Everything's gone Orange
Covid seems to be receding in some places but how's your risk appetite?
A quick programming note: Due to a Substack bug, some of you received duplicate copies of recent Noise Reduction editions over last weekend. While I do think those issues were worth reading, once was probably enough for you. It was enough to make some people unsubscribe, which was not my ideal outcome either. Substack has apologized for the mistake. Me too - sorry about that.
As borders re-open here in New Zealand and we step down from Red to Ornage in the Covid Protection Framework, people are feeling a little split about how much risk they can tolerate in their lives. This is happening around the world, not just in New Zealand. This also comes at a time where the world around us feels transformed - much more risky that it felt back in the early days of 2020, with the war in Ukraine, the evidence need for urgent climate change action ever more present in our lives, and the costs of living spiking too.
As usual, this week’s newsletter will point you to some key reading about these and other topical issues, as well as a healthy sprinkling of wellbeing and joy.
As a paid subscriber, you get the whole thing - thanks for your support. I couldn’t do this without you. If you’re not a paid subscriber yet, please consider joining - not only does it support my writing, you’ll get a whole lot more beyond the paywall too, like more curated stories, the ability to like and comment on my stories, and upcoming exclusive comment threads.
Onwards! And look out for details of the special free year long subscription to a wellbeing app I use everyday.
Therapy for Climate Anxiety: Can it help?
People are increasingly looking for help to deal with feelings of fear, helplessness and guilt amid the climate crisis. But can therapists make a difference and is seeking treatment just a form of denial?
“It is important to say that anxiety is a signal that there is something wrong. It’s a perfectly normal healthy reaction to a worrying situation. We mustn’t pathologise climate anxiety. Obviously it can get very extreme – but I would say that government inaction on the climate crisis is pretty extreme, so it’s hardly surprising that people are very worried.” - Caroline Hickman, psychotherapist
The validation of people’s experience of climate anxiety seems to be an important component in the process. My sense is that unless people feel understood, they find it difficult to move into acting to try to solve the problem.
“Having that space to have those conversations and be honest about how I felt was really valuable. I went into it thinking I wanted practical advice about how to solve this, but that was not what I got and not what I needed. It helped me to understand that what I was feeling was not wrong.”
Therapy may lead to understanding, validation and learning to accept that these feelings are and will continue to be part of being in this world. Check out how people went on towards action, individually and collectively too.
Fiona Hill, President Trump, Ukraine, and January 6th
If you don’t know who Fiona Hill is, let me clue you in.
Fiona Hill is a British-American foreign affairs specialist and academic. She is a former official at the U.S. National Security Council specializing in Russian and European affairs. She was a witness in the November 2019 House hearings regarding the impeachment inquiry during the first impeachment of Donald Trump. She was awarded her Ph.D. in history from Harvard University, and currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington - Wikipedia
Not only that, but she advised two Presidents before Trump; Obama and George W. Bush. This is a fascinating article (available as audio in the link too) on her view on Russia, Ukraine, political interference, scheming and incompetence in the Whitehouse, and what happens next. Made free to read for subscribers to Noise Reduction.
What’s the right way to walk?
I aim to get out for a walk outside for at least 10 minutes in the first hour after I wake up. This is one of the best ways to set your circadian clock to ‘wake up’ and so that it starts winding down properly at the end of the day too.
You can find a wry way of looking at walking in this interview with Annabel Streets here. She is the author of 52 Ways to Walk: The Surprising Science of Walking for Wellness and Joy, One Week at a Time.
Joy is the antidote to burnout
The origins of the word “joy” date back to the 13th century, coming from the Old French word joie, meaning pleasure, delight, bliss. I also love its association with the Latin word gaudere, or rejoice, meaning joy is also an action we can take. And unlike happiness, which can sometimes seem like a far-off, distant, end-state, joy is about being in the moment. And joy doesn’t just make us feel good. According to Mental Health America, it can lower anxiety, decrease stress hormones, promote heart health and even lessen pain.
If we are trying to build a culture of well-being in the workplace, then one of the fundamental planks has to be joy. More from Arianna Huffington here.
Oh, and in case the title of this edition completely went over your head, Everything’s Gone Green is an old New Order track from 1981.
Below the paywall for paid subscribers includes stories on:
How email might be the sweet-spot communication medium for modern times
Zoom hasn’t gone away - some superuser tips you may not have heard of
Simple rules for small teams doing important work
Why you can’t remember stuff from before you were 3 years-old
A catch-up on the French Presidential Elections
10 lessons from global businesses that might help you re-orient in 2022
Also, don’t miss a free year’s subscription to the best meditation app I have used, and one I continue to use daily - this is available for paid subscribers beyond the paywall.
Email might be what we are looking for
You’re probably receiving this newsletter via email. There’s a reason why emails are becoming popular once again. It won’t be the perfect fit for everything, but there are reasons to consider using it more mindfully.
I have begun shuttling some of my nonwork correspondences to email. What I’ve found is that because it’s become so anomalous, neither the person on the other side nor I really expect an immediate answer. Or if I do, the endless clutter of the inbox makes me actually forget that I’m waiting for something. When I do receive replies, they’re almost always pleasant surprises, and I feel much better appraised than I would over months of texts in which the pace and the endlessness of our correspondences make us forget the distance. - Jay Caspian Kang
Balance: The best meditation app I have used
This app was the winner of Google's Best App of 2021 award. I think it’s great, I use it every day and can recommend it highly.
Here’s a link for you to get a free year’s subscription for it - it works on both iOS and Android. Let me know what you think.
10 actionable insights from business
There’s an audio version and deep dive into this at the link too, but here’s the TL;DR version.
Be a painfully persistent recruiter
Maximize deep work time
Obsess over your customer
Align the incentives
Think like a nation-state
Invest in soft-power
Preserve optionality
Intensify your advantages
Find your counter-positioning
Proactively reinvent yourself
And if you’re wondering what the hell optionality is, I’ve done a bit of that for you here:
Optionality = the right, but not the obligation, to take action
If you’ve taken out an insurance policy, you already understand the core insight here. As a semi-permanent traveler, I make small, regular payments to secure the right—but not the obligation—to call up my insurer when something goes wrong. If I get in a minor scrape, or lose my bag, I can choose to pay for it out of pocket. I am under no obligation to get the insurance company involved, and most of the time, I won’t. Much better to handle it myself. - Richard Meadows
You can find more here.
Simple rules for small teams doing important work
Not everything Seth Godin touches turns to gold, but a lot of it does. For others, it’s hogwash
Personally, I think there’s some gold to be mined in these simple rules.
Lock in the things that must be locked in, leave the implementation loose until you figure out how it can get done.
Mostly, we do things that haven’t been done before, so don’t be surprised when you’re surprised.
Care more.
If an outsider can do it faster and cheaper than we can, don’t hesitate.
Always be seeking outside resources. A better rolodex is better, even if we don’t have rolodexes any more.
French Presidential elections
The first round happened last weekend, and it’s now a run off between the incumbent centrist Macron looking for his second term, and the re-invented, re-packaged far-right Nationalist Le Pen. How will the votes for other candidates fall in this two-way run off to come? This is a useful catch up listen from The Guardian.
On a personal note, I was surprised that this is Macron’s first term. The time-warp of the pandemic has made this period feel far, far longer than actual chronological time. You too?
More to come about dogs in my 30,000 Days project soon. That’s it for this week. Thanks again for being a paid subscriber. You’re awesome. Have a great Easter weekend.