TGC Newsletter: March 2024

In this monthly blog, I'll share a few things circulating in my mind over the previous weeks. These emails will be short and sweet, providing thought-provoking insights and lessons about creativity, youth, career, leadership development, and more. Thanks for following along in this weird journey of life.

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What I'm Reading

A friend recently teased me that I always searching for the “why.” The bottom line makes sense to me. Values make sense to me. It grounds me. There is often more clear alignment in that space, but people express it differently. The following article breaks down why we should be asking why.

“What matters to me right now”: Chris Guilleebeau's simple question to help you rethink your next actions.

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What I'm Listening To

Esther Perel’s Where Should We Begin Podcast, episode “Sex, Comedy, and Context: A Live Conversation with Trevor Noah from SXSW.” We love the wise teachings of Esther Perel, relationship and sex therapist, and we love the comedic relief and unique insight Trevor Noah provides. This conversation sheds light on the power and intimacy of comedy. You can also watch it here.

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What I'm Doing

Taking care of my teenage and early 20s self. People often discuss healing your inner child. Childhood can cause wounds of varying degrees, and so can your teen and early 20s when you’re exposed to more people, finally on your own and making your own way. So, this month, I’m focusing on healing from my teen and early 20s, rewriting stories, and telling negative thoughts that they don’t have space in my world anymore.

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What's Moved Me

I was recently reminded of Newton’s first law of motion, the law of inertia: An object at rest stays at rest and remains in motion at a constant velocity unless acted on by a net external force.

What if we applied this law to your mindsets, drive to meet a goal, learn a new skill, advance your career, or build a habit? How would your behavior change if you knew that your goal would remain still if you were still? What if you push it forward a little bit, day by day, in constant velocity?

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What I'm Wiggling To

We’re settled into 2024, and the Lunar New Year has passed, the astrological new year was March 20, which was also the first day of spring, one of the four Jewish New Years (Passover) is next month, and we’re officially in spring. Let’s bring back the inspiration from the Gregorian calendar and jump back into a song on heavy rotation in 2024: This Year by Emily King.

Stay Playful,

Tamar

TGC Newsletter: February 2024

Welcome to The Growth Coach newsletter! In this monthly email, I'll share a few things circulating in my mind over the previous weeks. These emails will be short and sweet, providing thought-provoking insights and lessons about creativity, youth, career, leadership development, and more. Thanks for following along in this weird journey of life.

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What I'm Reading

The Red Car Theory by Aniket Tapre

The Red Car Theory isn’t just about noticing red cars; it’s a metaphor for the broader concept of recognizing opportunities in life. Just like red cars, opportunities are abundant and diverse, but they often go unnoticed until we intentionally seek them.

Recognizing them can expand opportunity, whether you believe in manifesting, being aware of, or being open to possibilities. There is something about trusting the process, trusting the universe, trusting your brain to notice the red cars and then see value in that noticing. Maybe it’s a way to make coincidences more likely to repeat in the future. The Red Car Theory may not open your world to possibility, but what if it does? How will that belief impact your behavior?

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What I'm Listening To

In a Modern Love Podcast, Un Marry Me, a best-selling author tells his story about how his wife wanted to be “unmarried,” and no, that doesn’t mean divorce. The podcast is a lesson in removing pre-set status quo expectations. When we go through our lives, we fall into similar paths and patterns as others: college, job, marriage, kids, retirement. As we move through that process, the status quo deprioritizes friendship, community, play, or fun. We accept things we think we cannot change. But we can, and that’s what designing the life best for you means. You can redesign how you engage in and with romantic relationships, platonic relationships, run an ethical business as an anti-capitalist, or deconstruct self-care to create community care.

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What I'm Doing

Inspired by a relationship coach, Lily Womble, when small, good moments happen, I’ve started to say out loud, “More for that, please.” It has always made me smile and grateful for a small moment of joy.

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What's Moved Me

This tweet is from Susan Cain’s The Quiet Life newsletter. Susan Cain is the author of my favorite book. Although she’s an introvert and I’m a type A extrovert, her appreciation for the quiet, simple, kind moments of gratitude often move me to tears.

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What I'm Wiggling To

Speaking of hydrogen, just double it and add some oxygen, and you’ve got my new favorite song: Drink Water by Jon Batiste ft. Jon Bellion, Fireboy DML

Stay Playful,

Tamar

TGC Newsletter: January 2024

Welcome to the first edition of The Growth Coach newsletter! In this monthly email, I'll share a few things circulating in my mind over the previous weeks. These emails will be short and sweet, providing thought-provoking insights and lessons about creativity, youth, career, leadership development, and more. I welcome your thoughts and reactions to the content in this newsletter.

Thanks for following along in this weird journey of life.

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What I'm Reading

The root of inspire can be traced to the Latin word "inspirare," which literally translates to "to breathe into," and in early usage, the term's meaning evolved into "to draw air into the lungs." Metaphorically, this mirrors the inspiration process: We take inspiration from the world around us - "breathing it in" - and then "breathe it back out" through how we apply it to our lives.

From The science behind inspiration and how to design more of it into your life, by Minnie Bredouw

My question to you: When you take a deep breath, what did you notice or think about? What, if anything, changed in you?

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What I'm Listening To

NPR's Throughline Podcast episode, No Bad Ideas?, a thought-provoking episode about original thinking, AI, and the history of creativity. This was one of my homework assignments for one of my graduate courses this semester entitled The Responsibility Ladder, People Power and Policy.

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What I'm Doing

I'm taking everyday risks inspired by The Looking Glass: The Year of Everyday Risks by Julie Zhuo. Julie writes:

Everyday risks - the small actions that comes with a twinge of discomfort. Because of that twinge of discomfort, I haven't jumped to do them. And so they continue to remain a notion in my mind, rejected for being too silly, stupid, effortful, fraught, impractical, ego-bruising, exposing. They remain untried.

Everyday risks are an opportunity to be vulnerable. Do something a little scary (like talking to strangers) to create opportunities for something good to happen in your day. It's an opportunity to remember that our world has more good than bad. Examples include talking to the cashier, being silly when it's unexpected, or smiling at strangers on the street.

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What's Moved Me

I think art is always answering to the threat of death. But you don't throw yourself into it. You just answer.

• Helen Cixous from Jewish Currents: The Strangeness Inside Yourself

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What I'm Wiggling To

Psychedelic Switch by Carly Rae Jepson

Stay Playful,

Tamar