Abundant Thinking, Purpose & Potential, The cure of travel, and the burden of perfection

The High Five - Edition #37

Hello friends,

Yet another edition of ‘The High Five’. This is the 37th edition. Thank you to all the subscribers - new and old :-).

Today’s recommendations are all about perspectives that help us look at life differently. I have saved these links over the last 3-4 weeks and I felt they all collectively make a good theme. So here they are:

1. The remarkable advantage of abundant thinking

2. Travel is no cure for the mind

3. There’s Nothing More Real Than Your Potential

4. A quote on Perfection

5. A question about skills

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The remarkable advantage of abundant thinking

Sometime last year, I came across this interesting concept of scarcity mindset and abundance mindset - that shapes our worldview and how we approach a lot of things - be it career or relationships or money etc. People with abundance mindset are known/found to have become more successful in their lives whereas people with scarcity mindset are found to be held back. This article elaborates more on how best we can cultivate a mindset of abundant thinking.

The author shares six practical tools to cultivate an abundance mindset:

1. Noticing: Abundance is your ability to see more in your life (e.g., options, choices, resources, etc.). Make an abundant mindset and self-awareness habits you practice daily by letting go of boundaries and limiting beliefs.

2. Neutrality: Neutrality is the capacity to release judgements and assumptions to create new possibilities and reduce being blinded by limiting beliefs. The more you suspend your judgment, the more you can learn and grow your power

3. Priming: Priming is engaging in an activity that boosts your emotional and mental energy such as sleeping right, eating well, exercising, and even looking at photos that make you happy.

4. Self-Compassion: Self-compassion is correlated with much greater grit. Take several self-compassion breaks during the day to gain emotional flexibility and resilience.

5. Generosity: Know your personal currency because research shows that the most powerful and happy people are at the center of large networks constantly giving to their connections. Form “giving circles” of friends and co-workers to brainstorm ideas, solve problems, and point out unseen opportunities with generosity and the understanding that there are no bad ideas. Find mentors who can give you certainty.

6. Gratitude: Looking at your world through a lens of gratitude reveals what might be hidden right in front of you. Take five minutes a day to focus on the good things that are happening right now.

Abundant Thinking is the ideal attitude and is a mindset that gives you the creative agency and grit to reach your vision and design your own life. Doing something that moves you toward your goals every day gives you built-in resilience. In every moment and interaction, you have the freedom to choose what you want to be like.

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Travel is no cure for the mind

I have recommended many posts of Lawrence Yeo before. His posts have some amazing thought-provoking and life-changing perspectives. This post is yet another deep dive into the process of humans contrasting the daily grind and travel, to make travel appear more glamourous and adventurous for our spirit. Lawrence has this amazing skill/gift to not only notice little things of life but also articulate them eloquently with the help of some amazing sketches.

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There is nothing more real than your potential

I can help but plug one more by Lawrence Yeo. While this article doesn’t have any of his creative sketches, I found the article thought-provoking as it has a philosophical rumination about purpose and potential. Lawrence tosses some very powerful quotes here, casually in the article.

• The domain of problem-solving is the most common venue in which we search for meaning, whether we like it or not.

• There is nothing more real than your potential, even if it can’t be seen or touched.

• An existential crisis arises when you are faced with the question of purpose, and you have no satisfying answer. This is a stressful place to be, but there is a silver lining. We learn best through trial, and error is our greatest teacher. By knowing what doesn’t work, you erase many of the potential life paths that were once on your landscape. And in their place, you can use the paintbrush of curiosity to color in new paths that resonate deep within.

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A quote on perfection that resonated with me a lot:

“Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving to be your best. Perfectionism is the belief that if we live perfect, look perfect, and act perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgement, and shame. It’s a shield. It’s a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it’s the thing that’s really preventing us from the flight.”

- Brene Brown (in her book - ‘The Gifts of Imperfection’)

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Curious question: What are 1 or 2 skills (not related to work) that you always wanted to learn?

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I discovered this interesting fusion album by Shashank Subramanyam this weekend. I thought it’s been quite some time since anything exciting is happening in the fusion world, but looks like there is a lot to explore.

Until next time.