Instituto de la Felicidad

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Hi, Hello! My name is Sarah - the writer behind redgregory.com.

The last week of January has provided a bit of insight into my personal drive. What is drive? Why does life purpose change so frequently? What makes someone compelled to be a librarian or a doctor or a teacher? More so, how does one maintain such desires? I've been able to answer these questions generally.

People do not know for certain their desired path, it only seems that way. Confidence is not so concrete despite outward appearances. People change their minds constantly.

Those who dive into projects without much thought are perhaps better off, making small changes along the way.

Identity and confidence are qualities that develop over time. Some are graced with excellent self-worth and others are not due to outside forces, upbringing, etc. Sticking to a path relies on a solid footing in one's identity.

One does not say, usually, "I AM a doctor!" They most likely say something like this, "I AM a woman who enjoys caring for others." Knowing yourself doesn't require a label. It only requires self-discovery.

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The Ever Elusive Information System

Last week's life learning experiment

I mentioned something like a mega-wiki in a previous newsletter. I've been mulling over this idea and came to the conclusion that I want to take a different approach - an approach that meets my needs. Essentially, the end goal is to create a life-learning system. I haven't fully developed the idea. Right now, I'm simply finding information, understanding the concept fully and simplifying what I learned into content.

Now, this content doesn't necessarily have to be published (mine is), but rather collected for personal enrichment. This will act like a personal wikipedia. Information is sorted into vague data points, summaries are compiled, compartmentalization of sub-topics arranged and sources below. Quite literally, it is a personal wikipedia.

The reason for this is simple. Learn information, fact check properly and paraphrase the material for retention. I needed to create a system like this for a while. I'm no where near where I want it to be but I'm on the right track.

To Do

Determine the best method for retention

Add info wiki to daily habits (low priority)

I've been on an absolutely exhausting journey to find the best way to learn as much as I possibly can (sounds a bit ambitious I know). What I've come to realize thus far is I'm more interested in the simplification of information than anything else. I've been an avid contributor to Wikipedia for instance. I like learning new things, sure, but I more so enjoy crafting systems that make learning not quicker but more efficient.

I learned this week that I'm understanding "efficiency" all wrong. Unlike my productivity systems for online content and client work, retaining information cannot happen with efficiency in mind. I must cater to a different system for each subject, and I must understand my strengths and weaknesses before actually trying to learn.

I read the book How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading and came to the realization that ...

Forget retaining information, I don't even know how to properly read it.

Retaining information comes with repetition but not in the way of flashcards. It comes in reading about the same subject from different sources. Forcing retention is counterintuitive.

An objective/questions to answer can help.

Find a way to explain new information in a simplified manner.

A January Review

MY MOOD IN JANUARY

I'm planning to track my mood through the entire year in order to better understand what is making my poor days poor and what I need to do to fix them - hence, the "cause" property. The January results are below ⤵

I would classify January as a HOPEFUL month