Media picks, March 14 - April 19

I. Health & Balance

1. According to the recent studies, people who frame events in their lives—even negative ones—in positive ways have better mental health. The article provides a description of 4 major themes you should pay attention to if you want to reframe your personal narrative into a healthier one.

2. Brene Brown's another way. I recently got really excited about her book.

3. One more benefit of eating broccoli: "sulforaphane slows down the destruction of cartilage in joints associated with …osteoarthritis. …Sulforaphane is released when eating cruciferous vegetables such as Brussels sprouts and cabbage, but particularly broccoli".

II. Maker skills

4. A clear explanation of the WRAP model for decision-making.

III. Warmth

5. "I Followed My Stolen iPhone Across The World, Became A Celebrity In China, And Found A Friend For Life" travelogue by a BuzzFeed writer.

Media picks, March 2-13

I. Writing skills

1. Checklist: Is this content valuable?

2. Sales writing: You don't really know your customers, unless… you can finish their sentences (e.g., "Submit" to be replaced with "Start my trial").

II. Maker skills

3. BigThink video (2:39 min): Neil deGrasse Tyson' advice.

4. BigThink video (2:34 min): The Common Character Trait of Geniuses (answer: deep focus).

5. Video (2 min): Richard Branson's top 5 tips for becoming an entrepreneur (2012).

III. Voice

6. Pauses & voice modulations in this video (3:56 min). Would love some of the pauses to be longer though.

IV. People skills

7. The practice: Bless.

Blessing does not mean approving; you can wish people well while also disengaging from them.

Fundamentally, blessing means treating another person as a “thou” not an “it,” not a means to your ends. Think of “thou” as a verb. To bless people is to thou them.

8. Video, first 44 seconds: Richard Branson' advice.

9. Quiz: Feeling cared about (pdf). One of the statements to be rated:

I’ve reflected a lot on my childhood, and I have an accurate, well-rounded understanding of the ways that my parents and other key caregivers related to me – especially as a young child – and how this affected me while growing up.

Media picks, February 23 - March 1

1. Smiling changes your brain.

2. Two Easy Ways to Feel Like You Have More Time. A set of 10+ deep breaths is one of them.

3. Classifications of satire: Horatian vs. Juvenalian vs. Menippean.

4. See deep wants.

When you recognize the deeper wants of others, they feel seen and are less likely to be reactive.

5. "The price of admission" in long-term relationships.

6. Marion Cotillard's Screen Test with Lynn Hirschberg, 2015.

Media picks, February 16-22

1. Entrepreneurial Shame... I'm doing well but haven't really worked for years.

An enlightening read, including the top comments.

2. Something small, every day

The day is the only unit of time that I can really get my head around. Seasons change, weeks are completely human-made, but the day has a rhythm. The sun goes up; the sun goes down. I can handle that.

…We’re all busy, but we all get 24 hours a day. People often ask me, “How do you find the time for the work?” And I answer, “I look for it.” …You find it in the cracks between the big stuff—your commute, your lunch break, the few hours after your kids go to bed. You might have to miss an episode of your favorite TV show, you might have to miss an hour of sleep, but you can find the time to work if you look for it.

3. What pushes scientists to lie? in The Guardian

…Not only are most experiments not reproduced, most are probably not reproducible. This statement will shock only those who have never worked in a wet lab. Those who have will already suspect as much.

…In anonymous surveys, almost 2% of scientists actually admitted to falsifying data at least once in their careers, and about 14% had witnessed others doing so.

A reminder to be sceptical if there is only one study that supports an interesting finding.

4. Thomas Newman — Whisper of a Thrill

Rediscovered the movie yesterday.

Media picks, February 9-15

1. An hour-long interview with Lena Dunham, by a good interviewer (Jan 14, 2015)

One of those videos that make you very aware of the cultural level of your current social environment and the quality of your life.

I liked the 1st season of Girls, then lost interest somewhere between the first episodes of season 2 (or 3?), but this interview was interesting, enjoyable anyway — she is very well-spoken and level-headed here, plus some useful stuff is being discussed, plus she is friendly with the interviewer, so there is a relaxed and trustful atmosphere.

But the disappointing thing about more or less in-depth interviews with artists is that you inevitably find out that there were just particular events and experiences that gave those people the unique sensibilities/obsessions/level of confidence they are praised for now (e.g., a theatre camp as a small kid? with Meryl Streep' daughters?). I.e. the whole magic gets dispelled: you are reminded that those artists weren't born jewels — their upbringing, social environment had a lot to do with the outcome (+ work, but that's just about learning to channel oneself out in a packaged way, so…).

Not sure why it is disappointing… Because magic is fun? Because I start feeling more responsible for finding use to my own "jewel" stuff?

2. A 25-min long interview with Miranda July, by an inexperienced interviewer (Feb 4, 2015)

The interviewer' behavior is occasionally cringe-inducing (but of course he will get better with experience), so I watched this video with skipping.

Top 3 things:

• master/servant modes (was a timely reminder);
• curiosity: artificially increasing stakes, to motivate oneself;
• curiosity: "somebody is watching, you have to do a good job, be a good person" frame of mind

And that she stayed visually unperturbed throughout it, despite the interviewer' mistakes. 

3. The Cruelty Crisis: Bullying Isn't a School Problem, It's a National Pastime by Brené Brown, 2010

I saw her TED talk about vulnerability years ago, liked the way it was done, enjoyed/related to the comedic moments, but wasn't able to receive the "message" — it was unclear how to apply what she talks about to my life.

But this article gives clear answers.

4. [ a photo I'm not going to share here ]

Made me realize that within 1 to 12 months the region I live in might become a place to move away from, if I'm interested in staying alive and functional. 

It all can turn into a "joke", or not. Nobody can predict anything. "Defensive pessimism" is a right thing to focus on, that's for sure. 

And my subconscious keeps forcing me to finally read The Diary of Anne Frank.

5. Maria Callas - One Fine Day (Madame Butterfly)

It just happened. I came across The Guardian's Q&A pieces with artists (e.g., Bjork, Miranda Hart), and they have there a question about a song, and from the ones I checked out One Fine Day is the only one I wanted to listen to again, and then again, and again.

Oh, and the most frequent answer about the key life lesson in the Q&As I've read is… humility.

And invisibility as a superpower, which was comforting to me, but surprising.