3-2-1: A mindset that can take you far in life, aging well, and the value of darkness

Happy 3-2-1 Thursday!

Here are 3 ideas, 2 quotes, and 1 question to consider this week.

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I.

“A mindset that can take you far in life:

What I want doesn’t exist, so I’ll create it.”

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​II.

“You don’t always get to choose the load, but you can choose how to carry it.”

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III.

“Look for situations where the energy is already flowing downhill. Invest in relationships where there is already mutual respect. Create products that tap into a desire people already have. Work on projects that play to your strengths.

And then, once the potential of the situation is already working for you, add fuel to the fire. Pour yourself into the craft. Act as if you have to outwork everyone else—even though the wind is at your back.

The idea is to sprint downhill, not grind uphill.”

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I.

Anthropologist Ashley Montagu on aging well:

“The goal of life is to die young — as late as possible!”

Source: Growing Young​

​II.

Novelist Jeanette Winterson on the value of darkness:

“I have noticed that when all the lights are on, people tend to talk about what they are doing — their outer lives. Sitting round in candlelight or firelight, people start to talk about how they are feeling – their inner lives. They speak subjectively, they argue less, there are longer pauses.

To sit alone without any electric light is curiously creative. I have my best ideas at dawn or at nightfall, but not if I switch on the lights — then I start thinking about projects, deadlines, demands, and the shadows and shapes of the house become objects, not suggestions, things that need to done, not a background to thought.”

Source: Why I Adore the Night​

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“When was a time in the past you successfully adapted and made a change?

What is a change you would benefit from making right now?”

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Want to share this issue of 3-2-1 via text, social media, or email? Just copy and paste this link:

​https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1/december-8-2022​

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Until next week,

James Clear
​Author of Atomic Habits and keynote speaker​​

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p.s. When someone cracks the code of your email format.