#75: Non-violent communication

And how to wear many hats in life?

My special thanks to T.VL for donating a microphone to improve Many One Percent's podcast quality. I will forever be grateful for your support.

Good afternoon my dear,

How was your week?

For me, this week flew by in a blink. I don't know why. Busier... I guess? Or is it because I have to work from the office full week from next week, I know how to treasure this week (with 2 wfh days) a bit more?

Anyway, just want to give you a quick update on my "caffeine-intake experiment". I seem to have found a pretty stable way to keep myself awake while not damaging my little belly:

• 2 tea bags in the morning

• 1 dip-style coffee bag in the afternoon

Dip-style coffee doesn't make as much gas and turmoil in my belly as a cup of double espresso and can give me a fair rest at night. Though, I wouldn't say no to a strong, delicious cup of Vietnam milk coffee (damn I miss it!)

Alright, on to today's show 💪

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Weekly learning: Nonviolent Communication

I came across a Non-violent communication guide by this time last year (very likely I have shared it with you before).

But, I almost never got a chance to practice it.

So when I came across this article, it felt just like the first time.

The core idea of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) revolves around detaching yourself from negative emotions in order to give more objective and friendly feedback to other people.

Very often, when we see someone doing something we don't like, our first spontaneous reaction would be to give that person a negative adjective: "You're so lazy/dirty/rude...".

True as it might be, it can be overgeneralizing because maybe that's the first time that person committed that act.

The feedback that follows NVC will start with facts/observations to prevent overgeneralizing and damaging others' egos. Instead of "You're lazy", we can start with: "I saw that you have not submitted your homework for the past 2 weeks"

To learn more about NVC, please read this week's article:

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Weekly discovery: NW Fishing secrets

You know I'm into nature.

When I discovered this youtube channel, I thought on the spot: "Man, gotta share this in this week's newsletter".

I know, I know. There are a bunch of solo camping, nature immersion videos out there, why bother with another one?

Because this guy is authentic.

Alright, before we dive further, this is the first video of this channel I came across, and also the one that made me subscribe:

I simply love this guy because he did everything on his own, and enjoyed every single moment.

His sheer joy when catching crawdads (a half shrimp, half crab kind of animal) at night is so captive that got me bingeing for half an hour (I usually don't spend more than 3 minutes on a typical youtube video). His genuine laughter when he was feeding birds in the morning made me want to drop all this corp work to travel for a while (though, yeah, I just did that 2 months ago)

He's not armed with high-tech gear or expensive clothes. Just a simple, worn-out shirt with his chequered shorts. Chubby loveable man, indeed.

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Around the Internet

1. It's peace of mind when walking on the street with your phone and wallet out. I read this thread and felt incredibly lucky to be working+living here.

Read full thread here

2. Can you name all the competitors that Canva is up against with their new Canva Create? For Websites alone, they'll be facing: Webflow, Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, and WordPress. Hm, pick your fight, Canva.

3. If you're looking for an example of commitment for your next presentation/blog post/pep talk

   

   View full profile here

4. My dear bro Akwaaba Tung's (his newsletter) Facebook account (25k followers) and the entire Mở - Mơ và Hỏi page were hacked. He got back his page (for 8 fking million VND) but MỞ page was gone. My condolences to you and the team. (but hey, set your laptop password, please). Also, please help:

   • Follow MỞ new page here

   • Report the hacked page here

   • Don’t unfollow this page because it’s the real one, its name was changed by the hacker…

   

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Think with me

I know the benefits of "staying true to yourself" because that's how I've lived. It brings freedom to the mind because I don't have to pretend to be someone else.

But in some cases, that truest version doesn't bring home the bacon.

In my current company, I've gotta be quite aggressive to make things work in my favor.

Since I need to ask so many stakeholders to help me with my project, I can't always let the "kind" version of me takes the spotlight whenever someone says: "Sorry but...", otherwise my project will be delayed forever (and guess what I'm promoted based on? how much impact I made. And how can I make an impact if my project never launches?)

But hey, being aggressive is not me - or at least not how I have identified myself to be. But, again, it's neces... no, compulsory, here.

How can you "switch off" some parts of your identity to "wear another hat"?

Any advice or thoughts?

Note: Some might suggest finding an environment suitable for my style. But hey, life doesn’t always deal you the best hand right? Gotta make do with your cards.

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Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter. If you find it useful, please help share it with your friends. Wish you a warm and relaxed night, and a productive week ahead!

Yours,
Tuấn Mon

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