Good Notes #2
Good Notes
I’ve been worrying quite a lot, you?
1. Thinking-
Perspective- I can get tangled up and forget about that serene mental flex that is, perspective. I worry about things as if they are fixed and my current mindset, dictates its journey. On a recent gallery trip , Pedro Reyes: Sanatorium exhibition, I came across this piece as part of a wider collection, and maybe it was the typeface, or the presentation of it, the wording itself, or all of it together, it made me again think about how tangible shifting of perspective is:
This painting. How we see things, how we choose to see things, how we can change how we see things, how differently things can look and feel depending on the perspective we choose:
Not to mention, some words from a School of Life article that perturbed me but also reassured me, maybe its echoes the idea of worry more so, but it resonated with me and my worry.
2. Ted talks-
The work we do doesn’t need to remain on one straight line, it can be squiggly and still successful, whatever that success looks like to you. Sarah Ellis and Helen Tupper talk through this on their Ted talk, ‘The best career path isn’t always a straight line’.
3. Welcome-
I have created a website, it’s a working progress, but the content is growing and I want it to be the place you go to for writing tips.
4. Watching-
I watched Queen and Slim the other week- WOW. This analysis explains the films social and historical context. Though a screaming example of the injustices Black people are still facing. Hold off until you watch it though, spoilers in there.
5. Listening-
to Elizabeth Day’s How to Fail with guest Graham Norton. Graham spoke about not being expert in anything but being good at many things. He put it as being a ‘hobbyist’, where he has turned his hobbies into professional endeavours. Hard but probably possible. With realistic planning and a robust attitude, why not?
6. World-
This map of Africa shows how it has been divided by languages and ethnicities- pretty incredible.
7. Realities-
swap your view for someone else’s window- how might this infuse your way of working?
8. Celebrities-
There’s very, very few celebrities I actually listen to as a means of (life) guidance or direction- but Lena Dunham’s honesty about her kaleidoscope emotions and subsequent anxiety gets me every time. She is a survivor of her own rough and tumble traverses of life. Reading her words takes some of the edge off worry.
I’m going to be honest:
it’s been hard to get work done. With the sun shining and on holiday out of my usual flux, work has been hard to do. As a result, I am procrastinating. Life guru, Ness Labs have shared useful teachings on procrastination. Take-aways (for me): I need to not let the bigger, more pressing, heavier, higher-stakes work intimidate me (therein follows the procrastination), but tackle the big stuff.
Thank you for reading.
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Thank you for reading. I am Emma and I publish writing tips and prompts on my website. I am an IELTS tutor and tutor for conversational English.