Hey there —

Do you ever wish life were just a little bit easier?

We humans are pretty good at finding ways to deal with discomfort.

We chug an espresso to get through that monotonous meeting. Hire an accountant to handle the chaos that is our taxes. Adopt a dog if we’re feeling lonely (No? Just us?). 🐕‍🦺

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to alleviate the strains of our day-to-day. But not all “easy” choices are created equal.

Because choosing the easy route over the uncomfortable one can actually have long-term consequences.

The problem is that it’s hard to visualize long-term benefits when we’re distracted by immediate negatives. It doesn’t help that our brain is wired to make decisions based on avoiding pain while maximizing pleasure, a phenomenon known as the Hedonic Principle.

But here’s how this backfires on us:

• We don’t work out because it’s a pain in the 🍑, but without exercise our muscles weaken over time.

• We don’t publish a YouTube video because we worry it’s not good enough, and stay stuck consuming other people’s creations without ever sharing our own.

• We don’t have a difficult conversation because we’re afraid of confrontation, only to find ourselves in an unhealthy relationship.

The truth is, life will probably include some challenges. What matters is how we respond to them — by either caving to the allure of short-term gain or exerting control to achieve long-term wellbeing.

Or as Ed Yong from The Atlantic describes it;

“It’s Present You taking a hit to help out Future You.”

It’s not easy to bypass our brain’s hardwiring. But doing the hard stuff now offers greater benefits when we consider the long game. (While you might not feel like going for a jog today, you'll be grateful for that extra stamina when the zombie apocalypse arrives. 😉)

So the next time you’re stuck between two choices, consider which path delivers the best outcome — even if it takes time and effort to get there.

Future you will thank you.🚶‍♀️

Are we all converging into the same online persona?

by Tobias van Schneider

7,100 languages are spoken around the world. But online, we all share one.

We use popular emojis, express ourselves with “Likes” and “Shares,” and spread humor through beloved memes.

And it’s not just how we communicate but where: online. In this digital ecosystem, algorithms feed us similar content. Avatars and filters make us even look the same.

If your reaction is “Well that’s creepy,” blogger Tobias van Schneider would agree. In this article, he dissects how the internet is flattening our individuality — and questions the larger implications.

Read the article →

20 Lessons from earning $100k in sales

by Steph Smith

Growth marketer Steph Smith launched her e-book, Doing Content Right, in 2020. In just a few months, she achieved over $100k in sales. 🤯

To celebrate this milestone, Steph published a thread on the biggest lessons she’s learned from launching a digital product and years of creating online.

This thread isn’t some “cheat-code” to achieving the same results overnight. Instead, it’ll instill valuable mental frameworks centered around patience, persistence, and creativity.

Read the thread →

Museum of Endangered Sounds

by Brendan Chilcutt

Ever heard the ping of AOL Instant Messenger? Or the trill of the Nokia ringtone?

If you answered no, you’re definitely a Gen-Z, and we feel sorry you missed out.

Welcome to the Museum of Endangered Sounds, a digital landscape of some of the sounds 80s and 90s babies are very familiar with.

As technology becomes increasingly sleek and streamlined, this page is dedicated to the clunky, chunky, and clamorous sounds of antiquated gear. Enjoy.

Listen to the sounds →

Written by Alice Lemée

Edited by Matt D'Avella & Kerstin Sheppard