💎 Friday Gems [Mindfulness, Suffering, Figma, Awareness, and much more!]

Freedom arises when we realize we are not our thoughts or emotions.

Jun 28, 2024

Welcome to Low Fidelity, a free weekly newsletter where I share freshly squeezed insights on mindset, mindfulness, and resilience. These insights are designed to empower you to show up in life, thrive in your work, and achieve your full creative potential. ✌🏽

In this edition of Friday Gems:
✨ The Power of Mindfulness
🏹 The Second Arrow of Suffering
🖥️ Figma - All the Launches at Config 2024
🌟 Wisdom: On Broadening Our Awareness Through Mindfulness
🎵 Tune: Circle by Phil France

Mindfulness

💎 The Power of Mindfulness

What happens when you face a setback? Do you fall into a cycle of self-blame, guilt, or judgment? It’s quite easy for me to start blaming myself and come down hard on myself.

Thoughts like, why didn’t I do this? or say that? take over, and I get on the train of thoughts going fast towards Negativity Land with stops such as Disturbia, Catastrophy St., Guilt Ave., Shame Rd., and Self-Criticism Square.

That is, until I pause and create space between what happened and my reaction.

In this article, Diane Winston shares some strategies to help us identify the thoughts, whether during meditation or in life, as they arise, so we don’t get sucked in by their content.

Some of the insights that stood out are:

Our thoughts are not reality - Don’t believe everything you think
Helpful analogies when it comes to thoughts
- Thoughts are like snowballs - catch them when they are small before they grow into giant snowballs that can overwhelm us.
- Thoughts are like trains - we get on the train with a single thought, and in no time, we have traveled far with the thought and ended up with the thought overwhelming us.
- Thoughts are like thought bubbles - We can pop them instead of falling into their grip.
Name it to tame it - Become aware of your thoughts by noticing them and putting a soft mental label on them, such as “judgment,” “self-criticism,” etc.
Disidentification - Freedom arises the moment we realize that we are not our thoughts or emotions. When we go from being caught up in a thought to the understanding that the thought is moving through us. It’s not “my thought”; it’s “the thought.”

The power of mindfulness lies in bringing awareness into each moment so we can break free from the thoughts that can become stories that hold us captive. Mindfulness techniques help create space between negative thoughts and our reactions.

We already have access to the power of mindfulness; it’s time to tap into it to live our lives on our terms.

Source: Lion’s Roar

Mindfulness

💎 The Second Arrow of Suffering

“In life, we can’t always control the first arrow. However, the second arrow is our reaction to the first. The second arrow is optional.” - Buddha.

A lot of the suffering we go through is self-inflicted.

Yes, misfortune happens. We get hurt, upset, or disappointed, but our interpretations of those situations put us through unnecessary pain and suffering.

The parable of the two arrows is a good reminder that the first part of misfortune is painful and may be out of our control; the second part, our reaction towards the misfortune, is optional and within our control.

The negative stories we fall into can snowball into more significant dramas and bring unnecessary suffering.

Awareness of the moment we start creating a narrative to explain an event is critical. We can pause to reflect on our habitual response and choose not to fall into the trap of overthinking or catastrophizing.

We don’t need to be struck by the endless second arrows and, in turn, be free from unnecessary suffering.

Source: Grand Rapids Therapy

Design

💎 All the Launches at Config 2024

Figma, the de facto tool of choice for people who build products, just launched a slew of new features during Config 2024, their yearly conference in San Francisco.

The newest features released are:

Figma AI
UI3 - A redesigned Figma Editor
Updated Dev Mode with Code Connect
Figma Slides

Along with updates to features, including auto-layout, responsive prototyping, integration with UI Kit libraries, and pages within FigJam.

Yes, as expected, AI was at the top of the released features. If AI is to be used, it should remove the grunt work and not the creative work in the design process. With that in mind

Here are the features that stood out for me:

Figma Slides

While we may not be able to break free from PowerPoint…yet, Figma Slides is a great way to stay within Figma to build design presentations and create slide decks using the built-in features of Figma. Watch out PowerPoint!

Renaming Layers

This is a big one; renaming layers automatically will help make the design layers legible and organized as we collaborate with our team members.

Cleaned Up UI

I also like the cleaned-up UI because it removes visual noise that can be distracting and makes room for more of the design to be visible.

Watch the keynote and all the sessions at Config 2024

Source: Figma

Mindfulness

💎 On Broadening Our Awareness Through Mindfulness

At first natural awareness may seem far away, just a whisper, but then it will begin to grow and expand and permeate aspects of living. Over time we may feel more peace, more connection to ourselves. We may find ourselves taking life a bit more lightly. We may feel a sense of relaxed ‘beingness’ throughout the day, and when we do get caught in our dramas, we may find ourselves moving out of them quicker than we imagined we could.”
— Diana Winston

Note to self

Comparison Kills Creativity

I can’t find the source of this image, but it’s an excellent reminder not to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves with others. Keep reminding yourself that you are enough and that there are people who look up to you for your abilities, uniqueness, and exactly who you are. Some people are further ahead in their journey along a path/skill/life, and some are just starting out.

We can prevent unnecessary suffering by changing our perspective and turning the lens towards ourselves in this moment