Begin to Take Small steps for a big impact

Hey friends,

Welcome to the first edition of Rohit Reflections – a newsletter where we will be discussing about mental models, writing hacks, synthesis of ideas from popular podcasts and books.

Beginning and Endings

We are towards the end of 2023. While some of us are reflecting on what we achieved in this year, others are hopeful about the new year. For some it might have been a rough year, whereas for others it would have been one of the best year of their life. It is amazing how happiness and sadness go hand in hand. The end of an year marks the beginning of another year.

While we are still trying to understand what is going around, time flies and within a blink of an eye years pass by. I think the following lyrics perfectly capture the sentiment.

Can you imagine us
Years from today
Sharing a park bench quietly?
How terribly strange
To be seventy

– Old Friends by Simon and Garfunkel

Start Small To Go Big

I was setting up my 𝕏 posts for today while this thought came to my mind.

We all want to achieve big things and we all want to achieve it quick. But the basic thing that we fail to realize is that all big things are sum total to small things.

Once we understand this idea, we do not want to write a 1000 words article that will overwhelm us. We would simply focus on writing one line at a time. It would free us of the expectation and obligation that we put on ourself and our thoughts will flow freely.

Half Life of an Item

I had read this concept during my physics class.

Half-life is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value.

While originally from physics, I find this concept particularly relevant in context of social media. These days we are living in the era of concept churning of content.

According to a research, we are mostly consuming content that was produced during last 3 days.

In such a scenario, you might create an amazing Instagram reel but it will soon go into oblivion as thousand other people will start to share their own version of it. Very soon, it would be hard to distinguish what is original and what is copy.

If you understand this, then you would know the value of your content and the time during which it will get most attention. A tweet’s half life would hardly be a few hours after which there is a rare chance that it will show up in anyone’s timeline.

In a way, this will ease out the burden of a creator. It means you can do evergreening of your content. Even the people who would have read your Tweet, might not remember the message you wanted to deliver. Thus, it is necessary to post that tweet again. Look at it in this way and you will never fall short of content.

Idea of the Week

I listening to the Huberman Lab’s recent episode about using light to optimize health. Following are key concepts and summary from the podcast:

1. Light has a profound impact on our biology.
2. Viewing morning sunrise is essential for mental and physical health. It
   • Increases cortisol release that prepares us for sleep later that night. Keeping your cortisol low at night is essential for sleep and immune system health.
   • Regulates our circadian rhythm.
3. Different wavelength of light reaches us from morning to night. Each of these wavelength has a different effect on our body.
4. Enhance the overall light intensity in your work environment instead of raising the brightness level of computer screen.

Quote of the Week

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

– J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

See you next week.

Your friend.
Rohit Yadav.