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# Stuff #89 - Spread love not cake!
- URL: https://www.mattrutherford.co.uk/stuff-89/
- Published: 2022-06-06T05:30:00.000Z
- Updated: 2022-06-06T05:29:59.000Z
- Description: Better listening skills are a gift to others, and yourself. Living near trees makes you happier, as does playing with a Spirograph.
- Author: Matt
- Tags: Newsletter

👓

Hi from **Spain**, I'm Matt...  
  
I celebrated a birthday this week and spent most of the week away from screens and in the sunshine, it was a gift of its own. I'm hoping this week's mail finds you healthy and well.  
  
**Thank you for being a part of Stuff.* If you received this email from an excellent friend, and would like to subscribe, [please go here](https://mattrutherford.co.uk/newsletter?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk). If you'd like an archive of Stuff from the beginning of 2022 - [it's here](https://www.mattrutherford.co.uk/tag/newsletter/).*   
  
Onward with the **Stuff that MattRs** this week...

1. **Monday Motivation:** This week, let's all work on our listening skills. It's the [greatest gift that we can give others, and ourselves.](https://stff.me/89listening?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk) Not only that, but great listening skills [also make you a better conversationalist.](https://stff.me/89conversation?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk) Bonus stuff: [six ways you can improve your listening skills.](https://stff.me/89tipslistening?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk)
2. **Your new superpower:** The average human makes i[n the region of 35000 conscious decisions](https://stff.me/89decisions?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk) per day, I find it [exhausting](https://stff.me/89decisionfatigue?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk). I've looked at several ways of optimising decisions but[ journaling them could be a game-changer.](https://stff.me/89decisionjournal?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk)
3. **Essential Reading:** [Learn how social media can distort reality in 8 specific ways.](https://stff.me/89social?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk) Forewarned is forearmed.
4. **Take care:** [Getting to know the neurotransmitters that power your brain, and your well-being.](https://stff.me/89neuro?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk) Along with some practical tips to help them work FOR you.
5. **TWIL:** Researchers found that among 9,751 residents of the German city of Leipzig, those who lived [within 100 meters](http://stff.me/89trees?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk) of street trees were taking fewer antidepressants.
6. **The art of controversy:** [38 ways to win an argument](https://stff.me/89arguments?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk). I cannot guarantee that any of these will work, but #18 feels like a great solution to any dispute.
7. **That'll be 20 blah please:** The Icelandic Central Bank recently [ran a competition to design the first currency symbol for the Island nation](https://stff.me/89krona?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk). They've entered a world [I had no idea was so complex](https://stff.me/89currency?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk).
8. **Recreate your childhood:** I used to love playing with a spirograph, [now you can do it in your browser.](https://stff.me/89spiro?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk)
9. **Stupid is as stupid does:** [The seven varieties of stupidity](https://stff.me/89stupid?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk), and what you can do about them.
10. **Finally:** Happy Birthday to me (last week - chill) - [here are twenty versions of Happy Birthday that you can save and send to friends on their big day.](https://stff.me/89happybirthday?ref=mattrutherford.co.uk) Super useful!

📫

[I use Refind ](https://refind.com/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=barter&utm%5Fcampaign=ygxQp54bPqI2IScs4mwGAw)to uncover new insights and links to share each week on Stuff - Refind will send you 7 links that make you smarter every day.

🎧

My **aural stuff** for you this week is old, but fantastic. Blossom Dearie was a US jazz singer with a voice you'll recognise, and some songs that I guarantee you'll love.   
  
This collection of her greatest hits has just been re-released and its well worth a listen.   
  
[Listen to Blossom Dearie - Blossom Dearie on Spotify here. ](https://open.spotify.com/album/6Qmn8cqmmJIjuwjXiUF4n6?si=AaFHw8s9Q0WGQBjtUkY2eA&ref=mattrutherford.co.uk)

### Stuff that someone said:

> "Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier."   **Mother Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu**