Saturday 7 when it is.

😟 What social media helps feed -

Last year I read two articles that stuck in my head. The first article, "On Needing to Find Something to Worry About," shows how worry is often triggered on false premises. We worry about what people think of us and social media feeds this. But here's why you shouldn't care.

🧠 What quote I've been thinking about -

"...things that made [retirees] happiest in retirement were quite simple: not using an alarm clock, the ability to pursue a hobby, not needing to commute and the flexibility to spend time with family."

😍 What makes up for the bad -

I know, I've been tough on social media here. But it isn't all bad. In fact, despite it's insidious traps and pitfalls, I keep using it because I think it can be so powerfully good. The key is to use it with a high degree of consciousness. Meaning: use social media, don't let it use you. My #1 strategy for this is being very selective of who I follow. I know that everything I see and hear influences how I think and feel, so I choose to follow positive people, inspiring people, insightful people, and let their knowledge, skills, and influence rub off on me.