#87: the infinite game
👋 Welcome to the 87th issue of Out of Curiosity, a weekly newsletter promoting ideas to help get 1% better everyday.
My name is Reza, and every week, I go through nearly 100 pieces of content (from books and podcasts to newsletters and tweets), and bring you the best in this newsletter.
In this issue:
❓ Why not me
🌱 Growth without goals
💖 Be sincere — not serious
❓ Why not me
Instead of asking, “Who am I to pitch this new product?”, ask, “If I don’t do it, who will?” Instead of asking, “What if I fail?”, ask, “What if this is the opportunity I have been waiting for?”
Making small changes to our questions can yield completely different answers. It all starts with reframing your approach so that you are not looking at the downside risk, but the upside opportunity.
You can’t be what you can’t see.
When you are head-down in your job, it is easy to ask the wrong questions. Those wrong questions will lead to the wrong answers, so try turning them upside down and seeing where they lead. By giving yourself permission to explore new possibilities, you can forge a path that exceeds your expectations.
Learn to dream big but start small.
→ Perspectives | 6-min read
🌱 Growth without goals
Man lives by time. Inventing the future has been his favorite game of escape. We think that changes in ourselves can come about in time, that order in ourselves can be built up little by little, added to day by day. But time doesn’t bring order or peace, so we must stop thinking in terms of gradualness. This means that there is no tomorrow for us to be peaceful in. We have to be orderly on the instant.
But I now realize that the key isn’t thinking long-term, which implies long-term goals. Long-term thinking is really just goalless thinking. Long term “success” probably just comes from an emphasis on process and mindset in the present.
There is always that stupid interview question: where do you see yourself or your company in five years. Instead, we should ask, what things do you think are important to do every day?
→ Colossus | 6-min read
💖 Be sincere — not serious
The difference between seriousness and sincerity is not how involved you are in the activities of your life, but in how tightly you grip. In fact, I would go even further still: gripping less tightly can actually unlock better performance and with much less effort. Simple activities, like playing catch, floating in a pool, or balancing on a beam, require the right amount of effort, but not more. Otherwise, you start to get in your own way.
There are many non-physical things in life that also benefit from commitment to the process without stressing about the outcome. Difficult conversations at work, parenting, writing, and other pursuits suffer when you prioritize the result (the finite game) over the process (the infinite game).
→ Every | 8-min read
✨ One last thing…
👋 Until next week,
🗂
If you enjoyed this issue, let me know by hitting the ❤️ button below ⤵️