interesting! before I clicked I was thinking the eisenhower matrix! But I like this one too. Often the absence of bad things does make us feel grateful.
The want/don’t have box, I’ve discovered for myself, can often be a good one too. It’s the wanting that makes me go out to look for things, try new things, find ways to bring them into my life. Or aspects of those things, if I can’t have the entire thing.
Maybe considering it as the want-but-can’t-have box would make it a sadder face.
This is deeply profound, and I like how Einhorn talks about "evidence of non-occurances," which is something we humans are generally not good at seeing and has big implications beyond our own happiness. For example, when I talk to business leaders, I tell them that learning how to approach complex problems in the workplace (which you discussed last time!) will save them a lot of time, because their current approach produces poor results and requires a lot of rework. But it's hard to imagine what wouldn't have happened with a different approach. Maybe what I'm trying to say is that there IS evidence that short posts can lead to deep thinking, and that makes me happy. :)
Hey David, I'm late to the party here, what's new! I liked this short post and video, it just seemed very real hearing his voice and sadly ironic as you mentioned, knowing that Einhorn passed away shortly after with an illness that all of us lucky enough to be in good health would place firmly in the 'don't have, don't want' box. Gratitude is a great concept, something I need to try hard to embrace. For me, independence is such a gift, just being able to get out of bed in the morning, get dressed, feed yourself, walk/drive wherever, plan trips/holidays etc. So thanks for helping me to show a little Gratitude! Totally off point but if this comment isn't too late I was wondering if you had some advice on focused work, I'm behind in my job during a busy time and also recently started an introductory course in data analytics so have lots of assignment work going on. I remember laughing at your story about 'going upstairs and coming down 2 years later' when working on Range. Just wondering how you kept focused/motivated when you felt tired or had other stuff going on in the background. Apologies for the random/vague question!
I love another short newsletter! Props to you for being so responsive to feedback and willing to experiment (I know it's a key thing in Range, but it's still not always easy to practice what you preach). One question about this: Do you think there is a different craft to writing a shorter piece? Do you change how you write or research at all? Or does it feel the same but the end result is just shorter?
(By the way, this reminded me of another of my favorite lines about happiness, from Montesquieu: "If one only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but we wish to be happier than other people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are.")
An unpredictable mix of short, medium, and long form posts works, too! Whatever you’re feeling up to, and whatever time that particular week allows... that’s how I’m writing (for a much smaller audience I’m sure!). That slot machine variable reward psychology works 😉
Love this post. Very zen. I’m haunted by the thoughtful brilliance of 45 yo Hillel in this video, cut down before his supposedly allotted time.
Combine our blindness to unwanted things/conditions we don’t have with the media blind spot for this on the national and global scale! Valuable post and video.
This makes sense. What's interesting is that it is supposed to be the biggest box (don't have, don't want) but I honestly can't think of many things that would go in that box that aren't negative outcomes (death, accident, tragedy, etc)? And if I think about positive things in that box they don't seem terribly meaningful to my happiness (I don't have or want a old Jeep). How are others thinking about this?
His point is that since we're wired for More, it's really hard to want what we have. But if we practice compassion, attention, and gratitude, we can learn and experience more joy.
It seems that those 3 practices would also help us appreciate not having what we don't want.
Keep the short one’s comin! Love it!!!
interesting! before I clicked I was thinking the eisenhower matrix! But I like this one too. Often the absence of bad things does make us feel grateful.
The want/don’t have box, I’ve discovered for myself, can often be a good one too. It’s the wanting that makes me go out to look for things, try new things, find ways to bring them into my life. Or aspects of those things, if I can’t have the entire thing.
Maybe considering it as the want-but-can’t-have box would make it a sadder face.
This is deeply profound, and I like how Einhorn talks about "evidence of non-occurances," which is something we humans are generally not good at seeing and has big implications beyond our own happiness. For example, when I talk to business leaders, I tell them that learning how to approach complex problems in the workplace (which you discussed last time!) will save them a lot of time, because their current approach produces poor results and requires a lot of rework. But it's hard to imagine what wouldn't have happened with a different approach. Maybe what I'm trying to say is that there IS evidence that short posts can lead to deep thinking, and that makes me happy. :)
When you're not unhappy, you're happy. :) Our "boring, everyday" lives are very happy for the most part.
Hey David, I'm late to the party here, what's new! I liked this short post and video, it just seemed very real hearing his voice and sadly ironic as you mentioned, knowing that Einhorn passed away shortly after with an illness that all of us lucky enough to be in good health would place firmly in the 'don't have, don't want' box. Gratitude is a great concept, something I need to try hard to embrace. For me, independence is such a gift, just being able to get out of bed in the morning, get dressed, feed yourself, walk/drive wherever, plan trips/holidays etc. So thanks for helping me to show a little Gratitude! Totally off point but if this comment isn't too late I was wondering if you had some advice on focused work, I'm behind in my job during a busy time and also recently started an introductory course in data analytics so have lots of assignment work going on. I remember laughing at your story about 'going upstairs and coming down 2 years later' when working on Range. Just wondering how you kept focused/motivated when you felt tired or had other stuff going on in the background. Apologies for the random/vague question!
I love another short newsletter! Props to you for being so responsive to feedback and willing to experiment (I know it's a key thing in Range, but it's still not always easy to practice what you preach). One question about this: Do you think there is a different craft to writing a shorter piece? Do you change how you write or research at all? Or does it feel the same but the end result is just shorter?
(By the way, this reminded me of another of my favorite lines about happiness, from Montesquieu: "If one only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but we wish to be happier than other people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are.")
An unpredictable mix of short, medium, and long form posts works, too! Whatever you’re feeling up to, and whatever time that particular week allows... that’s how I’m writing (for a much smaller audience I’m sure!). That slot machine variable reward psychology works 😉
Love this post. Very zen. I’m haunted by the thoughtful brilliance of 45 yo Hillel in this video, cut down before his supposedly allotted time.
Combine our blindness to unwanted things/conditions we don’t have with the media blind spot for this on the national and global scale! Valuable post and video.
This makes sense. What's interesting is that it is supposed to be the biggest box (don't have, don't want) but I honestly can't think of many things that would go in that box that aren't negative outcomes (death, accident, tragedy, etc)? And if I think about positive things in that box they don't seem terribly meaningful to my happiness (I don't have or want a old Jeep). How are others thinking about this?
One of my all-time favorite books is "How to Want What You Have: Discovering the Magic and Grandeur of Ordinary Existence" by Timothy Miller.
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/933037
His point is that since we're wired for More, it's really hard to want what we have. But if we practice compassion, attention, and gratitude, we can learn and experience more joy.
It seems that those 3 practices would also help us appreciate not having what we don't want.
Thanks for the article and book reference! It's on my reading list now.
BTW I like the longer in depth articles more. But short ones are interesting and bring up great discussions.
Just as an FYI...I just checked...Range is $9.99. Still a good deal, but definitely not 2.99.
Thanks for the link to the Kindle version of Range, but the price does not show the $2.99. Any thoughts on how to fix/correct this?