Welcome to this week’s 1-2-1 newsletter. A small pause to recharge, rethink, and reconnect.
Inside you’ll find one ideas I’m sitting with, two voices I’m Learning From, and one tiny step you can take to feel more like yourself this week.
For a while, I’ve been trying to say too much at once.
More ideas. More structure. More value.
And ironically, it made everything feel heavier. Harder to write. Harder to read.
So I’m changing the format.
Not to do less, but to focus on what actually matters.
Each week will now be simple:
1 insight worth thinking about
2 voices worth listening to
1 reflection to carry into your week
That’s it.
This isn’t about productivity.
It’s about learning how to live in a way that’s actually sustainable.
Less pressure.
More clarity.
Better decisions over time.
1 INSIGHTS
1. Authority Isn’t Control. It’s Ownership.
For a long time, I thought authority meant having things under control.
Clear answers. Confidence. Knowing what to do.
The people I looked up to seemed like they had it all figured out.
But more and more, I’m starting to see it differently.
Authority isn’t about controlling everything around you.
It’s about being clear on what’s actually yours.
There’s another layer to this.
Authority is at its best when it aligns with who you actually are.
Not just taking on more, but taking on what fits.
Jim Collins calls this being in the right seat on the bus.
I’m starting to see it in my own life. When something fits, I show up differently. When it doesn’t, even simple things feel heavy.
What you’re responsible for.
What matters enough to speak up about.
What you’re willing to carry, and what you’re not.
That’s where things get difficult.
Because once you’re clear on what’s yours, you don’t get to hide behind confusion anymore.
You either act… or you avoid.
And avoidance has a cost.
2 Voices I’m Learning From
1. Alfred Adler on responsibility and belonging
Adler believed many of our struggles come from avoiding responsibility or protecting ourselves from discomfort.
One way we do this is by taking on things that were never ours in the first place. Staying busy instead of being honest.
So ask yourself:
Not: Can I do this?
Not: Would I do it well?
Is this actually mine to carry?
2. A Simple Truth About Why We Hold Back
“We are afraid to care too much, for fear that the other person does not care at all.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
I’ve been noticing a pattern in myself.
When things get hard, I get quiet.
It feels easier in the moment not to say anything. But it rarely helps. It just creates distance where there could have been honesty.
There’s still a part of me that believes vulnerability is weakness. That if I were stronger, it wouldn’t affect me. That I should be able to push through it with willpower alone.
But I’m starting to question that.
Not everything is a willpower problem.
Sometimes it’s a willingness to be honest when it actually matters.
1 REFLECTION / ACTION
Action: This week, let one expectation go.
Something you hoped would go a certain way.
Something you’re still trying to control.
Let it be what it is.
Then ask yourself:
What is actually mine to carry here?
And what isn’t?
If this resonated, share it with someone who might need it.
Thanks for being here.
Jack
P.S. I’ve recently been doing a lot of thinking around the ideas of pressure and freedom. I recently published a short essay called The Freedom Paradox.
It goes deeper into some of what I’ve been working through.
Ebook + audiobook here:
https://jackjohnstonwrites.gumroad.com/l/freedom-paradox