I’m at an interesting point very early on in this journey where I’m trying to decide how personal I want this to be. One thing I have given some thought to is that oversharing in some aspects might have some merit.

I only started to take mental health challenges seriously four or five years ago. I wish it had been earlier, because I may have shared with more people and potentially made small differences here and there. Heck, maybe even big ones - but that’s a story for another day. So I’m looking to write a lot more this year about the intersection of belief and wellbeing. I think there are a lot of people in places where they feel condemned for not being in a good space (something to the effect of “you shouldn’t feel that way because G-d loves you”). I’d really like to put some resources out there that have been useful through my own meanderings.

Someone who has made an impact in this space is British comedian, James Acaster. He’s made a point about speaking out about his mental health challenges (I highly recommend watching his special, Cold Lasagne I Hate Myself) In the YouTube clip below he discusses how “2016 was the best year for music”. The short version: he had a breakdown in 2017 and bought 700 albums from 2016 to help him get through it.

The more people can talk about these sorts of challenges within their community, the better. It’s helpful to caveat that some over-correct the pendulum and splurge their lives on social media, which is probably also not helpful.

And my random, although somewhat related, thought for the week: instead of 5x’ing our productivity and 10x’ing our income or whatever it is that the latest podcast is telling you to do, what if we aim to 1.1x our peace? Easier said than done, but also probably a more worthwhile goal, or maybe a better starting point from which to pursue the other goals.

It would be great to hear from you if any of this resonated for you. Or if not, you can just send me an email with a thumbs down so that I can practice my resolve 😉

I’m away in the mountains next weekend so I will probably not publish anything (and will be delayed in responding to your email 🙂). I hope it’s a good week for you!

Dario