No #109 | January 7, 2024

by Matthew Boyd

Good morning, welcome to the weekly Lead It Cool newsletter.

PSA: If you're doing anything that requires standing on a ladder (e.g. taking down Christmas lights), consider wearing your bike or hockey helmet. Safety never goes out of style.

In this week's Lead It Cool newsletter:

• 💣Oppenheimer's Chain Reactions
• 🌊Shúkw'um
• 😊100 Tiny Changes
• 🤖AI Replacing Our Jobs
• 😎Cool Links

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💣Oppenheimer's Chain Reactions

I have a confession: I only just watched Oppenheimer this week.

My plan was to see it in theaters, but let's be honest, sitting three hours without a bathroom break isn’t exactly my idea of a fun time. So, a home screening it was.

Spoiler alert: the movie is outstanding.

Trust Christopher Nolan to turn three hours of nuclear physics discussion into a Hollywood blockbuster.

The movie is filled with thought-provoking themes, but one that really resonated with me, and continues to echo in my mind, is the concept of chain reactions.

There's a pivotal moment in the film during the atomic bomb's development, where the team grapples with the possibility of a chain reaction that could annihilate the entire planet (add that to the project risk register!🤣).

Imagine an idea, akin to splitting an atom, triggering a cascade of events beyond its immediate sphere with profound consequences.

Grasping the concept of chain reactions means recognizing the impact of our choices, not just locally but globally.

It's about responsibility and foresight. Every action, or even the lack of one, can set off ripple effects, some predictable, others not so much.

This requires thinking ahead, anticipating possible outcomes, and understanding the broader implications of our decisions. While some actions might seem justified at the moment (like Oppenheimer's team rationalizing their work on the atomic bomb due to the imminent threat of Nazi Germany achieving a similar breakthrough), the long-term consequences can often be beyond our immediate comprehension.

Reflecting on Oppenheimer and its portrayal of profound chain reactions, we're reminded of the significance of our choices. Our decisions and actions can initiate a series of events far beyond our original intentions.

We are, in a sense, the architects of the future, holding the power to shape not only our own destinies but also those of others.

So, as we make our daily decisions, whether big or small, we must ponder: What chain reactions are we initiating, and to what future are they leading us?

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🌊Shúkw'um

In the winter of 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown period, I started doing regular cold-water swims in the ocean with a couple friends.

At first we did it for the novelty, and it was a good excuse to get together and share some laughs.

However, over time, these swims evolved into something more meaningful.

As a born and raised Vancouver Islander, I have always felt most comfortable when I know the ocean is close by. Immersed in the ocean, with the waterline up to my neck, I feel a profound sense of connection to nature.

And this past week I learned something really cool about cold water swims.

Indigenous cultures also practice cold-water swimming as part of their traditions. Known as a shúkw'um, meaning a spiritual wash in a river, it's a ritual to express gratitude, release pain, darkness, or negativity, and to meditate and pray. Beyond its spiritual significance, it serves as a tradition that brings people together.

So, if you're in search of a new adventure in 2024, you might want to consider trying cold-water swimming. It's not just a physical experience, it's a journey into the depths of nature and spirituality.

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😊100 Tiny Changes

This article in the Guardian summarizing 100 tiny changes that you can make to transform your life is a fun and inspiring read.

Here are my favorites from the list:

• Putting a smile on my face the moment I wake up. It tricks the brain into thinking: ooh, I feel quite good about today! It’s such a simple thing and it really works.
• Following the “one-minute rule”. If there’s a task I can do in less than one minute – hanging up my coat; answering an email – I do it without delay. It’s astonishing what you can accomplish, one minute at a time.
• Doing a timed 10-minute tidy with my partner and kids every day. This has improved the cleanliness of the house significantly. Untidiness no longer drags down the mood. It also means we don’t need to do lengthy chores at the weekend.
• Listening to the same song every morning – The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams. It has negative and positive associations for me. I dry-brush my body and notice the sensations, remembering the painful and pleasurable. It reminds me that life contains both and that I am OK.
• Brushing my teeth standing on one foot. I alternate the foot each night. This was a small, zany habit I cultivated to help strengthen my ankles, but my knees, hips and balance have also improved.

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🤖AI Replacing Our Jobs

🤣

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😎Cool Links

🤔Things that aren't doing the thing. the only thing that is doing the thing is doing the thing.

💩Baloney Detection Kit: How to Think Skeptically and Bust Bullshit. Carl Sagan’s Baloney Detection Kit is an informal set of thinking tools and techniques for evaluating arguments and detecting falsehoods.

🎊Who Releases 3,000 Pounds of Confetti on Times Square By Hand Every Year? (video). This is a fantastic mini-doc about someone who has found their true calling.

💡The designer Tin Roth Eisenberg with some great reflections on turning 50.

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