What To Expect

The 2Hats1Mike Newsletter

I’m starting this newsletter to provide an outlet, almost like a public journal, for non-work/sports thoughts and musings. I’ve been so lucky over the last handful of years to be working in such a forward thinking, mindful, non-conventional industry. In doing so, it’s been clear how limited my worldview has been and how much conventional education has failed to prepare me for a fulfilled life.

This is not to say that I didn’t benefit from my schooling growing up. I did quite a bit and was very lucky. But the vast majority of my educational life was centered around some version of this flow chart: get good grades >>>> get into good school >>>> get good grades again >>>> get good job >>>> buy good house >>>> have family >>>> get promoted at good job >>>> retire when you’re 65.

There are many issues with this flow chart; most notably none of it deals with how to be healthy, particularly mentally, and happy. Results are prioritized over process. There’s always a next step, and as an unintended consequence, I was never taught to be present. The focus wasn’t on intrinsic value but future ramifications.

And in terms of taking care of ourselves, we were taught some important things - how to study, what to eat (though arguably not that accurately), what jobs we might like - and provided critical learning opportunities for social opportunities via clubs, athletics, dances, etc. We weren’t taught many other things that now seem vital to human happiness - the importance of sleep, the power focusing our thoughts has, the benefits of meditation, how habits are formed, the foundations of healthy relationships, etc.

The above is a generalization, but I think it’s accurate. Ironically, my parents are some of the most open minded people I know and did not pressure me to follow a conventional life. Still, it’s difficult to take the word of just your parents when you’re younger, especially with constant subliminal societal messaging nudging you in a specific direction. For example, my mom encouraged me to take a gap year after high school. I balked at the idea. No one else I knew was doing this. It made me uncomfortable to think about “being a year behind”. In hindsight, it’s insane to me I didn’t do this. But, ya know, “I Wish That I Knew What I Know Now When I Was Younger”.

Thankfully, that support from my parents and my aforementioned exposure to a different way of thinking, of living, has allowed me to lead a life that is richer and richer as I learn and experiment. The posts I make in this newsletter detail some of the things I’ve learned or am trying to learn in a pursuit of optimizing the life of myself and those around me.

Sometimes I’ll write about something small and specific, like a hack for habits, and sometimes I may get a bit more philosophical, like pondering how lucky we are to simply to exist. I’ll try to post about once or week, but posting will likely be somewhat sporadic.

I’m hopeful that if you’re taking the time to read this that it will resonate with you or benefit you in some way, and I am grateful for anyone who takes the time to share in this experience.