20-year-old communications graduate living in the Waikato, New Zealand. Currently working in internal communications at a technology company in Hamilton. Sharing what I'm learning and contemplating weekly––often related to happiness, productivity, and making the most of our lives.
Back in high school, it seemed like we all made the same mistake: we let just about anyone judge our work (and by extension, ourselves).
The thing is, we often carry these judgments with us long after our younger years. We allow the wrong people to critique our work, handing over the power to people who don't understand us or even care.
Today, with social media amplifying everything, it’s easier than ever to fall into the trap of caring too much about what others think. We compare our lives to the highlight reels of others, chasing validation instead of living for ourselves.
Most of us put our lives on display, inviting opinions from people who don’t know us. Before we know it, we’re shaping our decisions based on how we think others will perceive us.
It’s a cycle that leaves us feeling inadequate, even when we’re doing just fine.
We need to break free from this cycle. We need to learn to put our work out there, do more of what really matters to us, and not let the fear of judgment impact us. We need to create, make mistakes, and learn to ignore the critics we’ll never please. The endless scrolling and comparing won’t give us the sense of fulfilment we’re searching for.
When we invite the right people in—those who understand, care, and provide feedback that helps us grow––our work improves, we grow, and we thrive with the right kind of guidance.
Ask yourself, who do I really want judging my work?
Why should I care about what this person thinks?
Am I living for myself, or for someone else’s approval?
Have a good week.
Ben x
🤔 One question for you
It's easy to fall into routines, especially when we let others' judgments dictate our actions.
If we want to grow, we need to be intentional about pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zones––when we stop worrying about what others think and start focusing on our own journey.
What uncomfortable things have you put yourself through recently?
Ask yourself this and get an accurate gauge on how much you’re developing and growing right now.
👀 This Week's Standouts
🏆 PR Campaigns Competition - I finished my studies at University on a high last week, with my team winning the annual Waikato Management School Public Relations Campaigns Competition. We developed a campaign for Waikato environmental non-profit Go Eco, focusing on building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with Waikato farmers, through initial stakeholder engagement activities, an accreditation system, and an online knowledge hub. I’m taking away many lessons from this project which I’ll be reflecting on for a while to come!
Myself, my lecturer Margalit, and good mate and teammate Seamus with the shield.
📰 Newsletter article - I've been enjoying Seamus Boyer's newsletter recently. Seamus is an expert in social media for the public sector in New Zealand. In his latest article, he interviews Caitlin Cash, a Social and Digital Media Team Leader at Queensland Health. Queensland Health has done some cool things on social media for a long time, with clever, relevant, funny content that gets huge amounts of positive engagement. They recently did the brilliant ‘pooing at work’ posts which went viral all over the world. A really insightful interview.
📺 YouTube video - Think of a random number between 0-100... did you think of 37? Probably not. But apparently, that's the number most likely to be randomly thought of. Why is this number everywhere?
✍🏻 Quotes of the week
"Here’s another key element when you’re wayfinding in life: follow the joy; follow what engages and excites you, what brings you alive."
"When the person you could have been meets the person you are becoming, is it going to be a cause for celebration or heartbreak? This is something we must work on right now, and tomorrow, and every single day until the meeting happens."
“The secret is comprised in three words — Work, Finish, Publish.”
By Michael Faraday, one of history’s most influential scientists, who had been asked for the secret of his success as a scientific investigator. Surfaced in Tim Ferris' newsletter.
20-year-old communications graduate living in the Waikato, New Zealand. Currently working in internal communications at a technology company in Hamilton. Sharing what I'm learning and contemplating weekly––often related to happiness, productivity, and making the most of our lives.
