How women made music, conscious leadership, and uncompromising garments
The Week That Was
‘The Week That Was’ is a free weekly newsletter that includes a selection of things on my mind (books, art, culture, slow life(style), global affairs, learnings, travel, etc.) as well as articles and podcasts I enjoyed during the week, an album of the week, and other recommendations. If you enjoy these topics, consider becoming a paid subscriber. For $5 a month, you can access the rest of the We, Renaissance Women content, including my monthly book round-up, travel guides, life(style) essays and interviews, and the country bulletin series.
1. Asking Myself: What will feel like a successful day?
I hate bedtime. The end of the day pains me, and I always feel like I need to squeeze more time out of it to have a day that I feel proud of. This feeling has intensified over the past few weeks, and I am routinely going to bed feeling unsatisfied with my day. This is not a particularly nice emotion to feel, and I have been brainstorming and reflecting on how I can start to shift this pattern of thinking.
My first step is to ask myself: What will feel like a successful day?
I plan on journalling about this later this afternoon, but off the top of my head, for a weekday, the basics will include a workout, time learning, progress on work projects, Spanish studying, content creation, work on the newsletter, something in the house (cooking, cleaning, etc.), and reading a book.
Is this too much?!
I imagine that part of the issue is that my expectations for each day are not aligned with the reality of what can happen (for context, I have 59 things on my to-do list for today… a Sunday). This is a common issue that I have always fought, but I am finding that it is affecting my happiness more than usual, which is a surefire indication that I need to do something about it.
2. An Ode to the Musicals
If you were to ask me when La La Land came out, I would have absolutely responded, “Oh, a couple of years ago,” but it actually came out in 2016 (?!?!). Never one to be up-to-date when it comes to films, I watched it for the first time this week. What can I say? After a long week at work and a pounding headache, I was in the mood for a singing and dancing extravaganza.
I showed my boyfriend the trailers for all my childhood favourites, but he ended up choosing La La Land. This is old news…but it is good! And if you have not seen it, I do recommend it.
However, watching the trailers for some of the classics made me eager to do some rewatches of the musicals that made my childhood. (All of the advertising for the new Wicked probably also has something to do with it.)
Some of the musicals I would like to rewatch over the winter:
Evita (1996)
My Fair Lady (1964)
Mary Poppins (1964)
West Side Story (1961)
What are your most beloved musicals?
3. The World of Interiors Writing Prize
The long-renowned design magazine, The World of Interiors, delves into the art of interior decoration and architecture, offering readers a luxurious blend of visual and intellectual content. It is one of my favourite publications thanks to its eclectic mix of global homes, historic landmarks, and contemporary design trends.
Over 750 people entered the magazine’s inaugural writing prize, with entrants being given “the deliberately ambiguous prompt of ‘Writing Home’ and tasked with creating a piece of short creative writing in whatever style, mode, or form they would like – whether poetry, prose, journalism, or creative non-fiction.”
The final six entries are available to read online and in the November 2024 issue of The World of Interiors, with two overall winners, one from the UK and one from the USA.
The two winners (both women!!) wrote absolutely beautiful pieces:
- The End by Tayiba Sulaiman
- We Could Never Live Here Again by Mary Bergman
They are short but delightful and well worth a read with your cup of tea.
4. On The Wishlist: Asket
The Swedish brand Asket has been on my radar for a couple of years, and I admire its ethos, “the pursuit of less.” They have one permanent collection of clothes and slowly add one garment to the collection at a time. Their system is built on three pillars: Uncompromising Garments, Full Transparency, and Lifecycle Responsibility. (You can read their 2023 Progress Report here.)
Uncompromising Garments
We have no seasonal collections or limited drops. We put our entire focus on building a single, permanent collection of uncompromising essentials, one piece at a time. We manufacture exclusively in Europe, source the finest fibers in the world and pride ourselves in delivering the perfect fit for more people with our extended size system.
Their garments are absolutely beautiful and are the type of pieces you can wear repeatedly and style in a gazillion different ways. Their cashmere rollnecks are made from an Italian 97% recycled cashmere yarn, while their Merino crew neck sweaters are knitted from 100% traceable, extra-fine Merino wool and look the perfect mix of lightweight and cozy.
Other seasonal staples include the T-shirt, the long-sleeve T-shirt, the standard jeans, and the wool cardigan.
I have not purchased anything from them yet, but the knitwear, in particular, is high on my wishlist.
5. From the Archive: A Travel Essay
This is a travel essay from the archives. I wrote this piece in 2018 after traveling to Bremerhaven, Germany, specifically to visit the German Emigration Center. It was a little off the beaten path for German travel, but the museum is incredible and allowed me to reflect on my own immigration story.
6. The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership
For the past ten months, I have participated in a leadership cohort for rising non-profit leaders in Chicago. Next week, I have my final presentation, during which I will reflect on one of my main takeaways from the experience. When it came to choosing my topic, I knew instantly that I would be focusing on the book The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, which was a fantastic read from the beginning of the cohort.
The authors argue that many leadership models are unsustainable because they don’t prioritize self-management and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. This causes leaders to burn out, lose their passion, and succumb to an unhealthy culture of competition and greed.
To overcome these issues, the authors argue that leaders must:
- Learn to understand and manage their emotions and mindset
- Communicate effectively with others
- Align their actions and behaviors with their goals and commitment
Many of the skills and abilities of conscious leaders align with the tenets of emotional intelligence: being attuned to and mindful of your and others’ emotions. This seems pretty obvious, right? Yet, as we see time and time again and probably have all experienced with other leaders and ourselves, it is really hard to do.
I made a short TT video about the main behaviours required for these commitments, which you can watch below. We would all be in a better position if more individuals understood what it takes to be a good leader!!
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What have you been learning or thinking about this week? Any recommendations for me? Let me know!
Soviet Kitsch by Regina Spektor (2004). This is such a brilliant classic album. I remember listening to it in middle school and being transfixed by her voice.
For fellow music lovers, NPR just released a book, How Women Made Music: A Revolutionary History from NPR Music, that looks brilliant. Their playlist to accompany it is filled with incredible women musicians.
Articles I read (and recommend) this week:
Over the past five decades, South America has become a soy-growing behemoth. But is the boom over? (Americas Quarterly)
Kyle Chayka considers the unavoidable ubiquity of A.I. (The New Yorker)
One in eight girls sexually assaulted or raped before turning 18, says Unicef (The Guardian)
Why we’ve been seeing the northern lights so often lately (VOX)
Xi Jinping Is Fighting a War for China’s History (Foreign Policy)
10 Most Beautiful Libraries in the World (Daily Art Magazine)
Polarization a Top Issue for Mayors Around the World in 2024 (Bloomberg CityLab)
Chicago Marathon to Honor Kenyan Who Died After His World Record (Bloomberg CityLab)
More Black and Latina women are leading unions — and transforming how they work (AP News)
The Distant Origins of a Stonehenge Stone (Sapiens)
Podcast episodes I listened to (and recommend) this week:
Printing in England (You’re Dead to Me)
Choosing the World’s Best Produce with Natoora’s Franco Fubini (This is TASTE)
Monday-Friday: Making the most of the workweek (TED Radio Hour)
Hope you have a great week! Talk soon!
Jennifer
xxx