Less Mad

Hi, All!

How are you doing? 🐝

I was in my PJs, brushing my teeth, pondering if I had taken the self-improvement avenue too far this time when G asked what I was listening to.

Embarrassed, I admitted, I was brainwashing myself.

A while ago, I realized that my self-talk wasn’t always very positive. Mainly when it came to coding, I’d often catch myself saying I couldn’t do something.

The doubt was tiring, and so I picked up a book on self-talk.

That’s how I found myself, staring at G, while positive, self-talk recordings played in my mind’s background.

But that’s also how, a few days later, out for a coffee with a friend, I overheard myself begin a sentence with “I’m really good at …” I cringed at my not-so-humble brag, only to make myself another compliment a minute later.

The experiment made me realize that I didn’t have a rich enough vocabulary for telling myself helpful, kind things. By learning a new language, my mind’s stream of commentary now more often defaults to encouraging thoughts instead of damaging ones.

Combined with a regular meditation practice and more time affluence, I’ve genuinely been more at peace these weeks. I’m standing less in my own way. And my learning days have been blissful.

So yeah, I’ve officially turned into a walking self-help cliché, but I’d still like to argue that it’s somewhat less mad than bobbing around not believing in myself.

Words

I included five more books and my favorite takeaways to Read 100 Business Books. If you’re looking for a new read, I suggest you pick up Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek.

Sidenote: This year, I’m reading two fiction books for each non-fiction title I finish. And so, if you need a novel instead, I recommend Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.

Coding

🚀 Last month, I went all-in with CSS and JavaScript and doubled down on learning React. Here’s a tiny, React challenge that I had to prepare as part of an interview process (spoiler alert: I got hired).

🌳 I added a PDF feature to Neo’s Tree, allowing users to convert single recipes into a PDF and recipe collections into a PDF cookbook. I also made the project open source, so you’re welcome to look at the code, fork it, copy it, open a pull request, etc.

Quote I’m Pondering

I am losing precious days. I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I am learning nothing in this trivial world of men. I must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news. –John Muir

Happy belated women’s day,
With love,
Mirha
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