Welcome to Constantly Curious, Edition #26!

This week at a glance:

• Examining The Spotlight Effect

• Can’t Miss Links of the Week 🔥

• After 6 Months of Constantly Curious, Here’s What I’ve Learned

• Three (3) Quotes/Thoughts

If this is your first time reading - welcome! Let your curiosity run wild with us every Thursday at 12pm EST.

With that said, let’s get into it -

Examining The Spotlight Effect

Let’s continue last week’s trend and examine another psychological bias: The Spotlight Effect.

The Spotlight Effect is a psychological phenomena where we overestimate the degree to which other people are paying attention to what we do, say, or act like.

This happens as a result of inherent egocentric biases that we all have; we are much more in tune with our own thoughts and opinions, and are therefore much more likely to assign those thoughts to other people in situations where we’re uncomfortable, nervous, etc.

Example: You’ve been going to the gym for 3 weeks, and attempt to use a squat rack for the first time. You are unsure how to operate the rack, not sure what weight to use, and can seem to get the form right.

You get increasingly more embarrassed each second until you walk off the rack and into the locker room. In that moment, you thought the entire gym was watching and judging you - IN REALITY, it is much more likely that not a single person even noticed!

Actionable Takeaways:

Now that you understand The Spotlight Effect, you can combat it. Here’s how…

1.  Awareness - By simply being aware of The Spotlight Effect, you are much more likely to be able to recognize it and overcome.

2. Cognitive Restructuring - just like The Spotlight Effect causes your mind to play tricks on you, you can do the same. Ask yourself: “If roles we’re reversed, would I be judging someone else like I think others are judging me?” and “Even if others are judging me, do I even really care?”

Don’t let fear or judgement from others ever stop you from pursuing your goals.

CAN’T MISS Links of the Week

PRO TIPS: For any articles that are paywall’d, refer to CC #11 or CC #19 for a way to bypass. OR, utilize your iPhone’s “Reader View” in your browser (this works occasionally)

💰 Caroline Ellison Testifies at Sam Bankman-Fried’s Trial - and it was Explosive (Bloomberg)

🏀 Tim Ferriss Interviews Rich Paul The Superstar Agent of Lebron James and Founder of Klutch Sports (Youtube)

🏫  Why Americans are Losing Faith in College (The Ringer)

⚡ How to Do Great Work (Paul Graham)

Here’s What I’ve Learned (So Far) in 6 Months of Constantly Curious

Six months ago I made the leap into this weekly newsletter, and it’s been an awesome journey so far.

175+ subscribers, nearly 70% open rate, and over 3000 unique page views - and the best part is, I feel like I’m just getting started.

I have some big ideas for ways to grow CC and expand, but more on that later.

Here are the most important things I’ve learned so far:

1. Building is not easy, but it is worth It - I’d be lying if I said writing each edition of CC was a breeze. Writer’s block, life commitments, and idea generation all present weekly challenges. BUT, the satisfaction of publishing each edition makes every challenge worth it.

2. Process is key - To combat the above, it is critical to have a scaleable process. These are commitments I make to myself every single week to ensure that I can scale my writing effectively and put out the best possible content. Without a proper process, you can set yourself up for failure without even realizing it.

3. Just START - your ideas, goals, or product will likely change. But you will never succeed without starting.

If you want to make a leap into something creative (but haven’t yet), reply to this email and we can chat!

Three Quotes & Ideas to Consider

See you next week!

Stay Curious, Friends!