This is the Too Many Trees newsletter, where I share what I’ve been writing and reading in the realm of leadership and personal development. My coaching practice is centered around the idea that we are more effective in moving towards our goals when we become more conscious and intentional in focusing our time and attention, and learn how our unconscious patterns are holding us back. If you know somebody that could benefit from my perspective, please forward this to them or let them know they can set up a free intro chat with me.
New blog post! This took longer to edit and publish than I’d like despite my theoretical commitment to writing more this year, but better something than nothing, because shipping matters.
I use the conceit of 100 hours (as a round number that roughly corresponds to our available time each week after sleep and basic self-care) to show that how we spend our time is a reflection of our actual priorities.
There is no such thing as “enough” time. We each have the same 100 hours each week, and we can not do everything we want to do because that time is limited. If we choose to spend more time on one activity, that means less time on another activity; if we work more, there’s less time for exercise and sleep. So a more honest translation of “not enough time” might be “I didn’t prioritize this over other things I want to do”.
After I finished, I realized this post is a sneaky addition to the ongoing alignment series, as it’s about bringing how we spend our time into alignment with our values. I continue to be fascinated by this topic of aligning oneself to achieve greater ease (and often greater impact!).
What do you notice about how you spend your time each week? What do you say is important that you never get to because there’s not “enough” time? What might you do differently with that knowledge?
And now for the normal personal development content:
LinkedIn: These are ideas or questions that have helped my clients (or myself), and that I share via LinkedIn to help a wider audience.
The idea that the only way to have more impact is to work more can lead to a vicious downward spiral where we risk burnout. Shifting our perspective to value impactful work (and saying no to work with less impact) is one way out.
Three stories from Will Smith’s autobiography, Will which I really enjoyed (and picked up because I have long appreciated his co-author Mark Manson).
Only by knowing what you want can you say “No” to steps in the wrong direction (where he shared how he turned down a $10 million payday because it wouldn’t help him become the movie star he wanted to be)
“There is no wall. There are only bricks.” His father imparting deep wisdom when Will complained about how long it would take to build a wall. One brick at a time is the way to build a dream without getting discouraged by how long the dream might take.
Always do your best. You "face an unbearable loss" when you don't prepare the way you know you should. At that point, "You have to live the rest of your life not knowing what might have happened had you done your best. ... It's two against one: it's you and the universe vs. you. It's respectable to lose to the universe. It's a tragedy to lose to yourself."
Articles and resources I’ve found interesting
The theme this week is questioning conventional wisdom. To be clear, I don’t know enough to judge the validity of these perspectives, but I like the challenge of holding an unfamiliar viewpoint to stretch my mind. Hopefully, these aren’t pseudo-science or p-hacking versions of motivated reasoning, but I’m sure somebody will tell me if so.
Power, not prices. I have read in the news that inflation leads to falling real incomes, which makes intuitive sense - spending more for essential needs like gas and food means less money for other needs. Yet this economist points out that inflation led to rising real incomes in the 1970s, and theorizes the difference is bargaining power.
How a tragically flawed paradigm has derailed the science of obesity. Again, the widely accepted “intuitive” explanation is that “obesity is an energy balance disorder: People get fat because they take in more calories than they expend.” Instead, this author makes the case that “the carbohydrates in their diets — both the quantity of carbohydrates and their quality — establish a hormonal milieu that fosters the accumulation of excess fat.”
In Defense of Superstition - “superstitious thought, or “magical thinking,” even as it misrepresents reality, has its advantages. It offers psychological benefits that logic and science can’t always provide: namely, a sense of control and a sense of meaning.”
Thanks for reading! See you in a couple weeks.