Strands of Genius: Learned Optimism, New Technology + Old Ways of Living, Ownership in a Digital World
plus our thoughts on: resolutions, intentions, and growth
WRITING FROM | Nashville, TN
WORKING ON | Final updates for the new School of Stolen Genius design, new business proposals, catching up on email
LOOKING AHEAD
Jan 26-Feb 5 | Isla Mujeres, Mexico
Feb 5-26 | Mexico City, Mexico
Feb 26-March 7 | Isla Mujeres, Mexico
March 7-10 | Isla Holbox, Mexico
March 10-16 | TBD: Holbox or Cancun, Mexico
March 16-20 | TBD: Atlanta, GA
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
On Wednesday, we fly to Mexico. (We planned to fly last week, but then there was a possibility of snow, and we had some friends in town, and our March plans changed a little, so we delayed our flights.) We’ll have been in the USA for almost, but not quite, two months.
In that time, a whole lot happened…. We got dressed up in costumes, danced our asses off with friends, and hugged everyone for at least 30 seconds too long… We raised $4k for the South Cumberland Plateau through our annual Wholemeal Whiskey Weekend… Faris’ mom died and together we learned (ahem, are learning) about just how complicated grief can be… We spent some time in the mountains on our own and some time in Atlanta and Nashville with friends… We celebrated Christmas outside, and socially distanced, with Covid (I was the only one who tested positive in my family and didn’t have symptoms, so feeling especially thankful for science and medicine and masks!)… We got some quality time with our Nashville-based niblings… We read a lot of books, and watched a lot of TV, and went on a whole bunch of walks… We rung in the 2022 with some dear friends… and then celebrated again with our friends who couldn’t come because of COVID. We had friend dates and phone dates and siblings dates and couples dates, and it was all very life-giving.
The social stuff was really, really wonderful, because while I’m so incredibly excited for some warm weather and a change of scenery, it’s sometimes a bit lonely getting back on the road. (On that note, if you know anyone we should meet up with in Mexico City, please let us know!)
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
good friends & good times, Mario Party, Mario Kart Eighhhhhhht, Erin&Eric, Rachel&Mike, Madi&Paulie, Alex&Collin, Lauren, Judy, Tailor Nashville, tasting menus with friends, Pinewood Social, Mexican Gothic, walks and water bottles, the brand new Sanctuary for Yoga, Daphne’s wonderful class, Bourbon barrel aged wine, & YOU.
:: THE LINKS ::
LEARNED OPTIMISM: HOW TO CULTIVATE A TALENT FOR POSITIVE THINKING
When optimists and pessimists are faced with predicting events, pessimists are more likely to predict negative outcomes, and have more trouble bouncing back from a perceived negative event. Dr. England argues that this is because of a “different outlook on permanence, pervasiveness, and personalization.” She outlines the difference in how optimists and pessimists view these three key things, and how that impacts us. Dr. England writes, “It is important to note that optimism and pessimism are not binary, absolute concepts. In his research paper “The Neural Basis of Optimism and Pessimism”, David Hecht of University College London’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience explains that positive and negative expectations of life are part of a continuum. Optimism in one part of your life, such as your career, can be contrasted by pessimism in another area, such as physical health. In addition, absolute optimism should not become a goal. While pessimism can lead to avoidance behaviours and even low mood, over-optimism can lead to reckless, risk-taking behaviours. Hecht notes that to live successfully, a fine balance must be found between the two states of expectation.” Learned optimism helps with not only our mental health, but physical health as well — and I really love Dr. England’s approach with the ABCDE of Learned Optimism. (Ness Labs)
SAME OLD: WHAT’S THE POINT OF IMAGINING NEW TECHNOLOGY WITHOUT NEW WAYS OF LIVING?
“What The Jetsons really has in common with today’s technofutures is an unchanging, uncritical view of society itself. For decades, popular imaginings of the future have promised difference, but delivered more of the same… These technofutures regurgitate essentially the same office or kitchen as in decades past, and the same kinds of users and workers to inhabit them.
Such recycled futures masquerade as innovation to suck the life out of other possibilities. Space colonies and voice-controlled kitchens take on an air of inevitability despite their many postponements and disappointments, while critical refusal of these futures, or truly alternative visions, are cast as implausible. It is telling that our dominant technofutures have traditionally focused on two sites — the office and the kitchen — for this process of social conservation. Combined, they present a distinctly mid-century suburban ideal: masculinized labor and femininized (unpaid) labor; the full-time company employee and the nuclear home.
As Bertolt Brecht once put it: “I stood on a hill and I saw the Old approaching, but it came as the New.” - Sun Ha Hong (Real Life Mag)
DIRT: I’M NOT OWNED
Daisy Alioto has a newsletter called “Dirt” and in this recent edition speaks with Parker Higgins (the Director of Advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, and previously directed copyright activism at the Electronic Frontier Foundation) about the idea of ownership, as it relates to physical and digital goods… ya know, like NFTs, books, music, etc. Some really smart thinking, well articulated perspectives that gave me a lot of food for thought. (Dirt)
Strands of Genius is currently read by 13,000 subscribers. Support us by sponsoring an issue, becoming a member of The School of Stolen Genius, or encouraging friends or colleagues to subscribe.
The publisher of PAID ATTENTION (Kogan Page) - is having a 25% Flash Sale this week!
COUPON CODE: FLASH25 & PAID ATTENTION for 25% OFF!
Tues 25th - Jan 31st via www.koganpage.com
:: WHAT WE’RE THINKING ABOUT: NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS ::
Apparently 87% of them fail. Or 95%. Or maybe even 100%. It really depends on where you’re getting your data, but it seems the headlines are all the same: New Year’s Resolutions Fail… (And Yet We Keep Setting Them.)
I’m not a fan of rules, and it turns out that applies even to rules that I myself make ;)
I also don’t love so much of the “New Year, New You” language, which seems to be telling us that we aren’t good enough as we are. Instead, we need to give up sugar for 30 days, or alcohol, or cigarettes, or TV, or some other vice entirely. And by doing so, we’ll be creating this new, better version of ourselves? (But honestly, fuck that.)
Sure, repetition can be powerful when we’re building habits. But at the same time, these 30-Day Deprivation Challenges feel like they’re targeting us at our weakest. After the holidays, when we’ve all eaten a little more unhealthily, or when we’re thinking about being beach body ready for a vacation that’s months away.
“We are at a moment during the year when many people will try, and even regard themselves as duty bound, to go on a diet. But if dieting is a practice that causes a great deal of harm — in the form of pain, suffering, anxiety and sheer hunger — and rarely works to deliver the health or happiness it has long advertised, then it is a morally bad practice. It is plausibly not only permissible but obligatory for individuals to divest from it, to condemn it and not to teach it to our children, either explicitly or by example.” - Diet Culture is Unhealthy. It’s Also Immoral.
I’m a big believer in articulating intentions and goals, but rarely are my New Year’s intentions those SMART goals that they have you set in work — you know, the ones that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound. Don’t get me wrong - I understand why SMART goals are important in work contexts, and how they could be useful in life contexts, but I find them incredibly de-motivating.
I struggle with consistency, and more specifically with time-based requirements. Our lives operate on irregular timing, and every day has a new agenda. And still, I find goals and intentions helpful.
For example, the past few years, I’ve been working on hand-standing. (If you follow me on Instagram, sorry not sorry for all the hand-standing content!) I don’t have a set “completion” goal, like being able to balance for a certain number of seconds, or being able to do a specific variation.
There’s a lot of work that goes into a handstand: whole body strength, arm strength, wrist flexibility, shoulder opening, core activation, balance, and proprioception, amongst other things. I really appreciate that because it offers me a number of ways to work towards the goal on any given day. Some days I’ll do yoga, other days I’ll go for a walk, and some days it’s just about kicking up between conference calls.
New Year’s Resolutions tend to focus on the negative, in my mind. They require resolve and change, from the you that exists. New Year’s Intentions (and let’s be honest, they don’t have to coincide with the new year!) focus on the journey, rather than the destination. They honor you as a multidimensional person, and the language doesn’t necessarily define the metric by which you succeed or fail.
I’ve written a letter to myself this year, something that I can revisit throughout the year. Might be too cheesy for you, but if it inspires you, I invite you to steal the practice and write a note to yourself. I wrote mine in my iPhone ‘Notes’ because that’s where I’m most likely to re-read and reference it, but you could use a real paper and pen, a google doc, or if you’re feeling real fancy, you could even use FutureMe.org to send the letter to yourself in the future. (I’ll get my below letter at the start of each quarter, because I think it’s both fun and helpful to be reminded throughout the year.)
:: AND NOW… YOU ::
“You will blossom, even in the moments you are most convinced you are failing and falling behind. It won’t always be easy, and it won’t always be beautiful, but you’ll get to the other side. When you’re there, you’ll see all along that there was a reason, there was a plan, there was a destination. You were becoming the person you were meant to be, even if you didn’t know it at the time. You were growing through the very things you thought were sent to push you off your path. They were, in fact, leading you right to it.”
(I saw this post on Instagram and loved it. I wrote it down, but failed to write down the account/author. I *did* spend a little time on the internet trying to find it, but I couldn’t. So enjoy, but know that someone much more eloquent than me authored it!)
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? Forward this email to them! We appreciate you spreading the word.
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 :)