Tweet Therapy, Vol. 1
An appetizer for the brain
We’re about a week removed from Donald Trump’s fateful conviction in the “hush money” case involving Stormy Daniels. While many will look at this issue through a partisan lens depending on personal beliefs, the fact of the matter is that we all lost.
The thinkpieces that have been done on this scenario are legion, and I have no interest in beating a dead horse and adding onto the heap of content that’s already been produced.
The entire ordeal is yet another cartoonish sideshow in the trainwreck of 20’s American politics, sowing the roots of our national division even deeper than they were before.
The takes on social media range from “ OMG they finally got the bad Orange Man!” to “I won’t do business with anyone that doesn’t support Trump”. Neither help.
I had initially told our pal Elevator Charles that I was going to target this story as a focus of my next post, but the inherent writer’s block that accompanied it told me this was a poor decision. Always follow the energy!
We could’ve gone down the “it’s all over, buy guns and ammo now!!” route (while probably a solid point) is both overly alarmist and done to death.
There was also the “this is a weaponization of the court system and total BS” angle, which is also completely true, but you want to avoid browbeating your audience and teetering on the edge of complaining.
Empathetic intuition would tell you that people are exhausted from the constant back-and-forth discourse, of the bombardment of the next “big story”.
It’s easy to get caught up in such a chaotic sociopoltical environment that we lose sight of ourselves and our goals- a (not so) minor tragedy!
Hence, the direction of this post.
Let’s have some fun with some tweets that just might change and improve your everyday life- surely that’s a far more enjoyable endeavor than gnashing our collective teeth over the latest topical outrage soup du jour.
(Sounds a lot more fun than he said she said politics, doesn’t it?)
Here we go:
What’s your Ikigai?
Love Elon,but truly don’t get it with his removal of Twitter/X embedding capabilities on Substack. Just…why?
Anyhow, here is a gem from organic content and systems expert, Matt Gray:
Ikigai is a Japanese term that directly translates into “reason to live”.
This exercise is both extremely therapeutic while simultaneously way harder than it looks. The four major circles and their intersections will lead you down an exhausting yet beneficial path of self-discovery that you’ll be happy you embarked on.
In a world where technological advancement and its accompanied opportunity move at warp speed, getting to thoroughly know yourself on a base level is both exciting and humbling at the same time.
Remember- this exercise only works if you’re truly honest with yourself. You’ll uncover layers you didn’t know were there.
Perhaps you’re way more financially driven than you realized.
Perhaps you have an unrealized dream in your subconscious that rears its (beautiful) head through Ikigai.
Maybe you’re exactly where you want to be.
You don’t know unless you try.
Take some time and go on Do Not Disturb (“phone on the moon”, as they say) and find out who you really are.
I don’t know anyone that’s come away from the Ikigai exercise with less excitement and fervor for their own lives.
Dancing in the Rain
This is what we call a banger.
The reasons for outrage in our modern world are plenty. We have rising costs, rising tensions at home and abroad, and all-time high uncertainty on many levels.
People are more on edge than ever, and you can’t really blame them.
When we operate on such an uptight, cortisol-driven level, the most minor of inconveniences can send us spiralling or into a fit if we’re not careful. It’s for this very reason that taking heed of the above tweet can be such a gamechanger.
Cut someone off in traffic by mistake, and now they’re pulling up next to you all “middle finger, F U I’m gonna kill you?” Flash ‘em a smile and be on your way (trust me this is actually hilarious).
It’s $23.95 for a Chipotle bowl for lunch? Hey, at least you have a story about inflation to tell your future grandkids.
Fail a PR attempt in the gym? Look down at your able body and smile at the fact you’re able to be in there in the first place. (Unless, of course, the resident gym QT was witness to your failed lift- idk a remedy for that one, but maybe she has a sense of humor?)
The point remains- in a world where you can rightfully be ticked off every single day, try and crack a smile and let the trivialties of modern life slide off your back like it’s nothing. The energy shift from this way of thinking will produce infinitely postive returns.
Almost forgot another hypothetical for reframing the madness into happiness- you know those annoying red light camera tickets? If you look yours up online, they actually have a video of you blowing through the light (trust me, I know). Screen grab it and pair it up to Kenny Loggins’ Danger Zone and send it out to the group chat. Almost makes it worth it. (Just pay the ticket on time and avoid das boot, IYKYK).
The Roadmap for a Stressed-out Mind
Internet business wiz Greg Isenberg posted an absolutely priceless infograph this week:
It’s pretty self-explanatory, and while it may teeter on suburban mom “Live Laugh Love” territory, the fact of the matter is that the simple yet easily applicable actionable steps contained within can be certified gamechangers.
I’m especially a fan of the transference of overthinking into writing, and using the hopeless paranoia of “stuckness” as energy for the catharsis of a late-night walk.
Each one of these bullet points can help ease an overactive or anxious mind and propel you into a state of calm productivity, where the possibilities are endless.
What’s your “League”?
Alright, nothing actionable here. I’m having fun with this one. Anybody who is chronically online (guilty) knows p8stie well, and sometimes she just has tweets that hit.
It’ll 100% be an Elevated Thoughts topic next time I’m on.
If this is true, it’s either really encouraging or harrowing, depending on how you lived those formative years.
Looking forward to yapping about this one for sure.
Closing Thoughts
The madness that has become so prevalent in our modern news cycles and everyday lives shows no signs of slowing down, and frankly it’s high time to tune it all out and focus on what we can control- ourselves and our lives.
I hope at least one of these tweets was able to hit home and resonate.
We’re all works in progress, but the more we lock in on who we are and what we love (and less on how we want to argue with those that disagree with us), the better off we’re going to be.
I’m gonna make empathy cool again, even if it’s the last thing I ever do.
Btw, maybe the real crime all along was that Stormy just was never cute to begin with.
Not for me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Be good to yourselves, and talk soon.
<3
-John
10 June 2024