This newsletter is a fortnightly meditation on living a more intentional, fulfilled life.
Every edition includes exclusive updates, intriguing ideas, and meaningful content recommendations.

Today: The serendipity of small actions and intentionality 101

Hey there!

Two weeks ago, something miraculous happened.

The day started as usual: I booted up my laptop, took a sip from my coffee, and made a few habitual clicks. Then, unsuspectingly, I navigated to my stats page. And suddenly, I saw it. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this huge spike in views on my screen. My jaw dropped. My heart skipped a beat.

Because this could only mean one thing:

One of my articles had gone viral.

After drilling down the data, it turned out that Joshua Becker, one of the biggest and most successful minimalism writers had shared my article on his blog. Which sent thousands of viewers to my little corner of the internet. In fact, that might be the reason why you, dear reader, were prompted to sign up to my newsletter. Welcome!

It's kind of my job to put feelings into words but it's hard for me to describe the magic of an event like this. Think about it -- one person on the other side of the globe randomly discovered my work, liked it, and was like, "Hey I'm gonna share this."

For Joshua, it was a split-second decision. A bagatelle. But to me, it meant everything. And I'll forever be grateful for moments like this. For the potential of the internet. And how seemingly simple acts demonstrate the power of human connection.

Idea: How to avoid a life on autopilot

When I launched this newsletter more than a year ago, I punched the tagline "Intentionality and Fulfillment" above the heading because it felt right. It made sense to me that these are the values I wanted to explore through my writing.

Except... I had no clue what they meant.

But now that I wrote 27 newsletters and well over 150 articles circumfencing these topics, I want to share what they mean. And how you can cultivate them in your daily life.

Let's start with fulfillment.

Fulfillment is the sense of living a rich, open, and well... fulfilled life. Counter-intuitively, this is NOT the same as the pursuit of happiness.

In fact, I believe that happiness is nothing but a byproduct. A fleeting sensation that arises when the conditions are right. It's like rain -- when enough water vapor has accumulated in the atmosphere, droplets fall from the sky. But you can't force rain. You can't make it last. It's an uncontrollable cycle.

By contrast, the pursuit of fulfillment is exploring the full range of human emotions and experiences. The good, the bad, and the ugly. To live a fulfilled life means to embrace loss, loneliness, and melancholy just as much as success, connection, and joy.

If happiness is like rain, fulfillment is the experience of raindrops falling on your skin. And not only that, it's the endeavor to investigate every possible weather condition: Snow, hailstorms, blazing sunshine, fog, mist, everything.

Now, this is where it gets interesting:

Intentionality is the tool to reach fulfillment. And this is done by aligning your thoughts with your actions. The opposite of intentionality is regret. Why? Because regretting something means you didn't do what you intended to do.

Now, intentionality stretches across many sectors of life. Here's an example: On most mornings, I have the intention to do yoga. But most of the time I'm like, "Nah, I'll do it later." And of course, "later" turns into "tomorrow." So I end up not doing it at all. This makes me feel anxious and guilty because, in a way, I lie to myself.

But then there are days where I turn my intention into action. And then I'm proud of myself. I feel more honest. Confident. Fulfilled.

This concept also applies to emotions. When I'm sad or lonely and resist those uncomfortable feelings, I whirl up a downward spiral of emptiness. I think to myself, "Just make it stop already!" Which, of course, does NOT help.

But when I'm intentional with the emotion, I can sit with it. Be curious about it. It's like, "Huh, this is what sadness feels like today. Interesting." In this case, I don't act against my inner nature. I merge with it.

Put differently: Intentionality means to stop living life on autopilot because you're consciously turning good intentions into good actions. You're not letting the tides steer the ship of your life. You're taking control. You're becoming the captain.

Here are some of my notes on how to be more intentional:

• Sprinkle reminders throughout your day. For example, tape a post-it note on your laptop (or wherever you see it often) that says, "Pause. Take a breath. What are you doing?" This prompts you to reflect on your current actions. And in case you're on autopilot, it gives you a choice: Is this really what you want to do right now?
• Ask yourself "why" more often. If you want to be more intentional about buying stuff, making decisions, and pursuing goals, you need crystal-clear "whys." They're your compass. Here's an easy practice. Every time you write your to-do list, make two columns. The first one is called "daily tasks" (pretty self-explanatory). The second one is called "why." In this column, take some time to reflect on the motivation behind your tasks. If you can't honestly answer why you're doing something, why do it?
• Stop. We're always on our way to get somewhere, do something, be someone. But we rarely take the time to pause and do nothing. Suggestion: After you finish reading this email, take a few minutes. Lay down on the ground, feel your breathing, and just... be. After all, you're a human being, not a human doing.

Content: Running sucks.

I've been running regularly for a few months now. And in the beginning, I tended to romanticize it when I told my friends about it.

"Oh, it's not so bad. Just go for five minutes."
"If you run really slowly, it gets easier."
"The runners high feels amazing!"

But the truth is that running always sucks to some extent. In fact, so many things in life suck. But we gotta do them anyway. Like brushing our teeth. That's why I love this video.

Something to think about

A quote from Mahatma Gandhi that encapsulates the power intentionality:

A 30-second favor

If you enjoyed this edition, share it with others!

You can either forward this email or copy and paste this link: [ARCHIVE URL GOES HERE]

This won't take you longer than 30 seconds, but it'd mean the world to me. 🌍

​

Until next time,

Stephan

​

Bonus: friend links to newest blog posts

1. ​3 steps to go to bed earlier tonight​
2. ​The 2-word concept that makes everything you do feel effortless ​
3. ​3 simple ways to become a minimalist (without selling all your stuff)​

​