Update 2019 (Thursday Thoughts)
This newsletter has been my first experience of writing at my own premises; I can write about whatever I want, however I want. Despite its unconstrained appeal, I did not appreciate this aspect from the beginning. While some limitations are pure obstacles, others can, paradoxically, be freeing. As a result, at the beginning of writing this newsletter, it was mostly about loosely defining this «whatever» and «however» into something. And as I have become progressively more confident in this definition, it is loosing more of its significance, because this safe ground works as a fundament for expanding back into the «whatever» and «however».
For me, writing is much like a screenshot or encapsulation of something at a moment in time. Often, as the moment passes, this encapsulation turns out to be either too simple in a complex world, or too static in a dynamic world. I guess the best writing manages to overcome both. And to achieve this, using the writing to introspect my own thinking as well as receiving feedback are valuable tools.
Feedback can work in two ways. The first way is easy to appreciate and is the incremental value-add in the current direction. The second one, however, can be thought of as perpendicular to the current direction and has therefore been invisible for the other person until now. For the NTNU students; This is trying to do a clustering in 2D-space and then realizing that it can be done far better in 3D-space. Sometimes, the clustering is only possible in 3D-space. While the former is a “nice-to-have”, the latter can be a “need-to-have”.
Some time ago, I wrote about creating a framework for what to focus on today that will most likely be beneficial in the uncertain future. While it was doomed from the start to be too simple and too static, I did not know how. What I did emphasize, however, was the fact that relationships and resources should not be a part of the framework. Interestingly, in the updated version, they are both included, together with other changes. Not that I can explicitly explain why yet, but I attribute this change to feedback from the second category; “Thank you”.
Mental: Relationships, Antifragile
Health: Sleep, Excercise, Diet
Knowledge: Experiences, Reading, Thinking
Skills: Write, code, invest
Creativity: Process, Failed projects
Resources: Wealth, Branding, Network
It has been fun to write, for myself, but also for you. As 2019 is coming to an end and we are heading into a new decade, and in the spirit of this newsletter: «Let’s keep things uncertain»
Have a great Christmas,
Erlend