Mindful Mondays #10: Viral Edition
The Tim Ferriss effect, annual reviews, and starting the year with mindfulness
Dear friends,
Happy New Year and welcome to another edition of Mindful Mondays.
This weekend, something crazy happened.
My girlfriend and I had gone to a cabin in the mountains to relax and enjoy some quiet time before 2023.
We had no internet, no cellular signal, and it rained almost the whole time.
It was awesome.
But what happened next was a real surprise…
When we left the cabin and got back within cellular range, I discovered that Tim Ferriss, bestselling author and angel investor extraordinaire, had shared one of my articles in his newsletter, 5 Bullet Friday:
Tim’s recommendation drove over 17,000 page views to my article and resulted in over 250 new subscribers joining us here at Mindful Mondays.
If you’re one them, I want to extend a very warm welcome to you.
And to everyone who’s been reading Mindful Mondays for weeks or months, thank you so much for your support. I couldn’t have done it without you!
I’ve got some great resources to share with you this week to help you start 2023 with mindfulness and intention! 🧠💪
Chris’s Writing
How to Start Practicing Meditation: I took a week off from writing a new article over the holiday, so instead, I’m sharing one that I think will be especially helpful for new subscribers. If you’re wanting to build or re-establish a meditation habit in 2023, you can do it and this article is my best advice.
Articles of Interest
This was a great couple of weeks for reading, as many creators and thought leaders shared their 2022 reviews and wrap-ups. Here are a few pieces I enjoyed:
2022 Year in Review: Wander and Wonder by Anne-Laure Le Cunff. In this very personal annual review, Anne-Laure (neuroscientist and founder of Ness Labs) shares about her struggle with depression and how psychedelic medicine helped her overcome it.
Why Most Annual Reviews Suck by Corey Wilks, Psy.D. Psychologist and coach Corey Wilks shares his thoughts on how to make your annual review more effective, including the specific questions he reflects on each year.
Dickie’s Digest Best of 2022 Curation by Dickie Bush. This is a mega-list of the best books, podcasts, newsletters, courses, habits, and places to travel that Dickie sourced from his 300,000+ Twitter followers. It’s like a candy store for your brain.
Podcast of the Week
The Science of Creativity and How to Enhance Creative Innovation from Huberman Lab. In this podcast, Andrew Huberman, Ph.D. talks about the neuroscience of creativity and shares tools that anyone can use to become more creative. One key takeaway for Mindful Mondays subscribers: Open Monitoring meditation (like the choiceless awareness practice from vipassana) can enhance divergent thinking and creativity.
Quote of the Week
“The nature of mind is the original Buddha without birth or cessation, like the sky! When you understand that, all apparent phenomena are beyond birth and cessation. Meditating means letting this condition be as it is, without seeking.”
—Garab Dorje
That’s all for this week. Thank you for reading!
As always, I appreciate your feedback on Mindful Mondays. What was your favorite thing that I shared this week? How can I make this newsletter more helpful to you? Let me know by replying to this email, leaving a comment on Substack, or hitting me up on Twitter. I read and respond to every message.
Thanks,
Chris Cordry, LMFT
PS: If you’re looking for some guidance on building your mindfulness practice or clarifying your goals for 2023, I have a couple of spots open in my coaching practice. Just hit reply to this email and we can set up a free Zoom call to talk about it.
PPS: If you’re not already subscribed to Mindful Mondays, enter your email address below to get my latest writing delivered straight to your inbox. One email per week, no spam ever, and you can unsubscribe at any time:
And if you enjoyed reading this, why not share it with a friend? Personal recommendations are still the best way for me to grow my readership and share mindfulness with the world. Thanks!
Congrats Chris. You are clearly increasing your luck surface area in an inspiring way.
A huge heaping of gratitude is due to you for writing that amazing article on PYR's. I got some second-hand Tim Ferriss effect thanks to you 🙌