What do you do when things don't go according to plan?
It feels good to get our voice heard. To be understood. To share our anger and frustration with someone.
But complaining doesn't solve anything.
In an uncomfortable situation you can either leave, or accept. Not passive acceptance, but an active one. "It is what it is and I'm working to improve it".
Imagine sitting on a chair with a small stone on it. It hurts when you sit on it. When you complain, you might feel better but the stone is still there. And that likely won't change by complaining.
You stand up and look for a better place, or you accept the situation and remove the stone. Either way the problem is solved.
“When you complain, you make yourself into a victim. When you speak out, you are in your power. So change the situation by taking action or by speaking out, if necessary or possible. Leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness.” – Eckhard Tolle
Reading Recommendations
The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday: Book Summary, Key Lessons and Best Quotes
“Our perceptions determine, to an incredibly large degree, what we are and are not capable of. In many ways, they determine reality itself. When we believe in the obstacle more than in the goal, which will inevitably triumph?”
The Psychology of Immersion in Video Games | The Psychology of Video Games
Along with “OMGDUDESOAWESOME” one of the words that gamers like to toss around when describing their favorite titles is “immersive.” But what exactly does that mean? And what makes a game immersive…
Tracing at Slack: Thinking in Causal Graphs - Slack Engineering
“Why is it slow?” is the hardest problem to debug in a complex distributed system like Slack. To diagnose a slow-loading channel with over a hundred thousand users, we’d need to look at client-side metrics, server-side metrics, and logs. It could be a client-side issue: a slow network connection or hardware. On the other hand, …
Weekly Mindfulness Practice
Whenever you get the feeling today that you are a little bit tired, do this:
- Yawn deeply and firmly and end with a big smile.
- Stretch your arms upwards, and take a deep breath.
- Ask yourself: “How do I feel? Apart from being tired, am I hungry or thursty?”
- If you feel like you need to move, stand up and shake your body for 30 seconds. (In case you want to move mindfully for 6 minutes, here's a short yoga routine for you)
End Note
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Have a great week
Simon
PS: If you found an article you think others might like, and that fits this newsletter, I’d love it if you write me an email. Just reply!