Buenas tardes from a Boeing 737 flying over Mallorca, where I’ve spent the last few days viewing the world through a different set of eyes.
I’ve been at a beautiful wellness hotel on the sea, with stunning views and deep connection to nature. This quickly leads to disconnection from the daily routine and induces new perspective, but it’s the people around me that took that up a level.
I’ve been at a retreat for predominantly female startup founders from all over the world, from many different walks of life, building companies in a wide variety of different industries.
As someone that has always worked in a (quite serious) corporate environment it’s been a completely new experience. I’ve spent a significant amount of time with people with such differing goals, challenges and daily lives to myself and those I interact with.
A different view of the world
More significant still was a recognition that the people I was surrounded by view the world fundamentally differently to me.
I’ve been seeing it in big and small moments in all the sessions and interactions outside of them. But it became really stark in the early hours of this morning at a bar, when one of the founders became fully immersed in creating a set of detailed and granular business objectives for one of the other founders using their phone notes app and AI. It happened simply because of itchy fingers from being so used to sitting on the laptop at night coding, building things and working on business problems.
We have a natural affinity for people people like us and we gravitate towards them, but there’s so much value in switching that up when we have the opportunity to do so.
Looking within
This weekend has really made me think about my own life, despite being there primarily to observe and support attendees with furthering theirs. Because it is almost impossible for an open minded person to not view the world and their own life in a new light after spending some time with a different pair of lenses in.
We learn so much by interacting with people that are unlike us. Really taking the time and having a curiosity to deeply understand different people and the experiences that shaped them not only helps us learn from them, but also ultimately teaches us a lot about ourselves.
Take some time this week to really get to know a new person, the type you rarely come into contact with. Really listen to their stories. It’s likely to enrich your own life story as a result.
— AJ
On my bedside table
💬 Quote · "We go through life holding on tightly to many unhelpful beliefs about happiness - ideas widely accepted because ‘everyone knows they are true’. And these beliefs seem to make sense - which is why you encounter them in so many self-help books and articles. But unfortunately, these misleading ideas tend to create a vicious cycle, in which the more we pursue happiness, the more we suffer. " — Russ Harris
If Plane Thoughts made you think, the best thing you can do is share it. Forward this to one person who would find it valuable, or send them here: planethoughts/beehiiv.com/subscribe
Have a thought, a question, or a disagreement? Hit reply; I read every response.
