Giving up perfectionism (and my new monthly support group)
Launching a support group for gaysians, putting our ideas out, breaking time, four-hour workweeks, what makes us human, and what is defeat?
Hi friends!
By the end of this week, I’ll be in my new place in the financial district of New York City. We’re almost there! New furniture. New mattress. The final stretch.
I threw myself back into freelance design opportunities a few weeks ago and fingers crossed for some great work to align. (Also, redesigned my website)
As a part of my hunt, I’ve been going to various meet-ups and networking events for designers here in New York City, and one of them really caught my attention. It was a group-therapy-like meet-up for designers, with people coming together and sharing daily struggles of work and in the industry. After just one session, I felt so seen by my community.
And so as an extension of my gaysian podcast and to be present with the gaysian community, I created Yellow Glitter Sparkles, a free monthly support group for queer Asians to come together and share stories, struggles, and sparkles. Each session will start with a mindfulness exercise and get into the theme of the month. December’s theme: “endings”. As the year comes to a close, what’s on your mind?
If you are interested, RSVP early via Eventbrite. And if you have any queer Asian friends in NYC that would love this, please send it to them. I would really appreciate it!
Can you believe that 2019 is coming to a close in just seven weeks? What were your 2019 resolutions? What did you hope to accomplish?
For many years, I put off all of my projects because of my perfectionism. My blog gathered dust for years because I needed my writing to be perfect. My podcast was never launched because I couldn’t find a co-host. My ideas never came to life because it was never perfect enough in my mind.
But you know what? It’s time to forgive ourselves, let go, and allow ourselves to just try our best. It’s time to put something out there, at least for ourselves to know that we did it.
When it comes to goals that collect dust, break it down into something smaller. What is the next actionable step you can take that can be done in an hour? How can you surrender your calendar to accommodate this?
Life is too short to be greedy with our ideas. The world deserves to see it.
We broke time
A fascinating read by Buzzfeed on how we have all lost our sense of time over the past decade. So many things that relied on time is no longer - social media feeds, tv shows, always-on news.
The photos I see in my social media feeds are sometimes from a week ago. Memes keep reviving, but as if it was just discovered. And what’s scary is that THIS is the norm for all of the children born into corrupt technology.
"This is why algorithmic time is so disorienting and why it bends your mind. Everything good, bad, and complicated flows through our phones, and for those not living some hippie Walden trip, we operate inside a technological experience that moves forward and back, and pulls you with it. "
Four-day workweeks
In August, Microsoft Japan tested a program where it closed its offices on Fridays and gave its employees three-day weekends and limited meetings to 30 minutes. The result? Productivity boosted by 40%, the number of printed pages dropped by 59%, electricity consumption dropped 23%, and 94% of employees approved of the program. (Washington Post, NPR)
In a time of overwork and especially in Japan, this experiment reminds us that we don't need to work longer hours to get more accomplished.
What makes us human?
This documentary was such an incredible piece. Here’s the description of it from youtube:
“What is it that makes us human? Is it that we love, that we fight? That we laugh? Cry? Our curiosity? The quest for discovery? Driven by these questions, filmmaker and artist Yann Arthus-Bertrand spent three years collecting real-life stories from 2,000 women and men in 60 countries. Working with a dedicated team of translators, journalists and cameramen, Yann captures deeply personal and emotional accounts of topics that unite us all….”
Quote I love
“What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first steps to something better.” -Wendell Phillips
As always, thanks for reading!
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Have a beautiful day!
Metta (loving-kindness),
Steven
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