Hi, I’m Matt. Welcome to Steady Beats: a newsletter about building the middle-aged life you want in small and steady beats.
Mindset Beats
Turning weakness into strength
Salman Ansari is a talented writer and illustrator—amongst other things. But when he revisited his childhood love of drawing as a adult, he found frustration:
I started to hate my own drawings. I was never satisfied with how the human figures turned out.
Did he quit drawing? No. Instead, he leaned into the shortcoming.
my friend Dave offered a solution. He said I should stop trying to draw humans
[…]
Instead, he suggested I draw made-up animals. It was a brilliant idea.
I started drawing all kinds of creatures. I loved it.
Salman turned frustration into fuel, propelling his art in a new direction.
Art by Salman Ansari
Sometimes, our shortcomings can be slingshots into something far better.
Sprinting through Dread
That project you’re avoiding? Stop resisting. Just move.
![Twitter avatar for @chargrysolle](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/chargrysolle.jpg)
This feels very Buddhist; notice the unhelpful feeling, but operate separately from it. “Dread Sprints” seem seem like an ideal way to get out of your head and get going.
But: If you’re constantly feeling dread in your work, that’s a sign other changes are needed.
Dread can also be a signal.
Habit Beats
Which of the Four Tendency types are you?
The Four Tendencies questionnaire is a short and useful quiz from Gretchen Rubin for understanding your work motivations.
After a few questions, you’ll be categorized as an Upholder, Questioner, Obliger, or Rebel, and get a detailed report on what that means:
Developed by happiness and habit expert Gretchen Rubin, using years of research and observation, the Four Tendencies personality framework answers the question “How do I get myself—and others—to do what I want?” Her book, The Four Tendencies is a New York Times bestseller, and over 3.5 million people have taken her quiz.
I found the results dead on.
For example, an Upholder (hi!) stringently maintains commitments to themselves and others. They are habit-driven and relentless—even when it doesn’t make sense sometimes (hi again!).
The insights warrant a few minutes of your time.
Book Beats
The buildout of the Book Notes page continues. This week I’ve added “Talent” by Tyler Cowen and Daniel Gross.
“Talent” provides a rich set of tools and strategies to help early-stage companies avoid directly competing with large firms to hire A-players—and still win the war for talent. You can read a quick review and key ideas from the book here.
Thank you for reading.
Let’s keep the Steady Beats going.
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Dread sprints sound fun! What a great way to reframe procrastination!
Thanks for sharing, I discovered I’m a questioner 😅🙋♀️