Dose of Prose

Have you ever had a bad day? I mean a day where everything that could go wrong, goes wrong. A day where everybody who breathes irritates you. A day with a rollercoaster full of emotions and negative energy? I’ve had those days. Although I consider myself to be a positive person and generally I try to look on the brighter side of things, I’m human…and I have bad days. I’m also someone who is analytical, realistic and somewhat short-tempered…which are characteristics that can cause negativity to overwhelm my way of thinking. So, on those bad days, the good days, or even the days that were ‘just okay,’ somehow, I would find something or someone to complain about. I found myself day after day getting in this negative mindset where I was irritated with the small things. When that irritation turned into straight up anger, I realized that this was not the person who I wanted to be and that something needed to change.

One day, I made a promise to myself. I told myself that no matter how bad my day was, no matter how upset I felt towards something or someone, I would take a sticky note and write down one good thing that happened to me that day. It could be anything. Even something as small as, “The weather was nice today,” or “I watched one episode of my favorite TV show before stu[dying] for my exam the next day.” I did this for a week and a week turned into a year. I kept all of those sticky notes and when New Years Eve rolled around, I was able to reflect on all of the ‘good bad days’ I had. I learned how to appreciate the simple things and switched my mindset from why is this happening to me? to what is this trying to teach me? I now easily find joy in the small things: a hot cup of coffee, an early morning workout, a fresh stick of incense…it’s the little things that ignite my soul, folks. And you know what? These tiny things make those bad days, not so bad after all.

I know what you’re thinking…what does anything I just said have to do with this week’s blog post? Well, I’m about to land the plane, just give me a few more minutes of your time and you’ll see. All of us have things we do to relax or ‘take our mind off’ those bad days I described above. I like to call it simple pleasures, aka, activities or things that you feel bring happiness to you and overall make life great. A couple weeks ago, I wrote a post about maximizing your productivity and in that post I mentioned the importance of taking ‘active rests,’ where you are basically working without really working. In today’s post, I want to expand on this idea of how to incorporate certain practices into your daily routine, increase you knowledge and stimulate your brain, with a twist: using the simple things. My simple pleasures, for example, are newspaper subscriptions (specifically the Wall Street Journal) and podcasts. Both of these have positively impacted my life and I think they’ll do the same for you. So without further ado, let’s jump into this blog post. Here’s how you can stimulate your brain with the simple things.

Why You Should Subscribe to the Wall Street Journal

Everything has become so digitalized now, but in my eyes, nothing beats a good ole book! Don’t get me wrong, I love my tech devices, but there’s just something special about physically touching and turning the pages of a publication. Plus, it gives my eyes a nice break from staring at screens all day. When I was younger, I would subscribe to those gossip/fashion teen magazines (Seventeen and J-14 just to name a couple) and then as I got older and began to lose interest in pop culture and gain interest in my own culture as well as current events, I switched up my subscriptions to publications such as WIRED and ESSENCE magazine.

Fast forward to grad school, where one of my professors required that everyone subscribe to Wall Street Journal, but not just the electronic paper, he wanted us to have the physical newspaper delivered daily. We would discuss what was happening in the biz world at the start of each class and relate it to topics we were learning during the lecture for the day. At first, I just saw the Wall Street Journal as another school assignment that was part of my grade, but I did not realize the positive impact WSJ had on my daily routine. Waking up early to make/get my coffee and read the newspaper had become one of my simple pleasures. My professor didn’t require that we read the entire newspaper cover to cover, he just wanted us to read the What’s News column on the front page, so that we could get a brief overview of the current events that day.

In the finance/business world it’s already an unspoken rule that you need to be aware of currents events, but I think even if you’re not a part of that world, reading the WSJ will stimulate your brain and increase your overall knowledge of news. On top of that, since I was a WSJ subscriber, I started receiving WSJ perks. For example, every 2-3 weeks, WSJ would email me exclusive, invite-only events happening not only in LA but around the world. One of those events was a private art gallery viewing and guess what? WSJ sponsored my ticket! I love free things (I mean, who doesn’t?) but that’s not the end all be all. In addition to discovering local events, I also discovered new books. WSJ sends subscribers a free e-book every month. One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to do more reading ‘for fun’ and WSJ makes that easy for me. Another perk included in the WSJ subscription (all my fellow fashionistas/fashionistos will like this one) is the monthly WSJ magazine that you receive in addition to the newspaper. This magazine features women’s and men’s style and talks about all things fashion.

I know I’m biased when it comes to WSJ, but this blog post is #notsponsored, so trust that I’m speaking straight from my heart. You should subscribe to the WSJ because you will:

1. Increase your knowledge on political, financial, business, fashion, economics and other important current events around the world.

2. Stimulate your brain and stay off your screens (aka it serves as a great break from tech).

3. Be in the know about exclusive events happening in your area.

4. Receive free e-books every month.

5. Get a WSJ magazine delivered monthly with your newspaper.

6. Boost your executive presence. If you’re in the interviewing process for jobs, put the WSJ in your pad folio during your next interview and/or tie a current event you read about in your interview. Trust me, you will set yourself apart from the pool of applicants interviewing for your position. Plus, let’s be honest, you just look cool/smart when you have a WSJ newspaper in hand…am I right or am I right?

Why You Should Listen to Podcasts (+some recs)

Another simple and free way to stimulate your brain is with podcasts. I’ve mentioned this in previous posts, but I enjoy podcasts because of how convenient they are. You can listen to podcasts anytime, anyplace while simultaneously going on about your day. Podcasts serve as a simple pleasure for me because I usually listen to them in the morning as I’m getting ready for the day or at night as I’m unwinding right before bed. It’s relaxing for me and I’m able to learn something new, with minimal effort. The beauty of podcasts is that there are so many of them out there on multiple platforms discussing a variety of topics! This essentially means that you can choose a podcast that caters to your interests specifically. For me, I’m interested in business, blogging and branding. Here’s a list of some podcasts I’ve been getting into lately:

• Motley Fool Money – the show features a team of Motley Fool analysts discussing the week’s top business and investing stories, interviews, and an inside look at the stocks on our radar.

• Side Hustle Pro – the first and only podcast to spotlight bold, black women entrepreneurs who have scaled from side hustle to profitable business.

• Fohr Ground – a podcast about people in the influencer space.

Also, if you follow certain Youtubers/Bloggers/Influencers online, most of them usually come out with a podcast (no shade, no tea, just facts!) so if you’re a subscriber/fan of a certain content creator, I would look them up to see if they have a podcast – it’s a great way to connect with them on a deeper level.

I really do appreciate the small things and I think through podcasts and the WSJ, you will too. It’s important as you grow older to constantly keep your mind stimulated. Knowledge is power and the mind is a terrible thing to waste. No, I’m not saying that to be cliché or dramatic, it’s the truth. Your education is something that nobody can take away from you. What you fill your mind with truly impacts your outlook on situations, your lifestyle and overall character. Do not misinterpret what I’m saying either – I’m not encouraging reading and keeping up with current events to insinuate that you are ‘not smart’ or that you need to be perceived as ‘smart.’ This is something for YOU and only you. I love learning because it’s something that I value and that I want to take out time in my day to do. I’m constantly working towards a better version of myself and I don’t want to be ignorant (key word here: ignorant, NOT stupid/dumb, there is a difference! Although, I don’t want to be stupid/dumb either…haha). What I’m trying to say is, I think it’s essential to be a well rounded person and by incorporating the simple things into your lifestyle, it will make a huge difference.

Well, at the risk of this post becoming too long and me losing your interest, I think I’ll stop here. Do you still read newspapers/magazines? Which ones? Tell me in the comments below. Do you have any podcast recommendations? Drop those too. I wanna know! With the increase of digitalization, do you think books will lose or gain value over time? <— Ooh, that might be too deep of question to delve into right now, but if you want to start a discussion, again, leave a comment so we can chat.

Until next week,
Kaamilah