#109 I'll find time
Common Discourse is a newsletter designed to help others (and ourselves) think through the pursuit of creativity, focus, and intentional work.
Every week, we share a few ideas from us, a quote from somebody else, and links worth sharing. On Fridays we invite a guest to share images from their camera roll and a sound that resonates with them. Occasionally, we’ll write a journal with observations on what’s happening in the world.
A Tuesday briefing except it’s on Wednesday because we had a long weekend and I forgot.
— Alex
A few ideas
I. CULMINATION
As long as you show up, there's hardly such thing as a waste of time.
Every experiment, every failure, all the photos you take, words you write, and songs you sing is a result of everything that has come before it.
It's safe to say that it's all adding up to something, even if we don't know quite what that is just yet.
It all matters.
II. DOING DIFFICULT THINGS
Many of us make the mistake of prioritizing the thought of how difficult it is to do almost anything.
When we start a business, a new workout routine, or study for an exam, the dominate thought in our minds is often “This is hard.”
And while it’s true that all of these things, and anything else worth having, does involve a degree of difficulty, one interesting observation is that people who excel are often focused on anything but difficulty.
Runners will tell you how good it feels to move their body, entrepreneurs might say how proud they are to build a team, and grad students show us how rewarding it is to keep acquiring knowledge.
Doing difficult things requires our focus to be on the parts we enjoy as opposed to the difficulty of it.
III. REMARKABLE TASTE
If you want to have remarkable taste, pay attention to what you love and what you hate. And most importantly, pay no attention to the things you feel indifferent to.
Taste is a practice of discernment and restraint.
A quote from somebody else
“You can’t go looking for interesting ideas, not directly. You have to look for that thing that surges up in you—surges like rage, like laughter, like sadness—when you encounter clues.”
— Henrik Karlsson
Links worth sharing
🪑 My friend, collaborator, and talented furniture designer Willett lost his home and everything in it from Los Angeles wildfires. My team at MW.S is selling tees using the branding and website we developed for him last year. Pay what you want to help support Willett’s family and their bounce back from the loss.
✍️ How to establish a daily writing practice
🎥 DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, a short film by Bad Bunny
🔍 On Friday, MW.S is launching a Substack called Findings where we’ll be sharing a broader perspective of the quiet influences that shape our culture.
🙇♂️ A funny thing about curiosity, Escaping Flatland
Thanks for consuming!
ℹ️ Read more about Common Discourse here.
📬 If you liked this newsletter, please consider sharing with others who might enjoy it as well.
🗂 Here is every Common Discourse weekly briefing to date.
really enjoyed the running analogy and the love / hate discernment. happy to have these newsletters back!