Trying new things

I’m trying to form new habits, cultivating things that make me happier, more satisfied, and culling the things that don’t anymore. A kind of Marie Kondo, but for feelings instead of things.

My employer has a mission statement to “improve the quality of life,” which is really a great mission statement to have, especially for a software company. One of the ways they back up that mission is by investing in their employees’ mental health and well-being. For several years now, we’ve been able to take part in sessions with a mindfulness coach. In the beginning, it was pretty clear that the original goal was trying to keep people prepared for the daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly “hero’s journey” that everyone in a tech startup has to go through to keep the company moving forward and growing. But, somewhere along the way, at least for the group sessions I’ve been a part of, the focus shifted away from optimizing for mental performance, to a focus on more general positive well-being; gratitude, meditation, and breathing exercise as a way of reducing stress, increasing calm and focus.

One of the things I’ve been doing is trying to snap a photo everyday, and posting a weekly summary on my instagram account. When I succeed, it helps me remember that there’s something everyday, however small, that’s worth capturing.

In a similar vein, I’m starting up a journal, with the intention of capturing the things I’m grateful for everyday, and another way of noticing life.

This little site here is another thing, I’m not promising to post everyday, or anything crazy like that, but I do hope to pay a little more attention to these pages and update them a little more frequently.

So, here”s to trying new things.