Notes from the Community, Volume 13

More art, more comments, more links. Settle in and find a few things you'll like. 🛋️

Friends and readers, thanks for being out there! I’m so glad to be writing this newsletter and interacting with lots of people in the community. Here’s our 13th roundup of community notes, featuring reader comments, links, and more.

---

Popular Comments 📝

Most posts have the option to comment—and it’s so fun to see readers jumping in!

In this section I’ll highlight a few recent comments that were upvoted the most by the community. (These are edited lightly for brevity, without changing the tone. Read the full comments and many more on each post’s page.) 

From Billy Bumbo, on the post Working Memory, or Why You Keep Forgetting Things

Two further ideas:

Meditation provides you with a forum in which you get familiar with the rhythm of your mind. Understanding how it plays, or what consumes it, under certain conditions. Practicing compassion for errant thoughts in Meditation reduces their ability to hijack your executive function.

Or you can go deeper by zooming in on the triggers you have in your closet by IFS (Internal Family Systems) therapy. Your mind has its own executive committee of parts; like anger, sadness, fear, joy and disgust in Riley’s mind in the “Inside Out” cartoon franchise, that are activated because of past trauma and current stress. Knowing your triggers can prevent those parts from hijacking your executive function.

From Yvonne Ator, on the post What 2,000 Consecutive Days of Running Taught Me

I love this! Funny enough your Happiness of Pursuit book is the inspiration of two streaks in my life 10 years later. I am on my 3448th consecutive day of meditation - I have meditated through some wild life seasons, peaks and valleys—divorce, single momhood, housing insecurity, rebuilding my life, attaining my life goals etc. (I also wrote a haiku a day for several years. I have thousands written now now) Your impact, lens and journey continue to revolutionize my life!

From Cassie Bruce, on the post The Struggle Tax

Lately I’ve noticed all the struggle tax in the kitchen. That food we had to throw out because I salted it too many times, forgetting that I already salted it. The pot holder my gf somehow left in the oven & burned. All of the measuring cups and other plastic items melted on the stove. The dozens of containers of salad that turned to liquid. The entire cups of coffee I spilled on the floor. The food I meal prepped and then left out on the counter overnight & had to toss.

Maybe this is why I hate cooking 😂. Nothing seriously scary has ever happened but there have been so many silly mistakes that add up.

From Jeff Perron, on the post What Doesn’t Kill You MIGHT Make You Stronger

This is aligned with an important perspective shift validated by Dweck's growth mindset research:

When you don't get the result you want, do you view it as "a sign that I don't have what it takes" or something akin to "I'm not there yet...and this (perceived setback/unwanted event) is something I can learn from en route to where I want to go."

From Russ Jones | ADHD Big Brother, on the post "Getting things done" is a tower defense game

I absolutely loved reading this! I never thought of GTD as a tower defense game, but oh my gosh does that resonate. I truly appreciate the comment to pay attention to what you finish, not what's left to be done. As an adult with ADHD, I will often finish my day and see plenty on my list that I didn't do. It was only when I adopted the practice of reflecting on what I DID do (regardless if it was on my to do list or not) that I noticed I actually get quite a bit of shit done! Thanks for the read!

From Albert Kaufman, on the post The Space Between Spaces: Reflections on Moving

I think back to one of my favorite moves. My partner and I arranged for 8-10 people to move us from point A to B in Portland, Oregon. It took about 10 minutes to move about everything into cars/vans and then unloading took another 10 minutes on the other end. Taught me to bring in lots of people when you do hard things like that. I have some fun pictures.

We spent most of the time eating pizza.

And from Carol Szymanski, on the post Don't Just Do Something, Sit There

I wish they taught “sunk cost fallacy” in elementary school. Once the proverbial light bulb turns on and you realize your partner or your job or something else is definitely not for you, step away. If you can do it graciously and without drama, even better. You don’t owe anyone or anything endless explanations or second chances. They’ll just get better at scamming you. Your gut doesn’t lie to you. It picks up on micro expressions, bad feelings and has a protective bias toward you.

You don’t want to continue? Trust yourself. The world doesn’t owe you. You owe you. No one ever advises you to unplug, rest and remove yourself. Yet this is solid advice that will renew you and bring you clarity. Meditate. All the answers are inside of you if you would just be still and listen. Believe yourself.

---

Art & Other Fun Things

Note: if you like any of these images, be sure to click through on the links. What’s included here is just a small selection of the full work.

• You Don’t Have to Find Your Style by Amy Stewart

  

• Explaining the Process of Illustration by Michael Whelan and Michael Everett

  

• What Do You Want, Mom? by Edith Zimmerman

  

• Where to Start with Mozart by Culture Critic

  

• The Process Holds the Answers by Kyle McDougall

  

---

Posts and Stories I Liked 

In addition to my regular browsing, every couple of weeks I do a public call for submissions. I’ll share many of the links that people send me in future posts.

Here are a few posts I’ve enjoyed recently: 

• If you move too quickly, you might miss it by Nikki D'Ambrosio

• 7-day “Soulo travel” challenge by Robin Finney

• A Heartbreakingly Beautiful Setting for Saying Goodbye by Jayne Marshall

• I Spent 24 Hours Straight On the NYC Subway! by Anne Kadet

Note: if you’re publishing a newsletter, feel free to comment in this post with the name of your publication so that other readers can find you. 

What We’ve Covered So Far 

We’re now 43 weeks into the year. So far we’ve covered:

Introduction, It Was Going So Well, Unhelpful Life Advice, From Rejection to Reflection, Overthinking, A Couch Can Make You Happy, “I Wish I’d Made That Change Later,” Why This Now?, “Your Voicemail Isn’t  Working,” Your Last 40 Minutes, Imposter Syndrome Isn’t What You Think, Consider the Opposite of What You’re Worried About, How I Use (and Don’t Use) Adderall to Focus, You Can Be Better than You Are, Is It Always Best to "Do What Makes You Happy"?, A Tale of Two Yoga Teachers, The Felt Sense, No One Teaches You How to Breathe, The Trauma of Adult Undiagnosed ADHD, “What matters to me right now?”, Lessons From Your Six-Year-Old-Self, Try This When You Aren’t Sure What To Do, Time Anxiety: Can You Take a Quick Survey?, If You Can't Learn Math It's Not Your Fault, Consider this if you like taking care of people, Time Blindness, The Perks of Being Misunderstood, You’re Always Going to Lose at Something, Election Anxiety Is Real, So Make a Plan to Disengage, Attention Has a Cost, What Is "Demand Avoidance"? A Case Study, Can You Be Much Happier than You Thought?, Do You Have a “Granny Hobby”?, 15 Ways to Self-Sabotage, Why Is It Hard to Be Different?, Why Do I Put Off Seeing My Friends?, Exposure Therapy, You Are Not the Failure Point, Antidepressants Save Lives, Who Should Read “A Year of Mental Health”?, “Everything changes as long as you keep moving.”, What If You Could Work Only One Hour a Day?, Unlearning, Gentle Productivity: 5 Tips for Neurodivergent-Friendly Work Habits, “What matters to me right now?”, Take Moderate Risks Every Day, The Myth of Laziness, A Year of Mental Health Is Now 100% Free, Don't “Eat the Frog,” Practice Structured Procrastination Instead, Why Is It So Hard to Do Small Things?, Executive Functioning and the Limits of Hyperfocus, “Bad with Money?” Maybe There’s More to It, The Importance of Talking to People Who Understand You, A Short List of Things I Never Learned to Do, The Neurodivergent "Bad With Money" Task Checklist, The Family Who Doesn’t Understand, Adventure Is Worthwhile In Itself, The Counterfeit Self, 8 Ways to Have More Time, Develop Your Dominant Questions, Congratulations On Your New Life, Everyone Is Making It Up As They Go (Really), Lack of Strategy as a Core Value, How to Do One Thing at a Time, The Things That Go Wrong Make the Best Memories, “I haven’t always been happy, but I’ve known joy.”, You Don’t Have to Live the Way Others Expect, Three Lies About Hard Things, 8 Ways to Feel Better About Yourself, Be the Voice in the Wilderness, A Few Things I Worried About Today, What Are You Maximizing For?, “I am an actor playing a role”, Run Towards the Danger, Working Memory, or Why You Keep Forgetting Things, What 2,000 Consecutive Days of Running Taught Me, A Reader Story of Autoimmune Disorder Recovery, "Getting things done" is a tower defense game, The Space Between Spaces: Reflections on Moving, Don't Just Do Something, Sit There, What Doesn’t Kill You MIGHT Make You Stronger, The Struggle Tax, The Perks of Working Only 10 Minutes at a Time, Announcing NeuroDiversion, a 3-Day Celebration and New Community, Make Life Easier for Your Future Self

Also! A set of simple activities that can each be completed in 15 minutes or less:

• The Reverse Bucket List

• Grading Your Future Self

• Prune Your Calendar

• The Replacement Game

• Choose What You Keep Up With

• The Childhood Joy List

• Unfinished Business

• The Eighth Day of the Week

• Create “Rules of Engagement” to Guard Your Time

• The 15-Minute, Alternative Autobiography

• The 5-Whys Problem-Solving Session

• The Ideal Routine Blueprint

• The Ten-Year Regret Test

As well as an interview series, featuring people with something to say that the world needs hearing:

"The world is a better place when I take up space": A Conversation with Marc Typo

“Wellbeing is about capacity”: A Conversation with Emma Gannon

"There’s no one life script for everyone": A conversation with Sari Botton

“Laziness Doesn’t Exist:” A Conversation with KC Davis

"Uncertainty is the gateway to possibility": A Conversation with Jonathan Fields

"Am I truly paying attention to my life?": A Conversation with Nora McInerny

"Minimalism is not about restriction.": A Conversation with Shira Gill

"I’m better when I am still": A Conversation with Ryan Holiday

"Never say yes automatically": A Conversation with Melissa Urban

"Your thoughts are not the problem": A Conversation with Joseph Nguyen

"Take a moment every day to listen to a kid": A Conversation with Brad Montague

"Playing it safe is about fear.": A Conversation with Chase Jarvis

What a fun list so far!

Special Thanks to our Paid Subscribers

As promised, most content on A Year of Mental Health will be completely free. Paid subscribers make this possible.

Even though most posts are freely available at the time of publication, many of you have already upgraded your subscriptions—and I am grateful! Thank you. 🙏 🙏 🙏

Whenever someone upgrades, the platform offers subscribers a chance to write a note to the creator, which can be shared with the subscriber’s permission.

Here’s one that I received this week from Tad Kershner:

"’GTD As a Tower Defense’ was a real eye opener (because I can't stand Tower Defense games and it's so true!) Hoping to build a healthier alternative."

---

Again, I want this project to be helpful and valuable to you. We’re just getting started, and there’s much more to come. 

Scholarships Available Upon Request

What if you want a paid subscription but can’t afford it? It’s all good, we’ve got you covered! 🤝

Specifically, we now have a scholarship plan where you can pay whatever you can afford. These scholarships are covered by our Founding Members—thank you, Founding Members!

If you’d like one, just send a note to team @ chrisguillebeau .com with the word “Scholarship” in the subject line. We’ll help you get whatever option you need.

On the Horizon

That’s it for now, but I’ll be back every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7am Pacific time. Upcoming topics include: neurodivergent conversations, building stamina, ADHD diagnoses, and more.

And maybe a surprise guest or two! Like I said, there’s much more to come. 🎁