SB 182: Shortcomings as slingshots, the 4 tendencies, working with dread

Feb 12, 2023

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.

charlottegrysolle @chargrysolle

I could use some of these “dread sprints”: “I get so much more done than other people because I don’t waste any time dreading. I just take the dread and get the task done. The whole time you’re doing thoughtwork to get over the dread, you could be doing a dread sprint.“

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.