The Sunday Spark 🎃 [October 31, 2021]

The Sunday Spark!

Hi friends!

I found a note I wrote to myself last year that said:

“November is the last month of the year, act accordingly.”

Hold on, before you panic, keep reading to know what I mean.

I wrote this note after finding that it took me some time, well into mid-January, to review my previous year and complete the goal-setting exercise for the new year. And while I believe we can set goals at anytime we want because I agree with “There is nothing magical about January 1st”; I also believe in the power of collective beginnings.

That is why I decided last year that I will dedicate December for my goal-setting exercise and wrote that note-to-self.

This time, however, I don’t want to do it alone. I am inviting you to do the same. I am preparing a mini-course to equip you with the tools you will need to get on top of your own goal-setting process, even if you are doing it for the very first time. Not only that, but I will help you write challenging and meaningful goals that you can actually achieve.

How does that sound to you?

Keep an eye on emails from me to tell you more about this course soon. You will hear about it first because you are a Sunday Spark reader.

Meanwhile, this is your gentle reminder to do your monthly review.

Happy November 🎃!

Here is your weekly dose of The Sunday Spark ⚡️ a newsletter listing 5 inspiring things I thought were worth starting your week with:

RIP Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the psychologist behind the theory of flow, a state we reach when we enjoy our work so much when it's at the sweet spot between easy and hard. Check what Austin Kleon had to say and draw about him.
You can watch or listen to my recent interview with ExpaTalk Podcast on YouTube or your favorite podcast app. I'm grateful for the invitation and the time I spent with these awesome hosts.
In the interview, we talked about the art of listening, so I was thrilled when I later came across this lovely, almost poetic, post about having a Good Ear. A favorite part: "It’s hard as a listener to hear the rough stuff of someone’s experience if our own stuff as the listener gets agitated and activated. If we can’t be generous, our stuff gets in the way and we end up not listening".
From My desk: Figuring Out My Why, this is a rough draft of my why, which was also inspired by the interview.
Here is a beautiful quote about the seasons we go through, just like what I shared in my latest podcast episode:

"We are in the habit of imagining our lives to be linear, a long march from birth to death in which we mass our powers, only to surrender them again, all the while slowly losing our youthful beauty. This is a brutal untruth. Life meanders like a path through the woods. We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones. Given time, they grow again."

― Katherine May

(resurfaced through Readwise, download this awesome app to remember books/articles you read)

What was your favorite Spark? I am eager to know. Reply to this email or share with me on my social media.

See you next Sunday, First name / my dear friend