Tom's Top 3: January 7, 2025
Wildfires and Tsunamis
Hi everyone! Welcome to this week’s installment of Tom’s Top 3 Tuesdays, where I highlight three pieces of content (Podcasts/Shows/Songs/Articles/etc.) that I found interesting or noteworthy from the prior week.
Happy 2025! I live in west Los Angeles, and if you’ve seen the news, you may have noticed we have a little problem going on.
We’re not yet 7 full days into the new year, and we already have a California wildfire. Thankfully, I am just far enough away that I haven’t had to evacuate, but my heart goes out to everyone impacted by this devastating fire. Since strong winds have been on the forecast, I pray the preemptive evacuations prevent any deaths, but a number of houses have already been destroyed. We just have to hope that the winds die down enough so that it does not continue to spread.
Now, in a personal attempt to brighten the mood, this week is all focused on happiness. Either positive stories, or advice on how to get more of it.
Let’s get into it:
[Podcast] WHOOP Podcast - How to Control your Mindset and Feel Happier with Arthur Brooks
Arthur Brooks is an acclaimed author and professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School. He sits down with the founder of WHOOP to discuss happiness and personal development.
I honestly found much of the podcast to be a tad annoying, with a combo of hustle culture and back-patting that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Nevertheless, I found a few nuggets of useful information, and who knows, maybe you won’t be as bothered.
Brooks says there are three aspects of happiness:
Enjoyment
Satisfaction
Meaning (combination of Coherence, Significance, and Purpose)
and four habits of happy people:
Faith or life philosophy (something larger than you that offers peace and reflection)
Family connection
Friendship (of the non-utilitarian variety)
Work (where you can earn your success and serve others)
Brooks also touts the importance of gratitude and embracing the times when you are unhappy.
The part of the podcast that I found most interesting was actually the very beginning. Brooks explains the concept of “cross training,” where you can improve your performance in your desired skill by taking part in unrelated activities in which you struggle.
I recognized this concept from youth sports, where it is encouraged to play a variety of sports to avoid over-specialization and promote overall athleticism, but I have never heard of it being applied in an intellectual context.
[YouTube] BBC News Africa - Plastic-eating worm which could end pollution
The title just about tells you what you need to know. This development could be huge for combatting climate change. I am just so inspired by these amazing scientists who devoted two years(!!) of their lives to studying these worms.
Also, my condolences go out to these worms for being named the “lesser” mealworm. Doesn’t seem fair to these hard working bugs helping us out with OUR problem.
[YouTube] NBC Bay Area - Santa Cruz man rides potential record wave
On December 23, Alo Slebir caught the wave of a lifetime. At an estimated 108 feet tall, this would break the world record for the largest wave ever surfed, outpacing the 80+ foot waves out of Nazaré, Portugal.
Nazaré is a monster surf spot and the main character of the wonderful HBO documentary series, 100 Foot Wave (highly recommend). The last three record waves were at Nazaré, ever since Garrett McNamara surfed a 78 footer in 2008. Sebastian Steudner holds the current world record at 86 feet, but Steudner may have beat his own record in 2024 with an unofficial 93.73 foot ride.
We will have to wait to see if Slebir’s wave was indeed 108 feet, but that seems like sufficient cushion to secure the record. Maverick’s pioneer and surfing legend Jeff Clark is featured in the news video saying this was the largest he has ever seen at the beach.
That wraps up this edition of Tom’s Top 3 Tuesdays. If you made it to this point, please drop a 1️⃣, 2️⃣, or 3️⃣ in the comments to let me know what you found most interesting/useful. And as always, please like and consider sharing with a friend who you think would enjoy! I’ll be back next week. ✌️