” Let’s be reasonable and add an eighth day to the week that is devoted exclusively to reading.”
Lena Dunham
Song: Dreams On The Way by Nevv
Thought: Part of my daily routine is to read. I end up reading quite a few books each year and I used to post a pic with all of them. It’s impressive to see my stack each year and helps me feel accomplished. But it’s also daunting to figure out what to share about them. So now I only share a couple in hopes you pick one up. Here’s the list for 2022:
Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown. First off, I love how this book is organized. It’s not in an alphabetical order of terms – its comprised of interconnected emotions and their meaning as a group. That’s how we feel them. My favorite quote is in the section on compassion and empathy. “It’s not just a feeling, it’s doing…Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the others…now I try to sit with them in the dark and show how to feel the discomfort.” I’m not asking anyone to fix me, I’m asking you to sit in the dark with me and let me feel through it. Moreover, I will do the same with those I care about.
The Digital Mindset by Paul Leonardi and Tsedal Neeley. I started a new job and new role within a digital company this year. I lot of things felt familiar but most of the terminology and approach was new to me. The learning curve felt steep. This book helped breakdown some key ideas and support a better foundation. “…developing a new mindset means that you build from your new skills to see the world in a new way and to change your behavior your digital mindset comes when you change how you approach collaboration, computation and change.”
Think Like a Rocket Scientist by Ozan Varol. Hands down my favorite read this year. I love most of Ozan’s content and share his blog posts frequently. I won’t spoil this one because I believe the experience in reading it is as valuable as the stories. If you struggle with failure or creativity or projects that take a long time, then this is the book for you. A quote I think about almost daily is “If we engage in resulting, we reward bad decisions that lead to good outcomes…the goal, then, is to focus on the variables you can control – the inputs – instead of the outputs.”
Let me know if you have any good reads for me in 2023. I encourage you to make reading a habit and see what happens. You might learn something.