#21: The Colour Cancelling Theory and a Scam
The art of prioritisation
Hello Dearest,
Wishing you an abundant and prosperous financial year ahead.
I love how the past few newsletters have felt like a digital diary. Writing is one way for me to introspect into my own behaviours and patterns and what comes out of it is reflections that guide me in various ways. This week I’ll be sharing with you a few thought patterns that have been working brilliantly for me. I’d love to know what you resonate with <3
JOMO is a Scam! Talking myself out of FOMO
Okay let’s be real this whole concept of JOMO (the ‘joy’ of missing out) doesn’t really come in handy when you are feeling FOMO (fear of missing out). At least for me, that’s the case. For example, when I feel like I’m really missing out on an event where all my friends are, because here I am at work; thinking 'oh, there is so much joy in missing out' doesn’t do me any good. Instead, I’ve taught myself to talk myself out of FOMO. Still a work in progress but here’s what I tell myself:
Your friends aren’t going to forget you, you are not going to get replaced and you are not going to become less important just because you didn’t show up once (And if that does happen, maybe you need better friends V!)
In the bigger picture where does this activity sit on your priority list?
You need to make the below equation true:
The opportunity cost of sitting out of the activity must be <<< the opportunity cost of engaging in the activity
Which basically translates to; I chose to sit this one out, so I better make my time count, which results in me working more productive and focused than I would usually expect to.
When you choose something that is right (or rather something that is more aligned with your long term vision) over something that is easy - it makes you feel proud!
“Contemplate the price you pay for inaction” ~ Chris Williamson
So instead of trying to think that there is joy every time I miss out on something, I try to put things in perspective, give myself a little pat on the back to appreciate my will power for choosing what is right over what is easy :)
With the number of things that I tend to sit out/ miss, it might often look like (i) I either don’t care or that (ii) I don’t feel FOMO. Neither of which are true. I feel FOMO, a lot trust me. I’ve just built a system that allows me to drastically minimise how long I feel FOMO for (and I might just be comfortable with calling this my super power!)
That also brings me to point number 2:
Looking at life with a wide angle: Zoom out
Sometimes what helps me identify what’s important in the grander scheme of things is this simple act of zooming out. Whenever I find myself getting too bogged down by something specific - let’s say someone sent me a message that is really taking a toll on me or an idea that I’ve worked on putting in hours of effort has been pushed aside - then I take a moment to remind myself to look at things with a wide angle, to zoom out just like we do on our cameras when we want more to fit into our phone screens.
This thought flow isn’t instantaneous but I am working on building this mental muscle; to remember to ask myself “how relevant is this in the bigger picture?”
To see things from a step away, from a branch higher makes all the difference.
Colour Cancelling Theory
By now you all know I love purple! I came across a purple toothpaste from Colgate (can’t wait to try it!) and was very intrigued by this color choice for a toothpaste. Apparently it was done not just for the aesthetic appeal, but more for the science behind it - the colour cancelling theory.
Newton proposed a conjecture that colours exactly opposite one another on the color wheel cancel out each other's hue. Purple and yellow are such colours; the purple in the toothpaste colour corrects the yellowness on our teeth. This is the same priniciple upon which cosmetic concealers work.
How is this relevant?
Learning about this the colour cancelling theory got me thinking about my relationships and interactions with different people and how I choose to invest time on them.
What if we treat all people and all our relationships like colours on the colour wheel?Each person would either dim your colour, enhance your colour or change your colour.
Being able to identify which relationships would dim my colours and which relationships would enhance my colours would enable me to identify who and where I want to invest my time in.
And that is everything for this week my dearest. Write to me, share what you resonated with!
And before you go, a few bits and bobs curated for you
Something to try: Chat GPT’s Ghibli-style images are adorable, here’s one with my siblings (my favourite), would love to see if you’ve tried any :)
Something to read: A collection of heartwarming and amusing animal facts
Something to cherish: That mango season is heree!!
something to buy: the purple toothpaste from Colgate
Something to hold onto: “There is no love in the universe that you are not worthy of” ~ Andrea Gibson
With warmth and wonder,
Vaishnavi
From the table of Masala Puff Moments, a newsletter.
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wait… drop by and say hi?
I’m Vaishnavi Radhakrishnan, a management trainee in a business that I love, a poet, a writer and a 23 year old figuring out her space in this world. I love admiring bougainvilleas, being by the ocean, and buying jibbitz for my purple crocs.