🧠 Redirection is an upgrade

Hello, my friend. Happy Thursday. Here are five mindsets to consider today. I hope you find yourself reflecting on them and the gift you have to reinvent yourself as many as you need until you feel like your most true and vibrant self. If you have a friend who might enjoy these emails, forward this to them and they can subscribe here.

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Let’s get into it.

- Case Kenny (@case.kenny)

1. But why male models?

Zoolander reference aside, when was the last time you asked a question just because you were curious? Even a silly question? A question with a somewhat obvious answer? Just because it interested you? How often do you ask for clarity? How often do you ask “why?”

I saw a Tweet this morning that said: The average kid asks 40,000 questions between the ages of 2-5. They often ask 200-300 questions A DAY. By the time kids turn 11 (or finish elementary school), they ask almost... none. - Hannah Frankman

I’m not advocating for us to start firing off unnecessary questions, but where did our sense of curiosity go? Our sense of wonder? Our drive to fill what’s between our ears with knowledge and perspective? Here’s what I advocate for: if you have a question, ask it. If you want clarity, ask for it. If something makes you curious, look it up (literally 10 seconds with Google and you can find the answer to anything). If you’re feeling anxious, ask yourself why. You never know when the right question leads to an answer you never knew you needed. Ask questions. Find clarity.

2. A simple life is a happy life

Gratitude and presence are hallmarks of self help and frankly, they’re things I struggle with. You can’t force gratitude on yourself. You can only be as present as your mind allows. Struggle fest. But here’s something to practically consider that might gently guide you to a place where those habits are unforced.

Maybe the key to your life isn’t MORE or BIGGER? Maybe it’s SIMPLER?

Maybe the key to your life isn’t MORE or BIGGER? Maybe it’s SIMPLER?

We’re always looking to 10x our lives, our bank accounts, and our influence, and I think that aspiration is good. You have gifts and value to offer the world - shout from a roof and go after your big goals, BUT as Sam Harris said, “[Life] can’t be a matter of reaching and grabbing and fully satisfying your desires as a way to finally become happy. You have to locate your satisfaction more and more in the state of being that is already here, that’s preceding the next change.

Your happiness can’t be ultimately a matter of changing experience, it has to be a matter of recognizing experience.”

Can you recognize the value of simplicity in your life? Of peace? Presence? Gratitude? Maybe your happiness lies in what you already have WHILE you work for the next level? Something to think about…

3. Stop keeping tabs on them

Life is about trusting your path and giving yourself as many second, third, and tenth chances as you need to get it right. Along the way, you’re sure to come across temporary people and chapters that are cut short. That’s life for ya. It’s a requirement to figuring out what you want. We have to learn to appreciate the moments we had and the lessons we learned, BUT we need to draw a line and no longer keep tabs on people who are no longer in our lives. I’m talking about the people you still follow on social media - that ex from 2019 who proved they were not the one for you, that old boss who made you question your sanity, that childhood classmate who shamed you for being different, etc. Why are you still keeping tabs on them?

Stop keeping tabs on people who represent your past, not your present, and certainly not your future. Listen to today’s episode of the podcast if you’re like me and you still follow people on social media who belong in your past.

4. Redirection is an upgrade

I had a bit of a mindset epiphany last night and I wrote down 5 mantras that I’ve dedicated myself to following. Which of these resonate with you?

Redirection is an upgrade.

I will have the audacity to give myself what someone else wouldn’t.

I will see people for who they are, not who I want them to be.

Their limits do not limit me.

I will do what’s best for ME, even if it might disappoint someone else.

5. Cringe, but free

“Most super-rich people I know are just nerds who didn’t care what anyone else thought and unapologetically built what they wanted to build.” (Alex Friedman)

Be a nerd. Be cringe. Be outrageous. Be different. Please. I’ve realized this so many times over that people who seem intimidating, are on another “level,” or are straight up rich - they are regular, down-to-earth people who got REALLY good at one or two things. That’s it. They embraced being a nerd, being cringe, or being weird in a specific area of their life because that is what it takes to get to that level. That’s what it takes!

Don’t allow society to dilute the part of you that is the greatest gift you have - your ability to be cringe. Share your feelings on the internet. Write. Create music. Post a Tiktok. Create music or art. As Casey Neistat once said, “Don’t let go of the part of you that is cringe, let go of the part of you that cringes.”

If this speaks to you, listen to 512: Cringe, but free

My name is Case. I believe in the power of perspective.

Say hi on Instagram @case.kenny

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