On the importance of knowing what you want
Edition #058
Hey friends, happy New Year!
I hope you're making a great start to 2022.
I have a couple of things I want to share with you this week before we get into the filter.
First is my 2021 Annual review where I share general musing on how 2021 went for me as well as the key lessons I learned.
Second, I have curated all of my favourite links from 2021 onto one page of my site. This page is essentially the best of the newsletter with a few extras thrown in there.
Finally, before we get into the filter, I'd love to hear what you're working on this year — just reply to this email :)
Ideas from me
This week I wanted to focus on 5 questions from Principles by Ray Dalio I found useful to set goals for 2022.
1. What do I want?
Our decisions are often influenced by what other people are doing. When a friend is successful doing one thing it makes us question if we should do that too. Focus only on the things you want.
2. Why do I want it?
What's the motivation behind wanting to achieve this goal? Is it money, fame, relationships, power? Whatever it is, be honest with yourself about your motives (there's nothing wrong with wanting money).
3. What challenges will I face?
What are my weaknesses? Where do I need to improve to achieve this goal?
4. How do I make it happen?
What actions do I need to take to get from where I am now to where I want to be?
5. When will I make it happen by?
Set a date to achieve this by, something realistic but ambitious.
My Favourite Finds
This week we're going to revisit 4 of the best links from around the internet I found in 2021.
Goals are only guesses: Research backs up that having goals is helpful. But actually setting goals is completely random. Ultimately goals are guesses that evolve over time. When setting your own goals remember that the only goals that are right for you are your goals.
Personal Leverage: How to Truly 10x Your Productivity: Most productivity advice is bs. There are a few things that move the needle when trying to increase your output yet most people focus on the hacks that provide 0.1% improvements.
Personal Leverage is all about extending your productivity beyond yourself by working with others.
Harder Than It Looks, Not As Fun as It Seems: Almost everything looks better from the outside.
“Instagram is full of beach vacation photos, not flight delay photos. Resumes highlight career wins but are silent on doubt and worry.”
Everyone is crafting their own image and sharing only the wins which leads to us having a skewed perception on what someone else's life is like. We then compare that to our own lives making us feel like the grass is always greener on the other side.
But “The grass is always greener on the side that’s fertilized with bullshit”
It’s important to remember that almost everything looks better on the outside and that “Everyone’s dealing with problems they don’t advertise, at least until you get to know them well. Keep that in mind and you become more forgiving – to yourself and others.”
“Make Good Art” - Transcript // Video: This speech from Neil Gaiman will save you from making countless mistakes as a maker, freelancer or entrepreneur. It’s one of the best things I’ve read this year, my favourite part is this:
“A freelance life, a life in the arts, is sometimes like putting messages in bottles, on a desert island, and hoping that someone will find one of your bottles and open it and read it, and put something in a bottle that will wash its way back to you: appreciation, or a commission, or money, or love. And you have to accept that you may put out a hundred things for every bottle that winds up coming back.”
End note
If you enjoyed this edition of the Sunday Filter then I’d love it if you could share it with a few friends. You can send them over here to sign up or share it on Twitter.
Have a great week!
- Stephen