081: Sources of meaning

This the 81st edition of Cultivating Resilience, a weekly newsletter how we build, adapt, and lead in times of change—brought to you by Jason Shen, a PM, resilience coach, 1st gen immigrant, ex-gymnast, and 3x startup founder

🤔 What makes life meaningful?

A Pew Research Center study found that citizens of different countries ranked different sources of meaning as important.

Most countries led with Family, except Spain (Health), South Korea (Material well-being), and Taiwan (Society). Occupation was #2 for many, though surprisingly not the US (#2 Friends, #3 Material well-being). UK was the only to squeeze in Hobbies into their top 5, while Americans rounded out with Faith.

Q: What about you? What are the 2-3 top sources of meaning for you?
Reply back over email and I'll tell you mine!

🧠 Should we take a day off? Like really off?

As some of you may surmise, I'm a doer. It's Saturday and I'm over here writing this newsletter. First off, I consider it a hobby so it's more like "fun-work" than "work-work". But still, I'm not out here just idling.

But maybe I should. Artist Austin Kleon writes about how he's been trying a lot harder to make his weekends more about real rest and idlness. He shares advice from an artist coach named Beth Pickens:

Pickens uses the concept of Shabbat with all the artists she works with, regardless of their religious background: “I ask them to choose a twenty-four-hour period every week from which they abstain from any work that could lead to making money, including their art.” Many of her clients balk at this suggestion. “They want more time for their art and here I am asking them to do none of it for a whole precious day each week.”

But these artists often find that — surprise! — taking a day off from their work restores their spirit and energy. There’s a balance here, of course, as Pickens defines an artist as a person who makes art, but also someone whose life suffers when they’re away from their creative practice. A real day off is usually more than enough to have us chomping at the bit to get back to the studio.

I'm not exactly an artist, but this newsletter is certainly creative work. I used to chip away at it during the week and then wrap it up on Fridays to send Saturday morning. Reading this makes me vow to be more diligent about that.

🖼 Shadow (Scotch & Bean #034)

More snark from the newest member of the Scotch & Bean family. Also trying a little color today, LMK what you think.

👉 A full-body kettlebell workout

I caught a cold from visiting my parents over Thanksgiving so haven't been able to workout very hard for a week or so. This was a sobering reminder that fitness requires ongoing investment. You can modify with a lighter weight and no pushup or jump on the burpee.

Like this edition of Cultivating Resilience? Help me reach more people who could use these ideas by sharing it!

More Resources and Fun Stuff

• Book Notes: Summaries / quotes from great books I've read
• Scotch & Bean: a webcomic about work, friendship, and wellness
• Birthday Lessons: Ideas, questions, and principles I've picked up over the years