The Christmas gratitude edition
We may have to check in on ourselves before checking in on others
Merry Christmas subscribers. It’s been a while since we last connected. Since the last edition, the days have shortened, and we now find ourselves looking forward to the holiday season. Some find the months of November through to January challenging. Oddly, for the last three years, I have found November to be a burden on my mental health. Nonetheless, there is always light at the end of the tunnel, that’s if you want to find it. In this edition of the Woz Report, we’ll focus is on crushing negative bias.
Gratitude make us better people
During the BBC’s coverage of Remembrance Sunday, a veteran of the Royal Air Force spoke of her delight at reuniting with a long-lost comrade of some 35 years. That two-minute clip got me thinking. Time never stands still, and before we know it, a year goes by without seeing friends, then two, then three. In the last four weeks, I reconnected with several friends, one whom I have not seen for 28 years.
Can gratitude really make us better people? Frustrated with my low mood, I sought answers, and subsequently stumbled upon a podcast, hosted by Oprah Winfrey and Arthur C. Brooks. The duo’s genre is spirituality. After one episode, I ordered their book, titled How to Build the Life You Want. In summary, Winfrey and Brooks teach how to understand our happiness profile, and how to manage emotions through scientifically proven techniques.
Roman philosopher Cicero wrote that gratitude ‘is not only the greatest, but it also the parent fall the other virtues.’
One of the ways we can manage our emotions is through metacognition, the awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes. Simply, if we chose to, we can use our conscious brain to control our emotions. By using the emotions, memories and arousal generated by the limbic system, we can use the prefrontal cortex to use the emotion purposely. Think of the prefrontal cortex as a filter. It all makes sense. The more we become ‘limbic’ the more likely we are to adopt negative bias. Avoiding negative feelings is difficult, but metacognition allows us to understand those feelings, and learn from them.
Gratitude for our veterans
My passion for military history peaks during the period around Armistice Day. For those interested in a good story, pick up any of Roman White’s books. White’s Harrier 809 is a captivating tale set during the Falklands campaign of 1982. I couldn’t put down White’s expertly written book on Britain's Legendary Jump Jet and the Untold Story of the Falklands War.
Recently, I began reading his latest book, Mosquito, and equally engaging story of ingenuity, bravery and profound commitment to defeating Hitler’s army. The legendary De Havilland aircraft was a disrupter in the aircraft industry, partly because of its multi-role capability, and the fact that its superstructure was made from wood, rather than the industry standard aluminium. White expertly synergises the Mosquito’s adventures with the bravery of the Special Operations Executive (SOE), and particularly for those operating in occupied Denmark.
Being one for multitasking, I also love an audio book. Paul Beaver’s book, Winkle tells the heroic story of Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown, CBE DSC AFC KCVSA PhD Hon FRAeS RN (Retd), a pilot regarded as one of the greatest aviators to have ever lived. Brown served with the Royal Navy, eventually climbing into the seat of the Mosquito.
Synergising both White and Beaver’s books is the brilliant new Netflix series, Watch World War II: From the Frontlines. Remastered, the series really hits home the reality of war, and why millions like Brown risked their lives so that we can enjoy our freedom. If there’s one generation we should be eternally grateful for, it’s the men and women who sacrificed everything in the face of adversity during the 1930s and 1940s.
Energising, is the way I would describe my mood after writing this brief, but important edition of the Woz Report. Millions have found the 2020s particularly challenging, and in many cases, devastating. From the pandemic to the conflict in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, politicians, volunteers and ordinary civilians are looking for the light at the end of the tunnel.
Being grateful for the ability to write this newsletter in the peace and calm of the Essex coastline is a great way to end this edition of the Woz Report. Thank you subscribers, I am truly grateful for your companionship, on what has been an interesting 2023. Remember, it’s not what’s under the tree, it’s who is around it that counts. Let me know in the comments section what you’re grateful for.
Merry Christmas John!🎅