Is Your Mind Open?
Friends!
It’s hard to write this week. The events in Washington were such a sad reminder of where we find ourselves as a nation. The level of distrust, disinformation, and disbelief is dangerous and simply unimaginable and unprecedented – particularly in the midst of the pandemic and the crises we should turn our attention to. I wrote last week about our voices and our choices and what we decide to amplify. It will take ALL of us to restore humanity, decency, and cooperativeness to our public discourse, such that we can move on and start building the world we want to live in. This is not it!
The meta-theme of this newsletter is “in pursuit of elevation.” I passionately believe that the absence of a more productive public discourse is the root cause of many of our current problems. We are literally stuck. Our public and political conversation is too focused on victors and villains. Like in a boxing match, there is a winner and a loser. But public discourse is not about winning or losing. It's about elevating our understanding and, ultimately, arriving at better solutions for us all.
We so desperately need a better conversation that is about ideas, not personal attacks. We deserve news stories that are pursuing the real truth, however uncomfortable it may be, rather than the incessant soundbites that are repeated with no substantiation. Our discourse ought to be embalmed by human decency, respect, and the assumption of innocence and good intentions.
As I was trying to process and understand the events of Wednesday night, I did find some sparks of hope. Have we reached rock bottom? It seemed to me that there were many voices from all sides that signaled that they have had enough. This shared expression of genuine disgust embraced the right way, could initiate the start of a new era. We have now crossed a line. Let's not lose this opportunity for a reset. And again, it's up to all of us. Not just them. We are part of the public conversation. This is why what you are doing right now is part of that important work. Thank you for engaging!
Here is a book and eventually a film that I recommend. Thanks to Howard for bringing the project to my attention. Please watch the clip by clicking on the image below. And, if you can, please support the film making sure that it can be shared broadly. Both of these giants have so much to offer by their lived example. They both experienced immense pain and loss and yet responded with love, kindness, laughter, peacefulness, and joy. That's the attitude we need now. If you would consider making a donation to help the film reach a wider audience, please click here. THANK YOU!
Speaking of open minds and finding higher ground, I also have another book to recommend. I have followed Adam Grant for many years. I am a big fan of his work. I have listed some quick links to his work below. Adam is about to publish a new book, which I can’t wait to read. You can pre-order it here to make sure it becomes a smashing sensation. It needs to be, simply because it focuses on the exact topic we need right now: how can we improve the quality of our conversation? The book, aptly titled Think Again, is about the critical importance of learning to have an open mind and learning to question your opinions, and to open yourself up to other people’s minds. Over time, we have to replace the notion that changing one's opinion based on new facts is somehow a weakness when in reality, it is a strength.
Adam has also designed a simple test you can take here. There, you can see what your own tendencies are relative to thinking and “re-thinking.” Please take the test, and be honest AND open-minded!
Further inspiration:
Check out Adam Grant’s Website here where you can find everything you wanted to know about his work including TED talks, books written, articles published as well as signing up for his weekly newsletter Granted.
David Brooks (yes, I know I do love his writing) wrote about the events of the week in a profound way.
I also found Scott Bedbury’s short post here to be well written and to the point that WE ALL are the internet. We all created it. And we all must not improve it.
Alan Murray's weekly Fortune letter of Friday had examples of the kind of feedback he has been getting weekly. It's worth reading, as they come from both extreme and less extreme angles. I felt that his way of responding to them (with silence AND some commentary) is an example of the kind of attitude we should have towards the comfortable and uncomfortable facts coming our way.
I was obviously happy to see the Mediterranean Diet once again at the top of the best ways to eat. If you don’t want to read, just order from Rōti and we’ll take care of the rest! Sorry for the shameless plug of my favorite food!
Zoe Harcombe does incredible research summaries around food. Very helpful. This is her annual summary (if there are topics in here you are curious about relative to how to eat better.)
Last, but not least: HABITS. My life partner Jessica Lederhausen (in particular) and I are both fans of habits. Aristotle said: “we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit”. It's so true. This little article is a good reminder of the importance of finding some Accountability Buddies that can keep us honest. Why not start a better conversation with some of your friends where you commit to listening, reading, and discussing views from both sides? We don't change our habits alone. We are social creatures. We are who we are with.
