041 | 🥣 Kintsugi, the Happiness Equation and Foundational Health

Happy Tuesday!

Here’s 3 things I think you need to know, 2 recommendations and a useful quote to bear in mind this week. Don’t forget to subscribe if you’re new!

💭 Three things you need to know:

🥣 Kintsugi

During a trip to a pottery cafe last weekend, I remembered reading about Kintsugi.

It’s a Japanese art where a cracked piece of pottery is mended using a nice shiny gold or silver glue. It gives a story to the object, rather than covering up its past. It’s a nice way to celebrate and move on from what would usually be seen as a bad thing.

We all make mistakes. Observing them, fixing them, and ending up in a better place than you started is the life equivalent of Kintsugi.

Avoiding mistakes - which can take the form of not going to the gym, or even not applying to a job you like - is a guaranteed way to prevent progress. In fact, people are obsessed with failing (here’s Gymshark CEO Ben Francis on the topic) because when you’re failing, at least you’re trying. And trying is how we improve.

Here’s a cool video about Kintsugi to watch when you’ve finished this email.

🧮 Happiness = Reality minus Expectations

Our total level of happiness at a given time equates to the extent to which what we are experiencing lives up to what we are hoping for.

There’s many ways to read this. My interpretation is that having low expectations is a great way to ensure you are always happy with your lot.

Having low expectations can sound a bit depressing, but it’s much easier to expect less, than to gain more. A simple way to do this is to remember that everything we see on social media is a performance - nobody is as happy or fulfilled as they probably may seem. Life is all about the ups and downs!

💪🏻 Foundational Health

As we move swiftly through 2022, I want to remember that before any of the habits, hobbies, side hustles, jobs, tips, and whatever else I write and think about, comes health.

Health is the foundation for all great habits, skills and experiences. And I’m splitting this into the following, in order of priority:

• Sleep

• Exercise

• Nutrition

Nobody needs to be reminded that we need more sleep, that we should eat more vegetables and that yoga is the one thing missing from our lives.

But these three things set the foundation for a healthy, happy life, where we are able to pursue amazing things and get as much out of life as possible.

✅ Two Recommendations:

☀️ Read/watch: NASA’s Parker Solar Probe

In December, a NASA probe managed to touch the surface of the sun and live to tell the tale.

Wait, what?

A quick Google tells me the sun is 5,500 degrees Celcius, so how is that possible? Fear not! NASA themselves are here to explain (Instagram post). And here’s a full write up on the NASA website.

🎧 Listen: Audible

If you already listen to audiobooks, feel free to read on. If you don’t, then take this as your cue to start today.

It took me ages to decide to finally listen to audiobooks, but I am so glad I finally started. I don’t need to tell you that it’s a great way to consume books when you’re on the move, but more importantly, some audiobooks are way better than the book version.

I’m currently listening to Will Smith’s memoir ‘Will’, read by Will Smith, which was clearly written for audio. I’m about 25% of the way through, and it’s already filled with raps, songs and gospel choirs - it’s been an amazing listen!

Now’s a great time to start - I was put off initially by the £7.99 subscription, but £7.99 for an audiobook a month is really worth it.

💬 And finally, one quote

As always, feel free to reply to these email if you found this useful!

Cheers 😄

Thanks!

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Cheers!

📸 BONUS: Photo of the Week