The Sunday Spotlight

Happy New Year!

I'm back refreshed and recharged with another 3 minute read.

3 things. A lesson, a win and a thank you.

Let's see where this takes us....

A lesson. ??

I’ve been experimenting with 5 words over the last couple of weeks. The results have been quite surprising.?

Less friction. More action. A change of perspective and energy.?

I picked them up from Meditation For Mortals, the book I mentioned in one of my December Spotlights.?

They’re ridiculously simple: What if this were easy?

“Not everything that is more difficult is more meritorious.” So said, (apparently) St Thomas Aquinas. Food for thought. If I’m honest I have a tendency to wear effort as a badge of honor. If I have to struggle it proves how hard I’ve been working.?

But when you take a step back you realise how unhelpful that false correlation is. Achievements can still be valid if they were easy. And things don’t have to be as complicated as we often make them.

So I’ve started doing something different. When I find myself approaching a task I’ve stopped and asked myself the question. Then I’ve taken a minute or two to think about the task from as many different perspectives as possible. Is there a way of doing things that requires less effort or reduces friction? What would someone else do? How can I simplify my approach?

It’s made a massive difference. So if you’re curious I’d highly recommend you do the same.?

An unexpectedly useful lesson.?

A win. ??

Back in December I made a video on a dog walk.

The subject was men’s spiritual and mental health. The response was surprising. People seemed to want to continue the conversation.?

I’ve been thinking about the best way to do things and have decided to start a book club. It’s called Real Men Om!

At the beginning of each month I’ll suggest a book on spirituality or mental health for us to read. Then at the end of the month we’ll get together on Zoom to discuss it. I’m sure the idea will evolve in time but right now it’s as simple as that.?

If you know any men who might be interested in joining the conversation send them HERE.?

A new hobby and community for 2025. That’s a win!?

A thank you. ??

Like many people I’ve had some time to reflect over the holidays. I used to find goal setting for the year ahead a bit icky but back in December 2021 I stumbled across a brilliant free tool called YearCompass.?

It’s a PDF booklet that you can print or download to your computer with a series of questions and prompts about the year that’s passed and the year that’s ahead.?

I really like it. It gets you thinking about things in a different way and has made my goal setting process much more enjoyable and rounded.?

It’s not too late to check it out.?

Thank you to the team at YearCompass Movement for gifting this resource to the world!

I hope this was useful in some way.

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See you here next week.

Dominic