Hold That Thought…

This week I've been thinking about unserious people (and how not to be one). Here are three things on that theme to turn overthinking into expert thinking:

1. “I used to think of seriousness as something to aspire to, a nice-to-have once you figure everything else out. Something you save up for, like a house. ‘Oh, I’d love to be serious, but in this economy?’” — The three lies that stop people from being serious by Adam Mastroianni from Experimental History
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2. “I don’t think I’m crazy or wrong to be mad about this – people who are loudly, publicly unserious pollute the commons by making everyone else a little bit more cynical in response. This makes it harder for any kid to be taken seriously, which in turn means that as a society we get less of the glorious output of serious players. We crush the caterpillars and complain there are so few butterflies.” — On being taken seriously by visakan veerasamy on Substack
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3. Maybe you don't agree with these sentiments. After all, what if being sincere — not serious — is what really matters? A counterpoint, by Michael Ashcroft at Every

As promised last week, this week's underthinking link is a double-dose of silliness:

• Hungry? Check out these rotating sandwiches! (Serious question: which of these are actually sandwiches?)
• No cats were harmed in the making of Cat Bounce (Warning: dumb as it sounds)

Extra thoughts…

I don't think you can be serious about what you're doing without focus.

James Clear (author of Atomic Habits) says you’re not truly focused unless you’re mourning some of the things you’re saying no to. He’s right, but I don’t think that sentiment goes far enough.
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I thought it’d be a walk in the park. Literally.

One day last month, I took Terry the Rescue Pug and set off with the intention of figuring out which projects and platforms to leave behind. That by walking and thinking, I’d know which things to say no to. I would come back much lighter, ready to work on what I’m still carrying.
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It wasn’t that easy. Having intention isn’t enough for true clarity and focus. I could justify my reasons for holding onto everything. I wasn’t ready to let go of all these possibilities.
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So what changed? Here's what I found…​

If you're looking to get serious about something — or perhaps less so — simple, meaningful progress is literally one conversation away!
Kim

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Hello! My name is Kim Witten and I’ve spent four decades overthinking absolutely everything. I’ve turned this ability into a super skill to get stuff done and now my mission is to help others do the same. Read more about my journey​

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