August Recap: Best of Be Curious (in 3 articles) and more

We are one month old on Substack. This is NOT a "what I learnt in my first month of Substack" post.

Bye bye August

One more month came to an end. Can you believe how fast 2022 is passing?

It was like only yesterday that my friends and I were on our hostel roof celebrating New Year, and I am not even kidding. It’s interesting.

Do you know what’s been equally interesting? This month of August. After so long, I finally started to understand this newsletter thing. I wanted to start it for over a year.

I finally sent out the first issue on July 15. But the biggest achievement is that I have been successful in writing two issues every week.

It’s a big deal for me as I have a very bad track record when it comes to persistence and completing things I start.

To celebrate this and also to keep the creative juices flowing, here’s the recap of my first month on Substack. This issue is inspired by Sam Atis’ post: Stuff I Found Interesting In August

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In this issue:

• 3 of the best issues of Be Curious

• 3 Substack writers you should not miss

• 3 things I want to get right in the remainder of 2022

3 of the best newsletter issues

Though my archive is not that vast yet, I want to share some of the coolest issues that you might have missed as a lot of people joined the newsletter in the latter half of August.

1. Why are more people not happy despite Harvard’s two-word guide?

Here are three noteworthy findings that came out of the hundreds of thousands of pages of the study:

1. Social connections are really good for us and loneliness kills. The experience of loneliness turns out to be toxic.

2. It’s the quality of close relationships that matters the most and not the number of friends you have or if you are in a committed relationship.

3. A good relationship doesn’t only protect our bodies, they also protect our brains.

Why are more people not happy despite Harvard’s two-word guide?

This is my very first newsletter (apart from the welcome email, obviously) and when I look back, not so distantly, I can see how valuable this is. You definitely shouldn’t miss this one.

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2. Let Aristotle Help You Improve Your Arguments and Writing Skills

There are three, and per Aristotle, each should be used in a different case. See: “in a particular case” in the definition above. Sometimes a combination of two or more can get your job done.

1. ETHOS (Persuasion by character or credibility)

2. PATHOS (Persuasion by emotions)

3. LOGOS (Persuasion by logic or argument)

Let Aristotle Help You Improve Your Arguments and Writing Skills

If you are a writer, or an aspiring one, I think you will find this article helpful.

Persuasion is one of those qualities you didn’t know you needed in your writing. But once you realise its importance, you’ll feel dumb not having known and used it before. This article covers the basics.

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3. 3 Life Lessons We All Know But Keep Forgetting for Some Reasons

I am currently regretting one of my decisions. What did I do? I lent my friend some money. And now even when I have money, I don’t have money, as he is not returning…

3 Life Lessons We All Know But Keep Forgetting for Some Reasons

This one is a personal essay as much as it’s a generalised self-help article. Navigating life as a teenager is not at all easy. That means it’s not boring either. After all, the fun lies in hardships, right? Not that hard hardships, you know. Easy-peasy hardships.

You’d want to read this article with a cup of coffee. Enjoy!

3 Substack writers you should not miss

I have read a lot of interesting writers on Substack and it’s close to impossible to narrow that down to just three.

I don’t know why I chose that random number as the theme of this issue, but I’m regretting that now.

Anyways, let’s cut to the chase.

1. Kamna Kirti

   • She writes a newsletter called Pursuit. If you are an art enthusiast, you simply can’t miss this one.

   • Start here: Ukrainian Artist’s Dystopian and Surrealist Art

2. Saanvi Thapar

   • She writes a newsletter called A Creative Life. She writes on a variety of topics that include books, personal essays, life and self-help.

   • Start here: On Life, Hope, and Gratitude: Anne Frank's Diary Caught Me Off Guard

3. Lenny Rachitsky

   • He writes a newsletter called Lenny’s Newletter. Yes, he continues with the default name. He writes on startups, entrepreneurship and stories of companies. He also hosts a podcast where he interviews a lot of prominent figures from this space.

   • Start here: How the biggest consumer apps got their first 1,000 users

I like reading these and more newsletters like The Day in History, Noahpinion and Recovering.

3 things I want to get right in the remainder of 2022

There are many things I want to achieve in the remainder of 2022. So many that I would have to write the second part of this issue.

That’s why I would not focus on them. Instead, I will focus on small habits that I know will take me far. Atomic Habits forever!

1. Have a proper sleeping and eating schedule.

   • I messed with it real bad in the month of August. I’m just a micrometre away from saying “I slept whenever I felt like and ate whenever I wanted to.”

   • I don’t want to make the same mistake in the month of September.

2. Reduce mobile phone usage

   • In three words: it’s sky high. Having a low screen time is fast becoming a flex, and for a good reason.

   • That’s why I think this rat race is worth participating in.

3. Focus on one thing at a time

   • This is the root of all problems: lack of productivity, ocean bed-touching focus levels, anxiety and whatnot.

   • In the month of September, I want to focus on one big thing at a time and try to learn/perfect all the things/skills required for it.

I hope you enjoyed this recap. Wishing you a productive September :) Bye!