One stress-squashing question
Oh, hi friends!
I was interviewing a psychologist for a story yesterday, and we were talking about how to respond to stressful or unexpected situations.
She gave me one question to ask yourself when you’re getting overwhelmed:
“Will this matter in a week? Or will it even matter in an hour?”
I laughed just thinking about it. How often do I get annoyed or worried by something minor…something I can’t even be bothered to remember now?
So when you find yourself in a similar sticky situation today, ask yourself, “Will this matter later?”
“Yet playwrights have more pressing business than keeping up with the news crawl. At the moment, there’s no greater service they can provide than creating imaginative worlds for audiences to contemplatively explore.”
What’s the point of writing silly scripts or lovelorn characters or a play about the moon? There can be a point. Comforting reading: "How theater should respond to a democracy in meltdown," found on the writer Bekah Brunstetter’s blog.
Bits & Baubles
I saw the musical Hundred Days at New York Theatre Workshop on New Year’s Eve and it gave me the chills. The show’s closed (for now) but you can listen to early versions of some of the songs on Spotify.
Should I Forking Force Myself to Swear More? I loved this story about the psychological benefits of cursing by Danielle Friedman, one of the most f@#*ing wholesome people I know. (Sorry, it’s true!!!)
Charming Metro Diary on meeting Bill Murray.
“Two dying memoirists wrote bestsellers about their final days. Then their spouses fell in love.” (Headlines like this are so weird? Wonderful story, though.)
Taffy Brodesser-Akner is one of my favorite magazine writers. She cuts to the heart like no other. Here she pays tribute to Mary Tyler Moore.
Passed along by the great Carrie Seim: The AP just posted several reporting and editing jobs in the US: Honolulu; Phoenix; Salt Lake City; Denver: Sacramento; Salem, Oregon; Olympia, Washington. They’re all temporary, for various amounts of time. Most focus on covering statehouses and politics—and all are a fantastic way to get a lot of journalism experience! Postings here.
The addictive site Cup of Jo is hiring a senior editor and an editorial assistant based in Brooklyn. Dream job for the right person(s). (h/t Alison Peters)
“I don’t love all the shots I took this year. I don’t love the amount of shots I took this year. But when I consider what resulted from a few of those shots – an animated digital series for Thomas & Friends, and a book – I see the power of staying in the game.” Big lessons on trying and failing and trying more from Alex Jeffries.
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Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara