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T.H.U.R.S. #15
A choice, weak ties, chairlift chats
Gabriel Mira
November 14, 2024
Hola and welcome to The Summit, my biweekly newsletter where I share my unfiltered thoughts on navigating the peaks and valleys of adulthood.
My mission is to question everything, grow every day and have fun along the way. The Summit’s mission is to invite you to do the same.
Today: T.H.U.R.S. #15
Thoughts:
Something light:
Beware the stories you read or tell; subtly, at night, beneath the waters of consciousness, they are altering your world.
I recently started reading Tim Ferriss’ Tools of Titans and he mentioned this quote by Nigerian Poet, Ben Okri (I quickly marked the page and threw it straight into my quote bank).
From my understanding, it is a fancy way or saying: garbage in, garbage out. Are you always engaging in conversations about that silly TV show, or are you digging deeper? Are you reading pointless Reddit threads, or picking up a good book?
Like always, we need a balance (keep up with your favourite show!), but I think we should always be aware of what we’re feeding ourselves, and limit the junk food.
Something heavy: a choice?
There is no perfect way to live your 20's. You either live ‘em up and become an under-skilled 30-year-old, or work ‘em up and become an under-lived 30-year-old. You just have to figure which you’d rather be, accept the trade-offs, and know there are no do-overs...?
Chris Williamson recently dropped this bomb on one of his recent podcast episodes. What do you think?
I definitely do not think it is that cut and dry, but I think there is some hard truth in there. I see no reason why we can’t strive to develop both our skills and experiences, however focussing on one and not the other… that could lead to problems.
My naive takeaway - work hard, play hard 😎.
If only I could ask people (post 20’s) about their thoughts and experiences💡.
Highlights:
My favourite thing I learnt this week: The Power of Weak Ties.
I recently started reading The Defining Decade by clinical psychologist, Doctor Meg Jay. So far, I am loving it and would 10/10 recommend for anyone navigating their twenties!
Dr. Jay introduced the idea of strong and weak ties, where strong ties represent the strongest relationships in your life (with friends, family, roommates, etc.) and weak ties represent the bonds with acquaintances (colleagues, old classmates, friends of friends, etc.).
Although out friends and family mean the world to us, Dr. Jay explains how weak ties generally have the biggest impact on our lives. Whether it is an old colleague who puts in a word for you at a new company, or that friend of a friend who invites you to their event with total strangers. It is our weak ties that have the most potential to expand our horizons, especially in comparison to our closest network who we are most comfortable with.
Dr. Jay continued to share that us 20 somethings tend not to feel comfortable reaching out to our network and using the power of weak ties. We generally feel afraid of rejection, embarrassed, or even too proud to ask for favours. Yet more times than not, people are more than happy to help out - it makes them feel good too!
Is there anyone in your extended network worth reaching out to?
Uplift:
Something uplifting that I stumbled across and want to share: A tip for the ladies
This guy has to be one of my favourite content creators right now 🤣. His main message - get outside!
Reflect:
A question I asked myself this week:
❓️What is the worst that could happen? Is that even a problem?
💁♂️Starting to interview randoms this week on the ski hill (I explain this more in the next section), I was getting incredibly nervous! What if they say no?!?!
💁♂️Sometimes it can be so easy to get worked up over the wrong things. This week was just another reminder to better consider where I place my worries (we only have so many F*s to give remember) … so what if someone says no!
Summit:
Allow me to introduce my next passion project: ‘Chairlift Chats’.
I have set an ambitious goal this winter - to interview 100 people on the slopes.
Why? Well, there are a couple of reasons:
As you’d know from reading this blog, I strive to question everything; and lately I have been asking myself some of life’s big questions. As I try to tackle them for myself, I thought what better way to start than by asking others.
I honestly believe that everyone has something valuable and insightful to share.
As you will start to see (if you follow this next project along), my goal is to gain as much insight from people as possible and of course, have as much fun with it as possible. I have started posting some interviews on my TikTok (see below) but will be creating an Instagram page this week to share them all :)
@gabe._.mira Wise words from marky Mark, the ironman from Liverpool 💪 #lakelouiseskiresort #charliftchats #360
I aim to have 10 posted this time next week 💪.
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