Strands of Genius: Hug Someone, Be Kind To Yourself, Make a Sandwich
plus our thoughts on making space for you.
WRITING FROM | Athens, GA
WORKING ON | Beyond Boring Briefs Workshop | Remote Creativity Training | Writing Scopes | Making Space
LOOKING AHEAD
Oct 29 - Nov 16: Athens, GA
Nov 16 - 23: St. Petersburg, FL
Nov 24-Dec 3: Beersheba Springs, TN
Dec 3 - 10: TBD
Dec 10 - Jan 16: Nashville, TN
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
Oh boy. How are you? When we moved Strands [back] to Tuesdays, this particular Tuesday wasn’t what we had in mind. But. We’re grateful for the opportunity to appear in your inbox today, and always.
It’s Election Day in the USA — We hope that if you haven’t already cast your ballot, you find a polling place nearby and hop in line.
I’m about to reveal something that I really shouldn’t ;) A glimpse behind the curtain. This email isn’t the product of a well-crafted strategy targeted at specific audience persona, harvested from lists, driving towards conversion. This is Rosie, Ashley and Faris, writing to you, every week. Hi! We asked how you were up above, as we do, and you reply, as sometimes you do.
Last week was tough and one of you sent us a lovely thank you note for Strands that was really uplifting for us. We want to try to do the same for you, because we truly are grateful for you. Especially when you send nice notes that make us feel good, but every time you let us into your inbox, open this email, read it, or share it, we appreciate you.
These days it feels like everyone wants you do something. Everyone is out there shouting, exhorting, begging, persuading, fundraising, mobilizing. There are so many things that want or need your attention.
You are more than enough. You give more than you think. You are curious and you care. You don’t sling hate, you try to be kind, even with frayed nerves and twitchy Twitter fingers. You lift people up, your heart is open. You make time, even when you don’t have it. You persevere. You are here. You are still open and receiving. You give.
Today is going to be a lot. Especially for those of us in the USA. Lots of built up pressure will find ways to escape. Grant yourself grace.
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
The chance to vote. And: You.
You can do it. We can do it. We’ll see you on the other side.
:: THE LINKS ::
A HUG WILL ALWAYS MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER
Touch is our first sense and one that is being starved at our current social distance. Uniquely among our senses, touch is always mutual - we can’t touch without being touched in return. Being deprived of contact at a young age hinders our development, and being deprived as adults hinders our general sense of wellbeing. “Touch on the skin can reduce heart rate, blood pressure and cortisol levels – all factors related to stress – in both adults and babies. It facilitates the release of oxytocin, a hormone that provides sensations of calm, relaxation and being at peace with the world. Every time we hug a friend or snuggle a pet, oxytocin is released in our body, giving us that feel-good sensation.” With the global pandemic backdrop, it’s not the best time to be hugging strangers — but perhaps a masked & brief hug is OK. (Aeon & NY Times)
HOW TO BE KINDER TO YOURSELF
In this article and TED Talk, Susan David, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School, shares her life’s work exploring self-compassion. In a culture that champions relentless positivity, it can be hard to accept our negative emotions, but they are an unavoidable part of life. When we keep telling ourselves how we should and shouldn’t be feeling, we trap ourselves — so we always feel bad about feeling bad when we feel bad… making it harder to feel better and move forward. The most productive and motivated people and teams exhibit emotional agility. “Emotions are data, not directives.” (TED)
IT’S NATIONAL SANDWICH DAY!
It really is! It’s always something day [in fact there’s usually more than one - it’s also apparently ‘national housewife’s day’ today….erm….] but today why not spend the time to make a truly great sandwich? Faris loves sandwiches [men seem to more than women in popular culture?] so he’s going to mine this exhaustive A-Z of Sandwiches to find something to occupy his mind and mouth and impress his Rosie. (Bon Appetit)
[BONUS: A Twitter thread in which 80 or so people replied to Faris’ question: What’s the most interesting (but also tasty) sandwich you have ever had? Francesinha? Vada Pav? What’s the best type of toasted cheese sandwich in the world?]
Strands of Genius is currently read by 12,000 subscribers. Support us by sponsoring an issue, becoming a member of The School of Stolen Genius, or encouraging friends or colleagues to subscribe.
:: WHAT WE’RE THINKING ABOUT: MAKING SPACE FOR YOU ::
:: AND NOW… ELECTION DISTRACTION! ::
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed
Know someone who could use some inspiration in their inbox? Send ‘em our way!
It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)