š Welcome to Pursuit, where we explore the art of living well. 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. Join us on this journey of continuous improvement and discovery.
I'd like to give a big shoutout to my dear friend Alina, who has taken over the art generation for my newsletter. She's one of the most creative and talented people I know. Be sure to check out her amazing work.
This weekās discovery:
šŖ Escape the endless checklist
š£Ā The tenderness of emergence
š« Stepping away to appreciate more
š Seeing with cosmic eyes
If youāre interested in listening to this weekās newsletter, you can follow Pursuitās podcast on Spotify or other popular podcast platforms. Hereās this weekās episode:
šŖ Escape the endless checklist
There was a time when I imagined how much happier I would be if I worked at one of the top big tech companies. So far, I havenāt achieved this goal, but I found happiness by focusing on what I can do in my current job to make an impact, grow, and help others grow. Over time, I shifted my mindset from focusing on achieving specific goals to engaging in ongoing activities that give my life meaning and leave me satisfied.
In this episode of The Art of Manliness, Kieran Setiya, a professor of philosophy at MIT and the author of "Midlife: A Philosophical Guide," shares his thoughts on āHow to Shift Out of the Midlife Malaise.ā Hereās what stood out to me:
Picture yourself as a successful professional who has ticked off all the major life goals: a thriving career, a happy family, a beautiful home. Yet, there's an unsettling feeling of aimlessness. This sense of emptiness often comes from focusing too much on 'TELIC' activitiesātasks that have a clear end point. Once these goals are achieved, the satisfaction is short-lived, pushing you to chase the next big milestone. Life starts to feel like a never-ending checklist.
The antidote to this midlife malaise lies in 'ATELIC' activitiesāthose without a definitive finish line. Think of parenting, exercising, or reading. These activities are about the journey rather than the destination, providing ongoing satisfaction and meaning. The true worth of our actions shouldn't be tied to the end product but to the experience and meaning they bring to our lives. What ATELIC activities could you start embracing today?
š£Ā The tenderness of emergence
When I read Lisa Oliveraās writing, I feel like I have permission to fail, forget, and fall short. And this makes me feel unburdened. Many of us struggle with self-compassion and push ourselves too hard to always perform, improve, and grow. But we never ask ourselves, what if we are conditioned to grow regardless, like a tree? Does a tree push itself to grow faster or become taller? Or does it just grow at the natural pace of life?
Being fully seen by others might bring rejection. They might leave. Your core fears might come true. Yet what resides within you is a depth of okayness that no one can take from you, whether or not they stay. You will keep growing this depth, this solid foundation of self-attachment that makes way for being your truest self with others regardless. And your fear wonāt assure you there will be plenty of people who stay, but itās true: there will be plenty of people who stay.
Youāre allowed to make the wrong decisions, fail, mess up, start over, get in over your head, need help, need your own depth of compassion and forgiveness while you emerge. Youāre allowed to emerge and realize your emergence needed to take another direction. Youāre allowed to emerge and recognize what still isnāt working. Emergence doesnāt require perfection or permanence. It just requires your willingness to keep going, to keep unfurling into your most real shape.
š« Stepping away to appreciate more
In this episode of The Next Big Idea, neuroscientist Tali Sharot discusses how habituation affects our perception of life and how disrupting familiar patterns can spark new joy.
Ever notice how the thrill of a new gadget fades after a few weeks? Emotional habituation works similarly, dulling our responses to both the bad and the good in our lives. Over time, we might stop appreciating our home, relationships, or even the simple pleasure of a stocked fridge. Economist Tiber Skitowski suggests that true pleasure comes from the incomplete and intermittent satisfaction of desires. In other words, you need to step away from things to reappreciate them when you come back. This idea of "resparking" is powerful ā after a break, even mundane things can seem amazing again. Imagine taking a short trip and returning home to find everything feels fresh and joyful. This is also true in relationships. If you take a trip with your own friends, your sense of longing for your partner grows, reminding you not to take them for granted. So, what's one small break you can take this week to respark joy in your life?
š Seeing with cosmic eyes
This video of Alan Watts on death will give you goosebumps. Hereās a teaser:
The ego isn't my true self. My real self includes the body's functionsāblood circulating, lungs breathing, nerves firingāall happening without my conscious control, yet they are me. I breathe, walk, and think without knowing how, just like hair grows. The essence of my being lies deeper than the ego. Think of the body as an eye; it extends from the universe and its boundless energy. So, the universe is "eyeing" in the same way a tree apples or a star shines. The tree is at the heart of the apple, just as the star is to the shine. My self, known here as Alan Watts, is simply a name for this organism emerging from its environment, with the center of all seeing rooted in the Eternal universe.
šø Love the quotes? Join me on Instagram for daily doses of inspiration, highlights from my readings, and more thought-provoking content. Follow @pursuit.community and let's continue our journey of growth and discovery together!
šµĀ Discovery for your ears
Youāll find mostly Ethnotronica, Organic House, World, Disco, and Organic Electronic here:
š§ 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! š¶
šĀ Pano: Danceable and electronic obscure songs
šĀ Sisy: Ethnotronica and organic house
šĀ Berghain: Dark, minimal techno and tech house
šĀ Heide: Groovy soul and disco house
šĀ Sonntag: Afterhours shit
šĀ World: From Latin jazz to Turkish psych
šĀ Super Slow: For your intimate moments
Previously on Pursuit:
