(Originally posted on Instagram on February 02, 2020)
02.02.2020
Today is an important day. Its Palindrome Day in all date formats (UK, USA, ISO). It’s also Superbowl Sunday, Groundhogs Day, and numerous birthdays including my own.
The definition of Palindrome is: ‘a word, phrase, or sequence that reads the same backward as forward’. I wanted to use today’s Palindrome Day, a day that hasn’t occurred since 11/11/1111 (909 years ago) and won’t happen again in 101 years, to share a few things I learned this past year to hopefully incrementally improve your life. I want to take some of the lessons I’ve learned and pay it both forward and backward.
I turned 26 years old today. It feels like I have learned so much in the short time I’ve been alive. I’ve also realized the more I learn, the more I realize how much I DON’T know. I think it is pretty easy to get caught up in comparing yourself to others, comparing yourself to the vast amount of information you don’t have/know, so it is important to keep things in perspective. For most of my life, I have grown up around people that have been older than me and being the Shy/Fat kid at school, I would always be nervous, scared to say something that would draw attention to myself. These I would always listen. When I listened, I learned so much fascinating information from the older humans that started their lives years before mine. I learned from their stories, their fears, and (most importantly) their failures. I know for a fact I am the way I am today because of the childhood trauma of being the shy/fat kid but also because I listened and absorbed the information I was told and heard.
1. Learn about why you are: This past year I did a lot of introspective thinking with the help of some books, some tests, and some friends; and learned a great deal about why I make certain decisions which in turn allows me to troubleshoot my feelings and emotions. Learning more about how ‘Drew Osumi’ functions helps me explain to people why I do certain things and it allows me to have more confidence in myself and my actions. If I were to describe my personality in 5 words, it would be: Thoughtful, Empathetic, Detail-Obsessed, Visual Thinker, and Intentional.
2. Be F*ck Yes: An article by Mark Manson that talks about the idea of equal goals / reciprocity in relationships. Essentially if both people aren’t both committed to the same end goals, the relationship is doomed to fail unless there is successful re-calibration for the relationship. This style of thinking can also be used in friendships, the workplace, hobbies, music, ect (basically anything that has a 2-way transaction).
3. Life is not about you: If we use a life span of 85 years, we arrive at the following time-to-total-years calculation: According to radiometric dating and other sources of evidence, Earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago. This means we will only be alive for 0.0000018% of the earth’s life. So why do we keep thinking life revolves around us? We are such a minuscule speck in this giant time scale that we only have a small window of opportunity to do something. Shouldn’t we be doing the best we can to help improve the world we live in and share with billions of other people? We should be creating the best versions of ourselves to create the best version of the world.
4. Everyone has a unique story: I have been blessed with the opportunity to live in San Jose–California, Syracuse–NY, Copenhagen–Denmark, Berlin–German, Miami–Florida, and now Atlanta–Georgia. I’ve also driven across the United States five different times taking different routes along the way (shout out Sam Maller, Shelah Larson, and Jane Osumi for helping co-pilot the different trips). With all of these different travel experiences, I’ve met and seen so many different and unique lifestyles. There’s no possible way to know who someone is prior to listening to their story. My expectations, if any (based on something someone has told me or other source), are always blown away. I learn so much from listening to hearing how someone came to be present in front of me. Each encounter teaches me a little bit more about myself and the world we live in. During your next encounter, I dare you to try to go a little bit further in the conversation and be genuinely interested in your friend’s/ boss’s/ stranger’s past.
5. Instagram addiction is real: During December 2019, I realized I would close Instagram after scrolling through it for long lengths of time and then just IMMEDIATELY RE-OPEN it. Just by muscle memory, my hands would go through the motions and find the little camera icon. I knew this was unhealthy behavior because we shouldn’t be slaves to Instagram or really any sort of technology. We should be making technology work for us, not the other way around. This realization inspired me to go on an Instagram hiatus for this past month and I learned a few things about myself and Instagram:
A. When you post something on Instagram, it immediately becomes a public experience – any semblance of an intimate moment is gone. It’s no longer just “me and my friends”, it becomes: “Me my friends and my followers”
B. CON: It takes more effort to keep up with people’s lives when you aren’t watching their stories everyday | PRO: When you do make the effort to connect with them outside of IG, it feels more impactful and I’ve found I remember things better.
C. If you cater your content to your followers, you are diluting the messaging and it becomes less ‘yours’.
I hope there was something in this 1000 word essay that resonated with you. If you want to talk more about this or any of my thoughts above, feel free to email me: questions@drewosumi.com.
Starting with this post, I’ll be posting more thoughtful/intentional content to this account since it originally was made to be ‘behind-the-scenes’. Oh and don’t forget to drink water.