Agalia Tan
@agaaalia
Senior Strategist at We Are Social
RADAR Chapter Lead for Singapore
Agalia Tan
musingsandmore.substack.com
The same systems that empower us also subject us
"The longer I live, the more deeply I learn that love — whether we call it friendship or family or romance — is the work of mirroring and magnifying each other's light."
- Nothing Personal, James BaldwinStop Ignoring All the Mundane Miracles in Your Life
things you should remember and what "living life to the fullest" looks like
Phones, with their ability to transport you to other worlds, want to convince you that the one you’re stuck in doesn’t have anything worth paying attention to. But through my journaling, I realized something: We’re shoulder to shoulder with many universes; countless lives, hopes, dreams and fears as complicated as our own, all clustered in the same crowded shops, train cars and sidewalks. Why ignore all that?
One of the most intelligent case studies in design is the Chinese tea cup. They’re made without handles simply because if it’s too hot to touch, it’s too hot to drink.
Humans naturally want to add more. Add a cardboard sleeve, add a warning on the outside of the cup, add a handle. The result of all these things never cools down the actual contents.
... See moresimplicity is the ultimate sophistication
“I know a lot of people who make things who don’t stand proudly by their stuff, I don’t know if they’re too cool or they don’t want to look thirsty, but they’ll put a song out once on their stories — and that’s it.
... See more
You went through something. You figured something out in a structured format. You recorded it. Not just one take. Parts and parts.
Is chasing virality going out of fashion?
Live the Pareto Principle lifestyle:
Relationships. Who are the few people that have the most positive impact on my life? Spend more time with them.
Priorities. What are the few actions that have the most positive impact on my day? Prioritize them.
Learning. What are the few information sources I learn the most from? Focus on them.
Stress. What are
... See morePsychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on the value of daily surprises:
"Try to be surprised by something every day. How is this different? What is its essence? Don't assume that you already know what these things are all about, or that even if you knew them, they wouldn't matter anyway. Experience this one thing for what it is, not what you think it