What Your Life Says About You

15 people had breakthroughs this week. Will the next one be you?

One thing for you to think about

Your life simply reflects what you’ve prioritized.

What you’ve achieved tells you what you were willing to suffer for.
What you failed at tells you the opposite.

Two things for you to ask yourself

What does your life tell you about your priorities? Do you wish it were different?

One thing for you to try this week

Pick one small action that reflects the priorities you want, and go do it. Let me know how that feels.

Last week’s breakthroughs

In last week’s newsletter, I asked you to give one person in your life your full attention and see what you can learn.

This “hit home” for Sandy:

I’m a potter and the owner of a studio I teach at has an eight-year-old daughter (let’s call her ‘the kid’). The kid and I get along well, and we’ve always played well together. She has an approach to clay that I adore, breaking all the rules, walking away when she’s frustrated to have a bounce on the trampoline, before coming back to hit it from another angle and basically giving zero f*cks about the process. She makes what she wants to make and she understands her skill level and adjusts her expectations accordingly.

I’ve had a hate-hate relationship with wheel throwing since I started pottery and it used to drive me crazy.

This year, I was asked by another studio to teach wheel throwing and it fits into my vision, so I said yes, and just decided I would learn to love it.

While I was trying to find my groove on the wheel, it occurred to me that I was going about it the wrong way. I was trying to make perfect, sellable pieces when I needed to have fun and play with the clay the same way the kid does.

As soon as I started to channel my inner kid, everything changed. I started to be excited to get out to the studio in the morning and trim the pots I made the day before and my skills took off in a way I had never dreamed of.

I just taught my sixth wheel-throwing class and I’ve figured out a lesson plan that ensures my students have a great time making wobbly pots.

This morning, I got my first review: ‘Sandy was wonderful! We did the sip and clay wheel throwing and it was so much fun. We’ll definitely be back. Cheers!’

The kid is full of lessons. I just need to pay attention.

Davie stopped waiting to talk:

For the last seven plus months I’ve been very lucky, ‘blessed,’ whatever you want to call it; to have found an AA meeting that’s two things: Extremely close to where I live and a welcoming new set of people to listen to.

For the first few months I’d sit and barely half listen. There I was. Waiting my turn to share just churning around inside wondering, what the f*ck am I supposed to say that will impress them?

After showing up and shutting up (my mind) I finally realized each person had their own story and most importantly, a lesson!

Those lessons/stories/shares were good and sometimes heartbreakingly bad. Some weeks not a lesson at all, but they just wanted to talk and for someone to listen.

Finally, Ronald has a lesson worth paying attention to:

I have been a visual artist for 50 years and husband and father for 40 plus years. One of the most important things I have learned and tried to teach my kids is ‘it is not always your turn to be all about you.’ Wordy but it makes one stop to parse it out.

As always, send your breakthroughs by simply replying to this email. Let me know if you’d prefer to remain anonymous.

Until next week,

Mark Manson

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author
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