Do today like you mean it!
Wigg’s Wednesdays is here again – sharing inspirational content on life hacks, self-development, sustainability, personal finance, minimalism, and travel tips.
I’m housesitting in Auckland’s North Shore this week, looking after a friendly cat in return for free accommodation. This gorgeous waterfront house would be out of my price range on Airbnb, so I’m lapping up the luxury for free while I look for a long-term place to live. After starting on TrustedHousesitters in USA this year, I’m continuing to build up my profile with good reviews for when I next travel abroad. Get in touch if you want to know more!
Until next week. x Michelle Wigg
This Week’s Favourites
READ: Seven Ways to Feel More in Control of Your Life – Greater Good Magazine
Some great suggestions in here, especially around positioning yourself as a learner and understanding different types of intuition.
“What we need is more agency: the ability to cut through all of what pulls at us, find emotional and physical balance, think more clearly, and advocate for ourselves so we can take a course of action that makes sense. With agency, we can feel more in command of our lives.”
READ: The Best Way to Evaluate Your Beliefs? Engage With People Who Disagree With You – LA Times, Films For Action
It’s so easy to get comfortable in an echo chamber online or with like-minded social groups. I liked the idea of maintaining good “belief hygiene” and questioning your standpoints through interactions with different people.
“Forget about healing political divides, overcoming polarization or the dangers of mischaracterizing people who hold different beliefs. Reaching out and speaking with someone who has different ideas is beneficial, not for utopian social reasons, but for your own good — for your ‘belief hygiene.'”
“It’s an opportunity to reflect upon what you believe and why you believe it. If other social goods happen to occur as a byproduct — friendships, increased understanding, changed minds — that’s great.”
WATCH: Forget the pecking order at work – Margaret Heffernan, TED Talks
It’s well worth taking the 15 mins to watch this one. A cohesive team of varying abilities will surpass superstars!
“Organizations are often run according to ‘the superchicken model,’ where the value is placed on star employees who outperform others. And yet, this isn’t what drives the most high-achieving teams. Business leader Margaret Heffernan observes that it is social cohesion — built every coffee break, every time one team member asks another for help — that leads over time to great results. It’s a radical rethink of what drives us to do our best work, and what it means to be a leader. Because as Heffernan points out: Companies don’t have ideas. Only people do.”
LEARN: The Science of Well-Being (free online course) – Yale University, Coursera
I’m looking forward to taking this 20 hour course soon, based on Yale’s most popular class. Coursera is so great for free online learning at your own pace. Anyone want to join me?
“In this course you will engage in a series of challenges designed to increase your own happiness and build more productive habits. As preparation for these tasks, Professor Laurie Santos reveals misconceptions about happiness, annoying features of the mind that lead us to think the way we do, and the research that can help us change. You will ultimately be prepared to successfully incorporate a specific wellness activity into your life.”
TIP: Use Skiplagged flight search for alternative flight routes and DIY stopovers
For international flights, I check Skiplagged in addition to other usual websites. My most recent flights to USA were found there, involving a 24hr layover in Hawaii which didn’t show up on other aggregators. Free stopover!
If you are flexible, you may find cheaper fares there involving a connection (instead of non-stop) or with longer layover times up to 24 hours, which can allow for a welcome stopover in another city.
To get really creative, you can use Skiplagged to find ‘hidden city’ fares – when you want to travel from A to B, you may find a cheaper ticket with stopover going from A to B to C. You’ll need to get off after your first flight at point B, leaving the final flight unflown (best done with carry-on luggage only!). I did this on a flight Portland–New York–Atlanta, getting off in New York and saved $100.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to share this with others who can subscribe here. See you next Wednesday!