#WritingOutput/Newsletter
Random Walk Newsletter, Issue 29 ~ The Farther Away from the Crowd, the Closer to Yourself#
Hello everyone, today is the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, and tomorrow is New Year's Eve. It's the last working day and also happens to be Friday. I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year and good health in the Year of the Rabbit.
Recently, while watching a program, I heard a sentence that I decided to use as the title: "The Farther Away from the Crowd, the Closer to Yourself."
Observations & Insights#
About Learning
Before many people want to learn a certain skill, the most common question they ask is, "How do I learn? Can you recommend a good method?" Recently, I came across a viewpoint: "If there are many learning methods available in the market for something you want to learn, then the most important thing to master it is perseverance, not the method."
Just go ahead and do it, without making the mistake of having high expectations but low skills.
If you want to master a skill, you need to delve into it. For example, if you want to learn how to cook a dish, you can't just taste the flavor, you need to have a clear understanding of the ingredients.
The Farmer's Mindset
Let me ask you a question: If the crops in the field are not growing well, will the farmer shouting at them help? You must find it ridiculous to shout at crops, thinking it would be effective.
Now, let's change the question. You wrote an article and shouted at the readers, even though the audience has become an individual. Would that be effective? If you're selling something and shouting at the customers, blaming them for not buying, would that be effective?
Therefore, the farmer's mindset reminds us to understand the characteristics and laws of things, accept things that we cannot change, avoid getting angry, and start doing things that we can control. (It's somewhat similar to Stoic philosophy.)
Letting Go
From James Clear's Newsletter:
"At the end of each year, I ask myself two questions:
- What do I want to create in this New Year?
And, perhaps even more importantly,
2) What do I want to let go of?"
When we set goals, we often think about what we want to achieve. But have you ever thought about what you are willing to give up in order to obtain that thing? In fact, the latter is even more important. Sacrifice is necessary for gain.
Listen & Read#
12 Rules for Life
I haven't read this book, but I came across some related content in another article and noted down a few points that I found useful.
- Pay attention to your children. As a father, I naturally agree with this viewpoint. The author says that if your child is sharing something with you, you must put down your phone and listen attentively, unless you want them to stop telling you anything in the future.
- Clean up your own room before complaining about the world.
20 Lectures on Life's Confusions
I have been listening to this book on WeChat Read recently. The content feels a bit like a mixed bag, but I have gained some insights. I heard a segment about the early development of positive psychology. In fact, positive psychology originated from research on learned helplessness. When most people focus on the dog that lies there whimpering after being shocked, there are still a few dogs that jump out of the cage. What does this imply?
One point that can be derived from this is that in most cases, we only think about psychology when we have difficulty controlling negative emotions. I am the same way. For example, when I feel that my recent emotions are problematic or my thoughts are deviating, I actively seek out psychology books to read and find answers. This is normal.
But perhaps we can also consider why we can't study psychology when we don't have negative emotions, such as positive psychology. We don't have to wait until there is a problem to feel the need for it, just like we always say that we should pay attention to maintaining our physical health in daily life and not wait until we get sick to start taking it seriously. Prevention is better than cure. The same applies to the psychological aspect.
That's all for this issue of the Newsletter. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. Thank you for reading.