Welcome to Stuff, I hope this week finds you safe and well.

I've made some changes and given the newsletter a little summer spruce up, I hope you like it. ย  Don't forget, I love feedback. You can hit the thumbs up/down buttons at the bottom or just reply. ย I answer ALL my emails!

The list has retired, but I'm keeping all the great content - diving deeper into topics that are close to the heart of what Stuff is about, and touching more gently on the lighter stuff. ย 

I'm going to keep evolving Stuff, it's never complete. ย As always, I thank YOU for joining me on our collective journey of curiosity.

Till next Monday...enjoy!


๐Ÿ‘“ The Big Stuff - change is difficult

When you have something that works, or is maybe even successful, why on earth would you change things and put your prize at risk?

When things remain the same for a time, life can become dull and repetitive and human nature can demand something new and interesting. ย If you are working towards a goal, then some change might be necessary to keep you moving forward.

Making a significant life change can be a huge challenge, thankfully there are some frameworks that can help you navigate or even make the initial decision for change.

โ€œIn order to design a future of positive change, we must first become expert at changing our minds.โ€ - Jacque Fresco

When change comes as a result of entirely external influences, it can be especially hard to adapt. ย You haven't yet had the chance to change your mind, and yet you are still handling the pivot. ย  It helps to think about reasons WHY this change MIGHT be good, creating pathways that will help you adapt and overcome.

The more pathways or options that you create, the easier it can be to move forward, knowing that if something gets f*cked up, you have another path to jump to. ย 

Having a flexible mindset will help you make those jumps.

๐Ÿฆพ
Monday Motivation: Let this week be the one where you forget about work-life balance. Think about work-life blending instead. 

๐Ÿง  The Other Stuff

โœ๐Ÿผ
Journal Prompt: Make a list of reasons that you love yourself. Do you want more?

๐ŸŒž The Little Stuff

Slide to Unlock - phone or tablet required. ย  All about bricks, really. ย How groovy music works - headphones on! ย  Pi is your personal AI, say Hi. ย The 15 friendliest cities in the world, is yours there? ย  Finally, a daily maze.

๐ŸŽง Aural Stuff

On the Stuff Speakers this week...

Dudu Tassa and Jonny Greenwood

My musical treat this week comes from Israeli musician Dudu Tassa, and Radiohead genius Jonny Greenwood. ย 

Jarak Qaribak is a journey through classic love songs from across Jordan, Algeria, Egypt and Morocco performed by guest vocalists accompanied by a mixture of middle-eastern instrumentation alongside drum machines and western sounds.

The result is beguiling, updating traditional folk songs to make them more accessible, without losing any of the original passion and artistry.

This will end up on many end of year charts, so it's worth grabbing a chance to listen to this before the hype catches up.

Listen on Spotify here:

2023 Highs by MattR
2023 Highs by MattR ยท Playlist ยท 160 songs ยท 7 likes
Every day, I post something new and interesting to listen to. Check out my 2023 highs playlist here, its growing every day. 

๐Ÿ‘‚๐Ÿผ Stuff Someone said:

โ€œGratitude is not a passive response to something we have been given, gratitude arises from paying attention, from being awake in the presence of everything that lives within and without us.โ€

From Gratitude by David Whyte

Share this post