Welcome to the inaugural edition of the 5 & 1 Newsletter!

The concept is simple. Each week, I will send you an email about five things I learned this week. They will be intriguing, thoughtful, and worth thinking about subjects. Then, I will offer one really good question. 

Why a question?

Now that's one right there! I am fascinated by questions and their ability to shape how we think. If you want to influence another human being, there is no more powerful tool than a well-worded question.

Tony Robbins said "The quality of your life is determined by the quality of the questions you ask." 

This is true whether your questions are addressed to others or yourself. A question can make new connections and lead your thoughts to heights you hadn't dreamed of before.

So I love questions and intend to ask you as many as I can to help you live a better, more fulfilling life.

Let's get to our opening content.

1. Americans Are Funny About TikTok

TikTok had a crazy week. First, the Supreme Court upheld the TikTok ban in a stunning 9-0 decision. These justices seldom agree on anything but were in lockstep on this one.

For awhile, it seemed like the app was doomed and servers even "went dark" on Saturday evening. By Sunday, though, the app was back with an odd message thanking President Trump who wouldn't be sworn in for more than a day. 

Like many others, I downloaded it out of curiousity during the pandemic. At the time, it was far more fun than any other social medium. Sure, there were dances and trending sounds. But the creativity applied as creators riffed on the themes was so entertaining!

It should not be a surprise, then, that as Americans awaited the doom of TikTok, they are still hilarious. The videos of creators thanking "their Chinese spy" wryly demonstrated how seriously Americans took the ban. And, how can one not be moved by the heartfelt goodbyes as creators contemplate what the app meant to them?

Here's what I learned:

It is no longer a legitimate critique of the internet to say IRL "in real life" and contrast it to in person meetings. TikTok proves that community and connection can be had online which was always the internet's secret superpower. I feel bad for the creators who staked their livelihood on it, though.

2. Deep Work is The Ultimate Zag

Reading Deep Work by Cal Newport and came across this brilliant idea: don't take breaks from distraction and instead take breaks from focus.

Deep work takes focus and perhaps you've found as I have that the world I live in is more about consuming than creating. Newport makes the case that carving out time for deep thinking will make you a more valuable assets in the information economy.

Here's what I learned:

If everyone is getting wider in the information economy, go deeper instead. It's a classic "zag when others are zigging" argument. While I plan to still be active on social in some ways, I'm taking Newport's advice to mostly stay off the apps, especially for mindless scrolling. My hope is to retrain my brain for focus not the scroll.

How does that square with what I just wrote about TikTok? It focuses the engagement that I actually have with podcasters in my free Facebook group, mostly. Certainly, I've developed relationships there over the last seven years that will last...but the time I spend with them is now categorized into my work day not my play time.

Would you do something like eliminating social to get more directed attention?

3. Community helps...if you can find it

Speaking of community, in my lastest episode of Halfway There, I interviewed Angela Herrington who is a deconstruction coach. She provides a space for people questioning their Christian faith to process it without judgment. Her own journey was aided by a church community that allowed her to ask difficult questions.

This is not the first time I've heard that community acceptance has value. That's kind of a "no duh" statement. I was, however, struck by the fact that so many communities aren't safe places for questioning congregants. Why is this?

I'm convinced that many communities—including churches—do not want to help people grow. They want congregants as a cog in their machine, not to  make it better so they kabosh questions. But questions are part of growth. They can also reveal uncomfortable truths.

Here's what I learned:

If you can find a community filled with people willing to help you grow while they do the same, you are truly blessed. Not everyone has that so if you do, please cherish them.

4. One Discipline at a Time, Please

I'm currently doing a Roman Catholic Lent-on-steroids challenge called Exodus 90. There are many monk-like practices such as taking cold showers, fasting from meat on Wednesday and Friday, and avoiding screens. 

The entire experience reminds me of when I went to school for spiritual formation. In classes we embraced disciplines, readings, and other traditions. Certainly, the Roman Catholic tradition is outside of my regular experience especially with my somewhat self-imposed hiatus from church groups. The whole thing feels odd to be reembracing it.

In part, I've never felt the practices do much for me. Not supposed to admit that, I think but somewhere, I believed that disciplines aren't for me because I saw little change.

For this season, I've chosen a few disciplines to embrace, the most important being the vulnerability with my brothers in our small group. While some of the practices like gratitude, the Examen, and an hour of prayer time per day are also on my radar.

Here's what I learned:

Even if you've been hurt by church people, spiritual practices have value for you. I don't know where this is going for me but I'll keep you updated.

5. Presidential History in the Capitol

Whether you voted for Donald Trump or not, his inauguration was interesting from a presidential perspective. You may not know that I'm a little bit of a presidential history buff. I've read a biography of every U.S. President up until Martin Van Buren (working on it very slowly) with the goal of reading one about every single president.

So, when I saw that the inauguration was moved indoors, I wondered how often this had happened. Turns out that it's not as uncommon as it seems. According to the Architect of the Capitol, only a little less than half of inaugurations have happened on the East portico of the Capitol that we're used to. The only one to take the oath in the rotunda was Ronald Regan. 

Here's what I learned:

The swearing in of a new president is a unique moment in history and this one was especially unique. Let's hope it's not a harbinger of things to come.

Question of the Week:

Are you a random fact or a deep learning person? How has this shaped your experience of the world?

I'm cheating to give you two. Hit reply or comment below to share your answer.

Podcast Recommendation:

I'm loving 1 Degree of Andy with Andy Chrisman from the 80s Christian group 4Him. He interviews many people from the Contemporary Christian Music scene in the 1980 and 1990s—my era! It's a fun walk down memory lane with stories you never imagined. This one with Steve Taylor was especially good. 

Thanks for joining me for the first edition of 5 & 1. I'll be in your inbox next week!

Eric