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Sunday Supplement #54 (May 22nd, 2022)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.”

– Simone de Beauvoir

Book of the Week:

Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir

In Sunday Supplement #7, I featured the film adaptation of Andy Weir’s book The Martian. Weir originally wrote the book one chapter at a time on his blog.

After completing the serial novel, some of Weir’s loyal readers asked him to self-publish the book on Kindle. He did, and the book went to #1 in science fiction.

Major publishers, Hollywood agents, and producers came knocking to pick up The Martian a few weeks later.

Andy Weir’s third novel, Project Hail Mary, is my favorite book that he’s written so far.

The book follows Ryland Grace, an 8th science teacher who had a previous life in academia as a leading thinker on microbiology.

At the start of the novel, Grace doesn’t know anything about his past life. He wakes up on a spaceship with severe amnesia on a last-chance mission to save humanity.

Grace’s fellow crew did not survive the induced sleep. While his memories fuzzily return, Grace realizes the enormity of his task.

Everyone on Earth is counting on him, even if he doesn’t remember why at the moment. 

Grace must save the Earth from an extinction-level event and might have a chance, thanks to an unexpected ally.

Movie of the Week:

Apollo 13

I have a list of movies to watch when I feel in a rut, and Apollo 13 makes the list. Themes like patience and perseverance stick out, but the story offers much more that resonates with me.

The Ron Howard film tells the story of the Apollo 13 space mission. 

NASA and the mission crew must devise a strategy to return the spacecraft to Earth after the spacecraft undergoes massive damage that threatens the lives of the astronauts.

Tom Hanks stars as crew leader Jim Lovell, with crewmates played by Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon. 

While they work to solve the problem in space, Ed Harris, as flight director Gene Kranz, leads mission control at NASA.

Supporting roles from Gary Sinise, Kathleen Quinlan, and Jean Speegle Howard brilliantly round out the cast.

The Apollo 13 mission started as the third human-crewed mission meant to land on the moon. The news dumped it as something inconsequential until the potentially fatal setback.

Many great films came out in 1995 for the 68th Academy Awards, and I’m surprised Apollo 13 only won two: Best Sound and Best Film Editing.

The film is still one of my favorites, though, and holds up today as a worthy movie to have on your watch list.

Brainfood of the Week:

How To Stay Motivated | The Locus Rule

The beginning of this video highlights a study done by Claudia M. Mueller at Columbia University in 1998.

Mueller took groups of 5th graders and had them work on numerous puzzles by themselves.

Regardless of how the children did, they were told they performed well and performed better than most other kids. 

Half of the kids were told they scored high because they worked hard, while the other half were told it was because they were intelligent and gifted.

The video discusses the results of a second round of testing and then delves into the concept of the locus of control— the degree to which you believe you have control over your life.

An external locus of control leads to thinking that you can’t control the outcomes around you. You can fall into the trap of feeling like nothing you do matters and stop trying.

Studies on the locus of control have found that having an internal locus of control is the key to staying motivated. 

The video then gives the example of solving problems in your own life to help develop an internal locus of control. By fixing minor issues, you see your actions directly impact your life.

The YouTube channel Improvement Pill designed the video. Their videos are meant to inspire, motivate, or teach something that can change your life.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Is there any reward for good other than good?”

– Surah Ar-Rahman 60

This quote from the Quran reminds me of how to gauge my experiences when I’m interacting with people and my goals.

I believe that when we become focused on an outcome as the only reason for taking action, we will end up unhappy.

A quick example is when you let someone in front of you on the road, and the person doesn’t even bother to give you a little wave.

When I feel frustrated, I try to pause to figure out what’s behind the emotion. Sometimes an irritation just needs to pass, but if I did the action for a reward, I know I’m not in a good place.

This quote and the situations where outcomes are put above the actions remind me of the locus of control.

If I’m doing something good, the outcome might have a temporary letdown if it didn’t go to plan. However, I’m happy that I did the action and know I came from a good place.

Take action on something you want to do, and have a blessed week ahead!

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