Power Nap #136
Death to flies / saving your summer sanity / wisdom I needed to hear
Hello, or shall I say — ‘Ello Loves!’ (wow, if you are reading this from the UK please forgive me). We are back home from London and I am still riding such a high. I have a lot to share there (namely the list I made of things I would do with the kids!) and plan to write a post in the next few weeks. Appreciate your patience there as I make it through the final days of the kids’ school year, watch Johnny graduate from elementary school (😭😭😭) and prep our family to fly to Pennsylvania in less than one week! A few days after school lets out we are headed to Nate’s hometown for some much-needed time with his family and the kids could not be more excited. We have had a countdown going on the Skylight calendar for months, and it’s finally in single digits!! If you missed the London content I did save all my story slides to a highlight called “LONDON.” Also, don’t miss out on the good advice Nate has read recently (I am thinking hard about the Moat of Low Status), and I bought two of Molly’s Must-Haves the moment I read it!!
FYI! I have used this same cleansing balm (with these washcloths) forever. I adore it. It’s hydrating (vital when I was on my Accutane journey) yet also so effective at getting my face super clean. I use original but there’s also a rose option, as well as a fragrance-free option now! Don't sleep on QVC! They run amazing sales. Right now, the Isle of Paradise Face and Body Self Tan Drops, and the Dyson Bladeless Oscillating Tower Fan I have in our home gym are also on sale! NOTE: QVC almost always has a code as well. Use HELLO15 for $15 off your purchase.
The Power Nap is free each week, and sponsors like QVC help make that possible! Thanks for sponsoring this Power Nap, QVC!
In Case You Missed It
Here’s a recap video the film team made about our time in London (because this is an advertisement for Barclays, I can’t post this on YouTube, so unfortunately this will link you to IG)
These are the questions I ask myself at the start of every summer. Get the worksheet here.
The perfect mom shorts do exist! Linked here.
Speaking of shorts, linking my beloved exercise shorts with a pocket large enough to fit my giant iphone. I have multiple pairs of these. Built in underwear, nice thick waistband, not too short, and that large pocket! Tons of colors, and all $20-$25.
Everything I wore in London can be found here. I really leaned into the neck scarf accessory and loved it!
Good Advice Nate Has Read Recently
Learn to love the Moat of Low Status. The "Moat of Low Status" states that "the fear of being temporarily low in social status stops human beings from living richer lives." In other words, "when you start learning or doing almost anything interesting, you will initially be bad at it, and incur a temporary penalty in the form of looking dumb." If you can learn to embrace and even lean into temporarily "low status," you will gain big advantages over time by learning all kinds of new things. Put more succinctly: “To be a learner, you’ve got to be willing to be a fool.” - George Leonard
Keep your identity small. This is a rule from Paul Graham. His point was that the more you identify with things—being a member of a certain political party, being seen as smart, being seen as someone who drives a fancy car or someone who belongs to this club or that ideology—the harder it is for you to change your mind or entertain new points of view. Stay a free agent!
Change your perspective. Pronoia, the opposite of paranoia. Instead of believing everyone is out to get you, believe everyone is out to help you.
Ask good questions. When Isidor Rabi came home from school each day, his mother didn’t ask about grades or tests. “Izzy,” she would say, “did you ask a good question today?” This doesn’t seem like much, and yet it is everything. After all, questions drive discovery. The habit of asking questions turned Rabi into one of the greatest physicists of his time—a Nobel Prize winner whose work led to the invention of the MRI. (“Did you ask any good questions today?” has become the first thing I ask the kids after school)
Care about the world, but love “something small enough to carry.” Sam (from Lord of the Rings) saves the world almost by accident—not because he’s chasing significance, but because he loves something small enough to carry: Frodo, the Shire, a future with soil under his nails. He doesn’t dream of impact. He dreams of home (and this actually gives him impact!) Reminds me of Mother Teresa, who said, “If you want to change the world, go love your family.”
Flies drive me absolutely CRAZY in the summer. I feel like I am constantly going 1v1 against a pesky fly. Once when a fly got in our house, one of my kids said “Watch out fly, my mom is gonna kill you in the butt!”...I guess my dislike for flies knows no bounds. We have the indoor fly traps that Kate recommends, but last summer we were still battling the flies outside. We started keeping one of these by the outdoor trash can and it was absolutely disgusting and satisfying to see how many flies it catches (perhaps it also acts as an added layer to prevent the infamous #trashmaggots). We will add one to the backyard this summer too because it works so well.
Kate here!! While you’re at it, add these to your trash cans!!
Nate's list of quotes and advice is gold!!! Loved it!!
Loved all of Nate's great advice!