Shiv's Newsletter #8
Welcome to the eighth issue! Stay toasty 💪
👋 Hello from Queens, NYC! In this newsletter, I’ll give some updates from last month, reflect on my first bout with covid, and share some details of my current journaling practice.
📖 ICYMI, here’s the first edition of 2023 from Jan. 10 where I shared my 2022 annual review and outlined five general elections to watch this year: 🇳🇬 Nigeria, 🇹🇷 Türkiye, 🇵🇰 Pakistan, 🇦🇷 Argentina, and 🇧🇩 Bangladesh.
🔁 January Recap
New York City is incredibly fast-paced which can get a little overwhelming sometimes. So when I contracted the vid last month, I was forced to slow down, hunker down in my borough, and hit pause on all things social for a week. Despite being fully vaxxed and boosted, it is well documented that the immunity wanes in the months after getting the shot. It had been over a year since my last covid vaccine booster dose.
When I tested positive in year three of the pandemic, I chose to look at it as a blessing in disguise to momentarily step away from NYC’s hustle and bustle. I channeled my energy into reflection, rest, and recovery. I felt super grateful for my friends who sent delicious home-cooked food to LIC which was clutch in helping me get through the week (special shoutout to Trish, Aadesh, Divi, and Bhavik). Fortunately, I had also stocked up on rapid antigen self-tests at home (thanks to Annalisa Merelli aka Nalis for the timely reminders last year to order free tests from the US government).
“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” — Marcel Proust
As you may know, I’ve been keeping up with my Chinese every day through the Duolingo app (I’m on a 260-day streak at the time of writing) but I also wanted to start watching a Chinese TV show to further practice my Mandarin listening skills. So when I got corona and found myself with some time on my hands, I finally started one called The Rational Life on Netflix recommended by my guy Saalik in his newsletter. The protagonist is a 30-something professional (Shen Ruoxin) who must contend with a cutthroat workplace and societal expectations living in Shanghai. Her young, trusted assistant (Qi Xiao) develops feelings for her as they navigate office politics together.
As you can tell, I got pretty hooked on this particular Chinese drama and watched around 20 episodes in five days… great practice!! In other news, I started writing the weekly LinkedIn newsletter for Quartz called “Five lessons to start your day” featuring curated stories from our newsroom. It has been an absolute pleasure working more closely with brilliant editorial minds like Ashley Webster, Susan Howson, Heather Landy, and Zach Seward. I’m glad I get to help amplify the reach of our journalism as it aligns with my values of helping people develop a more fact-based worldview.
📝 Journaling Practice
Every morning, I start my day by writing down three things I’m grateful for in a journal dedicated solely to this purpose. Doing this consistently has helped me develop an attitude of gratitude throughout the day. With building any new good habit, I try to make it so easy that I can’t come up with an excuse not to do it. (hat tip to Atomic Habits by James Clear). If I’m really in a rush and need to skip, I aim not to miss two days in a row to keep up the momentum from my essential morning routine.
I’ve recently revisited reflecting on my day in the evenings, inspired by Sahil Bloom’s 1-1-1 Method. At the end of your work day, open up your journal (or favorite digital tool/notes app) and write down the following three points:
1 win from the day
1 point of tension, anxiety, or stress
1 point of gratitude
I’ve enjoyed doing this as the whole process only takes five minutes but you can always spend more time on it if you’re feeling particularly inspired that day. I admire the simplicity of this framework because as Sahil says:
1 win allows you to appreciate your progress
1 point of tension allows you to get the topic off your mind and onto the paper
1 point of gratitude allows you to reflect on the most important things in your life
If you’re looking for a therapeutic way to wind down after work, I’d recommend throwing the 1-1-1 Method into your evening routine rotation along with this peaceful piano playlist on Spotify.
📚 What I’m reading
🇺🇸 Why the Fed still isn't planning a rate cut this year by Nate DiCamillo | Quartz
📉 A Hindenburg Research report has tanked the net worth of Gautam Adani by Samanth Subramanian | Quartz
🏀 Inside the Kyrie Irving trade negotiations: Why the Mavericks beat out Lakers, Suns, and other offers by Shams Charania | The Atheltic
🧠 What if you're already on top of things by Oliver Burkeman | The Imperfectionist
🎧 What I’m listening to
Naatu Naatu by Kala Bhairava, M. M. Keeravani, and Rahul Sipligunj (from RRR)
Furioso in F Minor by Nicholas Britell (HBO Succession soundtrack)
sAy sOMETHINg by Lil Yachty (from his new album ‘Let’s Start Here’)
Jhoome Jo Pathaan by Arijit Singh, Sukriti Kakar, and Vishal–Shekhar
👀 What to watch for
🏈 Rihanna is about to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show (Feb. 12)
👑 LeBron James breaks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time NBA scoring record
📺 Hulu celebrates Black History Month with storytelling like Abbott Elementary
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this edition and potentially learned something new. Send any journal prompts, TV show recs, and topics for the next newsletter.
With gratitude,
Shiv
So inspirational! Thank you🌹🌹🌹
Love it bro, more power to you. Looking forward to more of these 🚀🚀