1. I’ve been CEO for 17 years. Here’s what the most emotionally intelligent people do to be more successful in life.

2. 12 Reasons To Ditch The Diet Mentality. “Restricting yourself ultimately doesn’t work. Here’s why.”

3. Pitties People Watch From Their Window Perch All Day. (video)

4. This tiny NYC apartment goes for $687 a month! (video) “New York City comes in all shapes and sizes. In this new series, I explore interesting spaces and apartments. Today we tour $687 tiny NYC apartment and tour the famous 368 started by Casey Neistat.” What I found so interesting about this video isn’t so much the apartment or its size but what the person who lived there had to say about what is important to him, and in life. I have to say, however, I had anxiety the whole time about the possibility of his cat falling out the window.

5. Embracing the Dark Pleasures of Dystopian Literature: 10 Novels That Inspired Me To Write My Own. One of my favorite genres, although in the past few years they’ve all seemed less and less fictional.

6. Writers, Ink Podcast: Author Jami Attenberg Helps You Hit Word-Count Goals and Get Your Book to the Finish Line. I started following Jami on her Substack, Craft Talk, a few years ago, and have learned so much from her.

7. ‘Sort Of’ Review: The Max Show Is Back For Its Final Season. This show is SO GOOD.

8. Lauren Groff on Opening a Bookstore in Florida. “The Lynx, which Groff aims to open this spring, will feature banned books, an act of resistance in a state where more than half of school districts have seen book banning activity over the past two years.” In related news, here’s a link to their fundraiser, The Lynx, A Bookstore in Gainesville, FL.

9. Homeless man rescues puppies, leaves them at shelter with touching note.

10. A Simple Sacred Pilgrimage from Gretchen Schmelzer. “A pilgrimage, practiced, no matter how small, is a chance to see the sacred in the ordinary— to see the newest growth in yourself and a chance to greet yourself as a long lost friend.” Also from Gretchen, The bitter and the sweet in transitions.

11. Manjula Martin Tells Us: About Trying Slow from Cheryl Strayed’s series “in which I invite an author to tell us five things—not only about their most recent book, but about their life too.”

12. For the introverts: 5 Signs You’re a People-Pleasing Introvert and How Introverts Can Show Themselves Love on Their Toughest Days.

13. Failing into the New Year, “on things dead and not dead.”

14. From Lion’s Roar: Lessons on the Three Poisons from Barbie and Ken (“Following the Barbie film’s win for best song with ‘I’m Just Ken’ at the 2024 Critics’ Choice Awards, associate editor Mihiri Tillakaratne explores what Ken’s journey teaches us about Buddhism’s three poisons: craving, anger, and ignorance”) and What Do You Really Want? (“Take time to discover your deepest desires, says Brother Phap Linh. By shining the light of mindfulness on your volition, you’ll find more freedom”).

15. The Sound of a Thing Carrying Doom on Short Reads.

16. A Few Good Questions, “On the value of our time and energy and more” from Jami Attenberg.

17. This pay phone is free, but you can’t make a call. It only plays birdsongs.

18. Gezellig: How to be cozy like the Dutch.

19. Close-Up Photographer of the Year Showcases Mindboggling Macro Images of the Natural World.

20. 365 grateful days on A Grace Full Life.

21. The Guilt of Feeling Joy, “On allowing yourself to be happy.”

22. Incredible Vegan Dinner Recipes to Put on Your Menu ASAP.

23. The Ezra Klein Show: How to Discover Your Own Taste. “Kyle Chayka, a staff writer at The New Yorker, has written a whole book on it, the forthcoming “Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture.” We talk about how today’s internet encourages everything to look more the same and is even dulling our ability to know what we like. And we discuss what we can do to strengthen our sense of personal taste in order to live a richer, more beautiful life.”

24. Against Self-Criticism. 

25. 10 surprising psychological and physical perks associated with regular reading.

26. This Is What Happened When I Didn’t Buy Any New Clothes for a Year.

27. Feeling Stuck on a Task or Problem? Tons of Science Says You Should Take a Walk.

28. I deeply loved my time in Nebraska, “Until I didn’t. Life bends in unreliable directions like that, and then something breaks” from Patti Digh. Also from Patti, You are Beautiful.

29. ‘It will be the end of democracy’: Bernie Sanders on what happens if Trump wins – and how to stop him. “He’s the leftwing outsider who nearly became the Democrats’ candidate for president – twice. As his position on the Israel-Gaza war threatens to upset his support, the veteran senator says he’s tired but determined to fight the return of that ‘ bitter, humiliated man’.”

30. Not the end of the world: nine data-driven reasons to look beyond doomsday headlines. We need good news too, if for no other reason than it might keep us from giving up.

31. Let Go Of These 8 Things For A Happier Life from Courtney Carver on Be More With Less.

32. Let’s go small together, “An invitation wrapped in an origin story” from Rita Ott Ramstad. “It can mean that we don’t have to find or live out a great purpose. We can simply live our small lives the best we can alongside other, similar beings. It doesn’t mean we don’t or can’t or won’t or shouldn’t care for others and the places we live, but it means we don’t have to do that caring in big, unique, changing-the-world ways. It means we can recognize and be OK with the idea that we are all just passing through, and the things we do and make and love will pass with us when we’re gone.” And this line really got me, “as it turns out, I want a lot less than I thought I did.” Amen, Rita. ❤

1. The Right Kind of Busy: Rethinking the cult of busyness from Culture Study. “The worst kind of busy makes you feel out of control. It’s defensive and brittle and terrified. It’s lonely; it dissembles. It’s also profoundly wearying — and yet it’s somehow addictive, too. The right kind of busy is indicative of a mind in touch with itself and in deep connection with others. It’s constantly recalibrating, re-examining, we rethinking: what’s enough? What should I do more, and what should I do less? It means having a calendar that’s at once full and with built-in flex. It breathes deeply and sleeps soundly. The right kind of busy is a feast.” In related news, Just because you can from Rita on her new Substack space, Rootsie. “I thought I had spurned productivity culture. I thought I had embraced simplicity and small-life living. I thought I had divorced worthiness from accomplishment. I was wrong.”

2. How Did I Change So Much, So Quickly? from Andrea Gibson. “This I now know for certain: I do all of growing during the times in my life when I am offering compassion to the parts of myself that have not yet grown. I never once managed to shame myself into a version of me I loved more (and trust me, I spent decades trying). As Meg says, “shame is never fertile soil for growth”. A better world is not created from a planet of people hating themselves, but hate’s opposite. Sweet community, I hope as you read this today, you can scan yourself, look deep within, and decide every part of you is good news.”

3. Best podcasts of the week: Kick off 2024 with a self-help show free from ‘delusional positivity.’ In related news, Self Help podcast review — travels with a man and his mental illness.

4. Talkative Frenchie Has The Most Unique “Voice” | The Dodo. (video) Another of my favorite sources for animal videos is GeoBeats — “We tell inspiring, positive stories about humans being good to animals. Our goal here is to promote compassion and kindness.”

5. Movies I want to see: Maggie Moore(s) – Official Trailer Starring Jon Hamm & Tina Fey and Cold Copy | Official Trailer (HD) | Vertical. (videos)

6. What Is Intuitive Eating? Meet the Duo Behind the Method on The New York Times, (gift link). “Once considered radical, Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole’s method of intuitive eating has become the cornerstone of the modern anti-diet movement.”

7. Ullie-Kaye Poetry on Instagram, because of poems like this one, (which she sells prints of on her Etsy shop):

8. How to Heal After Narcissistic Abuse as an HSP. I’d love to believe that I’ve experienced this for the last time, but I thought that before I found myself in the same situation, again… *sigh*

9. How Do You Write a Book? “Jami Attenberg, Roxane Gay, Alex Chee, and other novelists explain how to write a book. The first trick is: You have to write a 1000 words every day. The second trick is: You have to have fun.”

10. The Four Best Light Therapy Lamps. As I get up before the sun rises, I use mine every day, even in this part of Colorado where we get so much sun.

11. Leash Your Dogs. I Don’t Care If They’re Friendly. “I’m tired of being jumped on, clawed, and bitten on runs because of inconsiderate owners.”

12. Everyone Wants to Quit, but They Can’t. “What we can learn from frustrated mice.”

13. How to Actually Get Stuff Done as a Highly Sensitive Person.

14. How to Be an Activist When You’re a Quiet Introvert. If this is you, I also highly recommend the work of Omkari Williams., in particular her newsletter, her podcast, and her new book.

15. With Astonishing Tenderness, a poem from Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer.

16. Good stuff from Frederick Joseph: Are We This Far Gone? and The Co-opting of a Radical. I also love this short video on Instagram where he talks about how he got started as a writer, or rather stopped and restarted.

17. 11 things after a deer sighting from Jena Schwartz. “The ephemeral nature of awe.” I love the list, but what I absolutely adore is the image and poem she shares at the end. 

18. Why I’ve Decided to Treat Social Media Like Real-Life. “I’m too old and tired to be anyone else but myself.”

19. Consequences from Seth Godin.

20. My Year of Writing Dangerously from Summer Brennan. “Last year I set out to write a ‘five things’ draft every day for 365 days. Here’s what happened next.”

21. The habits that have most improved your life. “The new year can be a fertile time for introspection. We asked Positive News readers: what habits do you swear by? From tried and tested rituals to more eccentric customs, this is what you said.”

22. I am “grossly unremarkable” and I’m okay with that from Patti Digh.

23. Video demonstration: Climbing the Inner Map from Julie Colwell.

24. Just Say No to Artificial Intelligence In Your Creative Pursuits, Please, JFC, WTAF from Chuck Wendig on Terrible Minds.

25. In Times of Crisis, Draw Upon the Strength of Peace on Lion’s Roar. “When we are called upon to help in a crisis, says Kaira Jewel Lingo, we must respond. But the way we do is crucial.”

26. The Case for Mediocrity. “I began to reevaluate my relationship with ambition and what I want from my work and life. And the truth I came to is this: mediocrity is a far better fate than misery.”

27. How to Find a Great Therapist You Can Actually Afford.

28. Let Me Just Say This: Let’s Just Skip the New Year’s Resolutions This Time, Okay?

29. Best Comedy of 2023 on The New York Times (gift link). “It’s time to stop taking Jim Gaffigan for granted, and more surprising takeaways from specials, stand-up sets and other funny moments this year.”

30. Slowerness. “Last week, as I willed myself away from doing more, I wrote out my new year’s intention: to practice slowerness.”

31. How To Keep Caring Amid Endless Crises. “Nadia Bolz-Weber on grace, compassion, and spheres of influence.”

32. This Genocide Is Being Live-Streamed. We Can’t Say We Didn’t Know.

33. I tried to get over my phone addiction – by spending even more time on it. This is the first of a multipart series from Rhik Samadder attempting to detox from his phone.

34. 35 Horror Stories From People Who Took A DNA Test And Probably Regretted It.

35. Dwyane Wade and Netflix Created a “Love Letter” From Fathers to Their Trans Kids. “In the 11-minute movie, six dads go on a weekend fishing trip and bond over raising LGBTQ+ kids.”

36. Life In the Slow Lane: Why Soft and Slow is the New Busy from Tammy Strobel on Be More With Less.

37. Cool art: Magical handmade miniatures and dioramas by Caroline Dewison, and Wonderful impressionistic landscape embroideries by Cassandra Dias, and Ryan Villamael’s Cascading Floral Sculptures Reconsider Maps and Identity, and 5,000 Years of Feminine Power and Prestige Are On Display in ‘Revered and Feared.’