#63: Endlessly Upgrading Myself
#NoticeRevisit #SustainedEffort #TransformativeYes #WorthyFlaws
👋 Welcome to this week's Pursuit. My name is Amir, and each week I go over 10 hours of content in pursuit of living a meaningful, fulfilling, and balanced life. I'm grateful to share my findings with you and hope I can have a tiny impact on your life. Subscribe now if you haven't already!
This week’s discovery:
⚔️ Tackling Conflict - A Two-Step Process
🚣🏼♂️ Greatness Is Not Accidental
👍🏼 Saying Yes!
🚀 Seeking to Endlessly Upgrade Myself
🗒️ A Quote I'm Pondering On
🎵 Music I'm Listening To
⚔️ Tackling Conflict - A Two-Step Process
Addressing negative situations in a non-confrontational way is an art. Let's imagine a scenario where someone's actions are fanning the flames of a conflict. The aim is to help them see this, but without sounding judgmental. It's a delicate balance. For instance, consider a child reacting negatively to a situation. The immediate response isn't a lecture, but a simple comment - "You just reacted." The goal is to make them aware, not defensive. But the real teachable moment? It isn't in the heat of the reaction. It comes later, when emotions have cooled down, and there's space for reflection. Tackling it head-on in the moment could lead to defensiveness or misunderstanding. The trick is to address it in the moment without confrontation then circle back for a deeper discussion later. It's a two-step process: notice, then revisit. A bit like dealing with a child who bites - address it, then talk about it when emotions aren't running high.
🚣🏼♂️ Greatness Is Not Accidental
When I see outsized success I’m aware it’s a result of trying more, sometimes trying and failing for years or in a way that lacks social recognition. When I’m moved to tears by mastery of craft — the elegance of movement, of process, it’s due to devotion of time and spirit. Things don’t just become great by accident. Most times its a long and quiet slog with no obvious return.
👍🏼 Saying Yes!
Saying 'yes' can lead to extraordinary experiences and personal growth. The notion of stepping through unfamiliar doors, regardless of how daunting they may seem, often results in valuable experiences and insights. It's not about recklessly pursuing danger or novelty for the sake of an interesting story. Instead, it's about embracing the unknown and understanding that the most profound transformations often occur in the most ordinary moments. These transformations are not always visible to the outside world, as they primarily happen in our minds. When we say 'yes', we defy the arrogance of assuming we already know what's behind the door. We open ourselves to new paths and possibilities. It's important to remember that a 'yes' can always become a 'no'. If an opportunity doesn't pan out as expected, you can always step back. However, the refusal to explore out of fear or prejudice often leads to missed opportunities. Embracing the things that scare us can often lead to the most rewarding experiences
🚀 Seeking to Endlessly Upgrade Myself
What I want to say most is that I am not an improved or better version of myself than I was a year ago because that is no longer a goal — but I am a truer version, a closer-in version, a more expansive and open version, a less clinging-to-certainty version, and that, to me, counts for a lot more than seeking to endlessly upgrade myself. What I want to say most is that when we let ourselves be imperfect, flawed, and able to make mistakes and still be worthy of care, we can also let others be their fully human selves, imperfect and flawed and still worthy of our care. That is the kind of world I want to live in. What I want to say most is that we get to change our mind, and perhaps this rearranging of the self isn’t flaky or noncommittal but is instead an honoring of our capacity to take in information, experience, and data in order to make ourselves new over and over again.
🗒️ A Quote I'm Pondering On
The task is not so much to see what no one has yet seen, but to think what nobody has yet thought, about that which everybody sees.
🎵 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
🌎 World: From Latin jazz to Turkish psych
🌚 Super Slow: For your intimate moments
Previously on Pursuit:
Great article and playlists!