January: Letter from our Co-Founder
Happy New Year, friends:
With 2025 upon us, I’m asking myself, like many people my age – “Where does the time go?” As this newsletter reaches you, you’ve probably been ruminating about whether or not you will set goals or intentions for this coming year. The notion of “resolutions” is deeply personal. For me, I have chosen not to do any macro resolutions this year and to instead focus on micro resolutions, tiny shifts I can take that if practiced daily, will equal a great shift by the end of the year.
For example, I have chosen not to look at my phone until I have had my 1st cup of coffee. Sounds like a very doable goal, right? It is, but it’s a little harder than you think. Sometimes, I see myself staring at my phone while my coffee is brewing, thinking about the “what ifs?” “What if something urgent comes up?” “What if someone needs me to answer something quickly?” When I dig down deep, I know almost everything can wait 15 extra minutes. I’ve found that each day, this shift slowly becomes routine and gets easier and easier, making me a little less reactive. It helps me start my day by asking for some quiet space and limiting any input or output until I’ve had a chance to ground myself.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how everyone in my life is continuously floored, myself included, about these times. I feel certain that this isn’t the only time in our history that people have felt the way we are now. I think most generations feel like things have gotten out of control; when the television was first invented when the telephone was first invented, some people thought it was the end of the world, and some people thought it was a way to bring all of us together. I personally think it was a little bit of both.
As technology has advanced, how we relate to one another has changed. There’s no doubt that the course of evolution from migrating society to the society we live in now has changed over a relatively short period of time. Technological advances feel like the beginning of something great for many and a threat to others. Both things can be true, of course, every technological advance we’ve had has been used for good and manipulated detrimentally.
Coming to grips with how little control we have over things is something I am wrapping my head around. We have little control– or choice– is probably a better word for what happens in our great big world. We have a choice as to how we want to conduct ourselves daily. Do we want to come from a place of love, or do we want come from a place of fear? Do we want to rush our turn to talk and interrupt people while they’re speaking? Or do we want to listen to them and reflect back on what we hear them saying first? These small choices feel more impactful than doom-to-fail resolutions on a grand scale.
These reflections with you all are somewhat cathartic. Knowing we are not alone in the human experience—good and bad—is deeply comforting. In these times, when we find ourselves living with great suffering, constant stimulation, consumerism, and more, the opportunity to speak about what matters and inspires me feels like a great fortunate and it is my hope it resonates with you.
Danny
Co-Founder, AIM