You can't win every battle, and that's okay
Bouncing back after failing and loving yourself despite it.
Hello dear reader
Welcome to another edition of Be Your Best Friend with Anangsha - the weekend newsletter that isn’t ashamed to admit it sometimes fails, but picks itself back up after every fall.
If you have followed my journey so far, you’d know that of late, I’ve been struggling to stick to my writing or workout schedule. I hadn’t worked out in more than 15 days, and even when I sat down to write, I couldn’t move past the first few sentences, no matter how hard I tried.
But this week was all about recovery.
I don’t know where the strength came from, but I woke up on Monday with this fire in my belly, knowing that I’m capable of great things, and if I don’t execute them right away, I’ll be doing an injustice to myself and the world.
I even did a 30-minute gentle pilates session. This inspired me so much that I could maintain a 6-day workout streak throughout this week!
I don’t say this to boast, but if you’re looking for a lesson, here’s this: some battles in life are harder than others. But the best news is: you don’t have to win them all to emerge victorious in the war. As long as you don’t give up on yourself and your ultimate goal, a few setbacks along the way are okay.
You’re meant to lose some challenges, and that’s alright. Where would the fun in life be if we became successful in everything we attempted?
Here’s a quote for you to ponder over:
“Sometimes you need to hide away from the rest of the world. And it's okay to do that. Just as long as you know the world is waiting for you when you're done.” - TJ Klune, How to be a Movie Star
With that in mind, read on for some cool stuff I created this week, a kickass book recommendation, and some closing words to make you smile.
My new venture: The BAOS Book Club
After your overwhelming response to the launch of the BAOS Book Club, we announced some even cooler features. For $5 a month, you get access to four things:
1. A virtual book club
It’s the coolest place on the internet for book lovers to hang out. You get recommendations for all your requests, no matter how specific they get. You also get to take part in text and video discussions with readers and writers straight from the heart.
Note: If you’re just a casual reader, this book club isn’t for you. Only join if you’re a hard-core book lover.
2. A newsletter for book lovers by book lovers
You can write insightful book-related pieces for our newsletter and get paid for them too.
3. A site-wide readathon (Pick a book to start!)
For the first time ever, we will be hosting a site-wide read-along on the BAOS Book Club. For August, you can pick one among the following 4 books by Carl Sagan -
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle In the Dark: What most people don’t know about science is that it’s nothing but the search for truth. Learning the principles of scientific thinking can help us in our search for the truths of life as well.
Contact: This is a hard science fiction novel that deals with the theme of contact between humans and aliens.
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage: This book corresponds to the popular television series of the same name, and talks about how amazing our universe is.
Broca’s Brain: Reflections on The Romance of Science: In this book, the author talks about intelligent robots, extraterrestrial life, and their consequences.
4. A cool book review opportunity
You pick the genre. You pick the book. You pick the price. If you’re interested in reading and reviewing books in exchange for some money, fill this form today to let us know.
To get all these amazing perks, join the BAOS Book Club today. For more details, click here.
Videos of the week
"The only way to make money as a writer is by writing a book or selling a movie script."
If you think that way, let me show you 8 ways you can make a LOT of money by writing online. "A LOT" means earning in 6 figures USD! None of them involve selling a movie script (Sure, there's lots of money there, but I'm not going into it as I don't have any experience).
Watch the video here (or click on the image below).
Book recommendation of the week
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert
Genre: Non-fiction
Over the last half-billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us.
This is truly a sobering book — possibly the best I’ve read in recent times that doesn’t sugar-coat facts. Yes, the world might be heading towards extinction, but this time, whether we can prevent it depends on us.
How the book will help you
Kolbert doesn’t blame the human race or make her readers feel guilty about living the way they do. She only explains the effect our actions have on the planet and how this could lead the entire species to total annihilation. The book lays out everything we need to know — the cold, hard facts. What we do with them depends upon us.
Stories I recently wrote
This week’s stories were based on learnings from my personal experience. Read on for an eclectic collection that will give you lots to think about
If You Stay Silent, Someone Else Will Decide What Happens in Your Life: Lessons in resilience I learned from my grandmother’s silence over the conflicts in a dysfunctional Indian joint family.
3 Mindset Shifts that Helped me Build a Succesful Writing Business: If you are someone who’s just starting to make money from their writing, this article will help you learn three key mindset shifts. When you apply them, they will help you become a high paid writer in just one year or maybe even less.
Have You Fallen into the Trap of Overstretching Your Goals? Science-backed reasons why aiming too high can be harmful. Bonus: The psychology of setting more achievable goals.
Before we conclude, I’d love to tell you that some days might be harder than the rest, but hold on. Things will get better, I promise you. You’re strong and amazing. You’re capable of incredible things.
Here’s a virtual hug for you.
Note that I create this newsletter for you every week with lots of love. If you’d like to support me, here’s a link you can use to buy me a book.
If you found this letter useful, don’t forget to forward this to a friend or ask them to sign up for my newsletter. It’s free, and you know me, I only send valuable content.
That’s all from my end today. I’ll see you again next week. Till then, stay strong. Keep smiling and be awesome.
With love,
Anangsha.