I really like the Gilded Age too and watch as soon as it comes out. Not boring to me. I love shows about how people used to act back then. High society is embarrassing to me even now, but back then? Those dresses and the women basically did NOTHING all day but crochet or whatever.. My goodness i never would have made it. I can hardly stand to put on a regular dress- but I do actually enjoy doing nothing sometimes.
Re: thing you loved #1… Saeed Jones wrote this in his substack this week and it blew my mind: “I’m not the most productive person. Nor do I want to be known as the most productive person—there are plenty of other values I hold higher.” Like, what a huge revelation to know instead of being constantly anxious about productivity I can just decide productivity isn’t a priority for me! I am privileged to have work that cycles from periods that require a lot from me to downtime when I feel like I’m not doing enough (even though I’m often filling that time with learning). I know I produce good work when it’s required, so why stress about how I’m filling the in between time!? These insights are making me realize how much capitalism wires us towards worth = output and also help me imagine a different attitude towards work that accepts ease and rest as an essential balance to effort.
Mar 10, 2022·edited Mar 10, 2022Liked by Holly Whitaker
I also try to stick to consuming news once a day, and then setting it aside until the next day, and it really helps (along with taking an indefinite break from social media)! The chapter from Catherine Gray’s The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary, “In Defence of Being Averagely Informed,” covers this pretty well. She says, “me knowing about every terrible thing happening in the world does nothing to stop it” (!!) I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we rarely give ourselves enough time to cultivate our own thoughts/opinions because we’re constantly inhaling the thoughts and opinions of others. It feels like we’re just shouting into a void and not really accomplishing anything, which you guys talked about in your last podcast episode. Why can’t it be okay to give yourself a break? Why can’t it be okay to not be hustling 24/7 and be content with an average, comfortable life? Why can’t the fact that we are alive and (mostly) well be enough?
Can we please for one minute discuss Liz Gilbert's story about holding the ladder for the stranger out of habit? I had to clutch my heart. Made me stop and rejoice in the seemingly insignificant, tiny seeds we plant every day but fail to notice bc we make such lofty goals for ourselves.
I really like the Gilded Age too and watch as soon as it comes out. Not boring to me. I love shows about how people used to act back then. High society is embarrassing to me even now, but back then? Those dresses and the women basically did NOTHING all day but crochet or whatever.. My goodness i never would have made it. I can hardly stand to put on a regular dress- but I do actually enjoy doing nothing sometimes.
Re: thing you loved #1… Saeed Jones wrote this in his substack this week and it blew my mind: “I’m not the most productive person. Nor do I want to be known as the most productive person—there are plenty of other values I hold higher.” Like, what a huge revelation to know instead of being constantly anxious about productivity I can just decide productivity isn’t a priority for me! I am privileged to have work that cycles from periods that require a lot from me to downtime when I feel like I’m not doing enough (even though I’m often filling that time with learning). I know I produce good work when it’s required, so why stress about how I’m filling the in between time!? These insights are making me realize how much capitalism wires us towards worth = output and also help me imagine a different attitude towards work that accepts ease and rest as an essential balance to effort.
I also try to stick to consuming news once a day, and then setting it aside until the next day, and it really helps (along with taking an indefinite break from social media)! The chapter from Catherine Gray’s The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary, “In Defence of Being Averagely Informed,” covers this pretty well. She says, “me knowing about every terrible thing happening in the world does nothing to stop it” (!!) I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we rarely give ourselves enough time to cultivate our own thoughts/opinions because we’re constantly inhaling the thoughts and opinions of others. It feels like we’re just shouting into a void and not really accomplishing anything, which you guys talked about in your last podcast episode. Why can’t it be okay to give yourself a break? Why can’t it be okay to not be hustling 24/7 and be content with an average, comfortable life? Why can’t the fact that we are alive and (mostly) well be enough?
Can we please for one minute discuss Liz Gilbert's story about holding the ladder for the stranger out of habit? I had to clutch my heart. Made me stop and rejoice in the seemingly insignificant, tiny seeds we plant every day but fail to notice bc we make such lofty goals for ourselves.