The power of milestones [24-Nov-24]
Another reminder to reflect?
Hello there!
How are things this weekend?! Melbourne is being typical Melbourne: searing hot one day and overcast and rainy the next. It’s certainly keeping things interesting!
Also “thank you” to NK for supporting this little project - very much appreciated. I’ll be doing another round of donations next year from the proceeds of this newsletter. Honestly, I’m honoured that you find the newsletter interesting- it’s always been the aim to show the more interesting things that exist/are written about that get drowned out by the sheer amount of noise in the world today. Again, I’m all ears for feedback.
(PS - NK, you Substack profile is message to me!
As I write this, it’s nearly time to leave for a friend’s 40th birthday. I didn’t know what to write for the card so I was trying to remember some little joke from the first days of med school. That’s when it occurred to me that these friends, I have now known for more than half my life…
More reasons for reflection, continued below. But first, some housekeeping and a request to send this newsletter to a friend who might enjoy a random read on the weekend before starting their new week.
General housekeeping: 90% of the newsletter is completely free. Any links with * are affiliate links. If you’ve enjoyed any of my random creative endeavours/like giving to charity/want to support Substack as an awesome platform, consider subscribing. They take a cut(I can’t actually pay for this awesome service) and I tend to donate most of this to charity, but I do use it as a yard stick to know that people find the content valuable. It should work out to <$2/wk!Creative update
PxR 2025 Wall Calendar (pre-order)
I’ve finally seen the final version that is going off to the physical printers! The batch should arrive sometime next week before I start shipping them out. This year, I’ve decided to change suppliers and go for a MUCH nicer paper and nicer/minimalist design. It’s similar, but modernised.
Remember to use code SURPRISE for an extra discount!
Things I’m reading
I Watched Orbán Destroy Hungary’s Democracy. Here’s My Advice for the Trump Era
This was too interesting an article that I came across in Politico that even if you’re not political, gives a good account of what’s happening around you and the tactics used to appeal to people politically. It certainly gave me some new perspectives with which to view recent events.
Useful, Not True - Derek Sivers
This is the newest book by Derek Sivers, who I’ve mentioned on this newsletter multiple times. I *love* his short but impactful writing style. Check out his blog and read through the some of the posts. I’ve only just started, but like most of his books, I read a little and slowly let the message sink in…
Cool finds
Key Organiser - OrbitKey* or Bellroy*
This isn’t a new find, but I did recently change from the Bellroy to the Orbitkey. It’s been a few years since I started using these and if you have even a few keys you carry, these are amazing. Essentially, it organises the keys and slims down your keychain and stops the jangling. If you have a lot of keys, I’d recommend the Bellroy, otherwise, OrbitKey I think is a little sturdier.
Both are currently on sale for early Black Friday and make great gifts for the slightly geeky/nerdy person (I can attest to this!)
Actionable insight
Memento Mori
Or as they say in Latin “ Rememeber you must die”. It seems a little bleak but this was a favoured technique by the ancient philosophers and artists (if you look at old paintings and wonder why a skull is present, it maybe to symbolise this).
In essence, the practice boils down to a regular deep contemplation that life is finite and fleeting.
As with the last few newsletters and maybe the next few as well, I find this thought to be a clarifying filter on wants and desires especially when thinking about future aims and resolutions. Do the aims meaningfully change the bigger things in life?
It’s definitely food for thought…
Weekly Update
As I write this, it’s nearly time to leave for a friend’s 40th birthday. I didn’t know what to write for the card so I was trying to remember some little joke from the first days of med school. That’s when it occurred to me that these friends, I have now known for more than half my life…
I’m finishing this after the dinner for my friend’s birthday and the whole experience had a lot of us reflecting on the decades of friendship. I’m not sure how common it is that you have a bunch of friends from university, then medical training and now as work colleagues that are in different fields but still see each other quite often (I’m working with my friend tomorrow morning as the anaesthetist for the list - they’re a surgeon). But it is nice to have that level of stability over the years.
In a way, this is one of the hidden perks of being a doctor: the years are long and so are the hours worked, but you do tend to spend a lot of it in the company of people who are likely to be your friends…
The theme of the night was just how much we’ve all had to “grind” to get to where we are and how people are planning to start aiming for that elusive work-life balance- another rarity in careers: being at a similar life stage around the same time…
It really got me thinking that we tend to know the flaws of any of the jobs/roles we do, but we should also pay attention to the unexpected benefits as well. I’m sure if I asked right now, you could give me 5 reasons why the role you have is not ideal, but how often do we pause to consider the unexpected ways it’s helped our life along?
Quote of the week
This week, from a sacred text…
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