015: Permission to be a bit sh*t

Howdy folks,

It's been a while - a lot's happened since I last posted an update.

Last time I was roaming around the streets of Edinburgh now I'm driving a bike around the rice fields in Bali.

A lot changes in a short space of time doesn't it?

But I wanted use this newsletter to talk a bit more about expectations, perfectionism, how they hold us back & why it's okay to be a bit shit.

I've been wanting to update this newsletter every week for weeks now.

I have been bouncing around cities and countries over the past few weeks.

But at the same time, it wasn't that I didn't have a chance to write an update here.

What happened was I wanted these pieces of writing to be a certain way. I would write ideas out, I would use AI to help structure my writing better but still keep my tone of voice.

I had all these things I was trying to do in order to make these pieces of writing into something that I felt proud of.

Which is a great thing to do! Apart from when it becomes too much - which it did.

Each week I had ideas I wanted to talk about or share but didn't get around too.

So in my head, I had to catch up on 1 newsletter then it became 2,3,4,5,6.

The weight of writing these newsletters started to become such a big deal that I didn't even want to tackle it anymore.

But what has been happening in the background of this has been maybe more interesting and a bit of a revelation for me.

So pretty much every day for the last 1 1/2 months I've written over 1,000 words.

It's something that I have come to really enjoy and look forward to as part of my day.

But how can I easily write 1,000 words a day yet struggle to write a newsletter?

Well here's the secret.

I'm okay with it being a bit shit

See when I write my daily 1,000 words I decided I'm not trying to write in a specific way or have specific outcomes.

I just allow myself to freely express my thoughts and ideas.

What comes out isn't going to win any prizes or get me an A in an English exam.

But it's more just me. How I am. How I think. How I speak.

And writing that way is super easy and it's way more freeing to just express myself in all the weird imperfect ways.

So I'm taking this lesson I've learned from my daily writing and I'm applying it to this Newsletter.

Starting fresh with a new way of approaching it.

It's a little rough around the edges. It might not flow as nicely.

But life's a little bit like that in the end anyway.

I'm not a writer, I'm just a dude who's sharing his thoughts, ideas & learnings openly for people to read.

I look forward to sharing more cool things with you back on my regular Monday schedule.

And if you're anything like me and are feeling the weight of self-pressure right now? Maybe it's okay to be a bit sh*t too.

I've got so many thoughts, ideas and general musings that I can't wait to share with you throughout these newsletters and through the blog articles I publish on this site.

They might be a bit sh*t in grammar but I hope they are packed with valuable nuggets for you to munch on.

As always thanks for checking in and reading.

👏

Here are some cool things that are going on in the world right now that I think you should know about.

1.  Find a little bit of peace and quiet in iOS + MacOS

If you're a bit weird like me.

You might find yourself not wanting to listen to music but still would like to drone out the world around you.

I got you.

If you've got an Apple device there's a hidden setting that will transport your ears into a tranquil bliss.

2.  I am Grok??

Elon stepping into the Ai game with the first release of Grok. Available on the Premium X subscription plan.

It has sass, humour and is a bit rude.

What's not to like? I doubt the LinkedIn crowd would approve but wouldn't it be boring if no Ai had any personality?

One step closer to the depressed robot from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Ai chatbot we've all been waiting for.

But that's it for this week folks I'll catch you next week.

Have a good one 👏

Matt

xx