#110: Different is all that’s left
Learn why standing out requires relentless creation, how self-discovery is about removing obstacles, why success feels empty without identity, and how welcoming fear can transform it.
👋 Welcome to this week’s Pursuit. My name is Amir, and each week, I go over 10 hours of content about personal growth and mental well-being, bringing you four insights and thought-provoking perspectives from leading thinkers. I hope to have a tiny impact on your life and inspire you with the tools to lead a more fulfilling life.
This week at a glance:
🎨 Different is all that’s left
🪨 The boulders that reveal you
🤔 How to top feeling your success is never enough
🌿 What happens when we welcome fear
🎨 Different is all that’s left
Good is no longer an option. Great is no longer an option.
Different is all that's left. Being unique is not a 'branding decision,' or a 'strategy,' or a 'unique style' you find on Pinterest. It's a relentless, consuming, torturous pursuit. Of searching for what makes you you, and, after finding it, turning it into something for everyone else.
And you only find it through output.
Stop consuming what everyone else consumes.
Turn off your mind. You will see things 25 minutes into a sauna session you can't see otherwise. Go for a long walk. Voices will come. Paths will appear.
Play. Play anything, that makes you feel like a kid again. Tapping into that version of yourself makes life simple.
Pay attention. What do you see that no one else sees? Your edge is often at what you notice, and the world ignores.
Give the world something it's never seen before. Do it relentlessly. Patiently. Most of your stuff will be forgotten. But one day…you’ll make something so real, so true, so unique, that it can’t be ignored. It embeds itself into people's lives. It becomes a part of them. And helps them become more themselves. Once you experience that, creating something new, from within you, that other humans love...
Your life will never be the same.
✨ From Zach Pogrob - How to Be Different
🪨 The boulders that reveal you
We often believe self-improvement is about adding—more skills, more knowledge, more work. But what if the real path is about removing? What if your true self isn’t something to build, but something to uncover?
Imagine a river, flowing effortlessly. That’s you, at your core. But along the way, life throws boulders into the stream—fear, shame, the need for approval. The water becomes turbulent, the path unclear.
For years, I thought the solution was to keep working on myself, to add more knowledge and skills, believing that if I just got better, I could create the life I wanted. But after 17 years of self-development, I realized I had been approaching it all wrong. It's not about adding to ourselves, but rather removing what's blocking our true potential.
Next time doubt or fear disrupts your flow, don’t resist it. Navigate it. Each boulder you confront brings you closer to the unshaken, limitless self that was there all along.
✨ From The Mindset Mentor - How to Create Happiness & Find Your Potential
🤔 How to top feeling your success is never enough
Start with eliminating what drains you
Instead of asking what will make me happy?, flip the question: what makes me miserable? It’s often easier to identify what drains you than to predict what will bring joy.
True contentment doesn’t come from wealth or imitation but from removing what makes life unbearable. It’s counterintuitive, but often, eliminating daily miseries is the fastest path to a life that actually feels good.
Build an identify that endures
Identity isn’t just what we do—it’s why we do it. Yet, too often, we tie our sense of self to a single pursuit, making us fragile when change inevitably arrives. Resilient identities are multifaceted, rooted in deep motivations rather than external roles.
So, how do you define yourself? By your profession, or by the values that drive you? The key to lasting fulfillment isn’t just success—it’s building an identity that can adapt, evolve, and withstand whatever life throws your way.
✨ From Modern Wisdom — #818 - Andrew Wilkinson - How to Stop Feeling Like Your Success Is Never Enough
🌿 What happens when we welcome fear
Notice where you’re afraid of connection and, instead of forcing it, tend to the fear. Tell the afraid part of you how brave it is for trying. Tell the scared part of you it’s welcome, it doesn’t need to rush, that you’ve got you. Let your fear be a place of beloved contact instead of a place of harsh shame. Let your fear point you toward what you might need. Let your fear become part of the process of trying instead of a place to hide within. Have reverence for what you once pushed away and notice how it shifts what’s possible, how it brings things to the light.
✨ From Lisa Olivera — Keep Going, Still
🎵 Music I’m listening to
You’ll find mostly Ethnotronica, Organic House, World, Disco, and Organic Electronic here:
🎧 If you appreciate the music I carefully select and haven't followed my Spotify playlists yet, now is the perfect time to hit that follow button and join me on this musical journey! 🎶
🌒 Pano: Danceable and electronic obscure songs
🌓 Sisy: Ethnotronica and organic house
🌑 Berghain: Dark, minimal techno and tech house
🌕 Heide: Groovy soul and disco house
🌞 Sonntag: Afterhours shit
🦥 Slow rave: Sleepy techno for tired danced
🌎 World: From Latin jazz to Turkish psych
🌚 Super Slow: For your intimate moments
Previously on Pursuit:
Good read 👍