Hi there! Welcome to the 29th edition of the #LSC.
As you already know, expect to read some content on productivity, personal growth, health hacks, and even some interesting recommendations. Because, well, why not?
This week, we're taking a bit of a different approach. This edition is filled with reflections rather than tips. Surely you can still apply some valuable insights to your daily life!
So, let's get into it, shall we?
Today’s summary:
🔨 Anger leaves a lasting mark
💈 It’s the little things
🏡 The home to all your lists
🏆 A reflection on success
🔨 Anger leaves a lasting mark
Anger leaves marks that can never be undone.
There is a story I re-read again this week that I remember I liked a lot back then. The story is quite old and you might be familiar with it. A father wants to help his son understand the importance of controlling his anger, so he gives him a bag of nails and tells him to hammer a nail into a wooden fence whenever he gets angry.
At first, the boy hammers some nails each day, but over time, he understands the effects of his anger on the fence and starts losing his temper less often. His father then tells him to remove a nail for each day he goes without losing his temper.
The true lesson of the story comes when all nails are finally removed. The father shows him the fence with all the holes, explaining that although the nails are gone, the holes remain—representing the lasting damage anger can cause.
Why am I bringing this up? As a grumpy old guy, I know that one of the things I need to work on is controlling my temper. I know my patience is quite limited, and I tend to lose it when things don’t go my way (which can be pretty often: from someone being slow in a line to me not being able to do things the way I want). I notice this has a negative effect not only on me but also on those close to me. So this is my little commitment to work on it, hoping that making it public will help me stay accountable (we’ve discussed before that accountability and commitment are two of the best ingredients for success, right?).
Or, as Taylor would say: This is me trying.
💈 It’s the little things
This week’s content recommendation is this beautiful note. I don’t want to spoil it, as I think it’s best to approach it without knowing anything about it. What I take from it, and how it ties into the concept of anger and not overreacting when things don’t go your way, is pretty simple: every single person you encounter is fighting a battle that you know nothing about.
Don’t take things for granted. Don’t assume everyone is like you or experiencing things the way you do.
Remember this: your tiny actions can create powerful reactions that extend far beyond yourself.
🏡 The home to all your lists
Alright, it's time to switch gears into productivity with our weekly product recommendation.
Let me start with a statement I saw today that really hit home:
"The biggest lie we tell ourselves is, ‘I don’t need to write this down because I will remember it.’"
Spoiler alert: You won’t remember it. Your ideas, thoughts, and mental to-dos are pretty volatile. If you don’t catch them and write them down, they tend to disappear. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain.
So, here’s this week's product recommendation: Superlist: Home to all your lists.
A bit of backstory: A few years ago, I was in love with Wunderlist, the simplest yet most effective and useful task tracker tool. It was so good that it got acquired by Microsoft, who did a horrible job letting it die while trying to create their own version, called Microsoft To-Do (naming department striking back). It’s as bad as a to-do tool can be. Surprisingly, I still use it. Don’t even ask.
Aaaaaanyway. The guy behind Wunderlist did it again and created an improved and supercharged version called Superlist (a slightly better name than Microsoft To-Do, I’ll give you that). Although it is still pretty soon to make such a statement, I think this is the ultimate task management tool. Easy to use, tons of automations, team collaboration, offline use—you name it!
There is a pro version that adds some AI to the game, and additional functionalities that look quite cool, but the free version is more than enough to cover all your needs.
Give it a go. I’m sure you’re going to like it!
🏆 A reflection on success
Also, something I wanted to share but didn’t know how to bring up.
A few months ago, I read a book called Born to Run by Christopher McDougall (a gift from my sister) that, in an unexpected turn of events, goes about running and people who run. In the book, McDougall chases some of the tribes and communities where running is a central part of their culture. He ends up involved with the Tarahumara, a pretty isolated community in Mexico’s Copper Canyons.
Long story short, there’s this star trail runner, Scott Jurek, who tries to win a pretty wild competition spanning more than 2,000 miles and the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest 16 times. Read that again: 3,200 kilometers and 140,000 meters of elevation gain/loss.
In the book, Jurek doesn’t succeed in his pursuit, but I read today that back in 2015, he not only won it but completed it in a record-breaking 46 days, 8 hours, and 7 minutes.
But what’s the story here, you’re asking?
Well, besides being a beautiful story about the power of consistency and determination, I felt Jurek’s triumph as something personal. It was like seeing a friend win something they really wanted and chased for a long time. It made me smile, as if I knew the guy and could feel his happiness myself too.
Me, being happy for something that happened in 2015 and that is as far related to me as a penguin marathon in Antarctica? Yeah, why not?
I guess this speaks volumes about the power of books in creating empathy, but let’s leave this topic for another day, as it’s time to close this week’s LSC.
📊 Data Dive
And, as always, let’s take a little look at the #LSC performance to start closing this edition:
295 Subscribers → Last week we were 290
3 Unsubscribed → We lost 2 subscribers last week
58% Open rate → The goal is to keep this, as you know, in the 60-70% range.
I don’t have a farewell gift this week, I’m sorry! But I can make it up next week by bringing not one, but two. Promise!
Before leaving though, there are a few things you can do to help me:
Share this newsletter with someone you think will like it.
Reply to this publication sharing whatever you want to share. It’s nice to read your mind (yeah, this is the original version, sorry guys!).
And now, for good: Keep an eye out for the next LifeScore Chronicles—something exciting is just around the corner. 🚀
Until next week, stay safe and healthy!
Thanks for the tip about the to-do list app. I have been looking for one for some time