10 Eliminating stress, unique superpowers, and tiny steps

No. 10 – 10 February 2023

Welcome to the 10th edition of 4-TP, a weekly newsletter with the actionable insights you need.

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TPL Article

Feeling stressed or depressed? Explore some effective antidotes from Stoicism and positive psychology.

— Read more​

Insight

Socrates, in Plato's Apology, on successful people enjoying worldly success, who thought they were wise but weren't:

"People to whom intelligence and goodness are unfamiliar, whose only interest is self-indulgence and so on, spend their lives moving aimlessly to and fro between the bottom and the halfway point, which is as far as they reach. But they never travel any further towards the true heights: they've never even looked up there, let alone gone there; they aren't really satisfied by anything real; they don't experience steady, pure pleasure. They're no different from cattle."

Micro Thought

It's never too late to reinvent ourselves. And with ever-changing circumstances, having a flexible identity is crucial to give us room to explore new interests and passions.

Here are some ideas from Robert Greene's Mastery:

1. Go back to your childhood and the basics. What things were you naturally connected to then and now?
2. Combine multiple interests. Our seemingly contrasting interests are what make us unique.
3. Don't follow the masses. Money, fame, attention, status, and so on.

Remember that our uniqueness is what's beautiful. "No great intellect has been without a touch of madness." -Aristotle

Question

Many of us feel stuck with no way out. But there's always a way, if there's a will. The Kaizen strategy teaches us to focus on the incremental improvements using tiny steps. What's the smallest next step you can take to change your situation?

Till next week,
— Carlos & Stef