There’s a bar in Singapore with no menu. Instead, you tell the bartender how you want to feel, and she makes a drink for you. Looking to feel inspired? Refreshed? Intrigued? Relaxed? There’s a drink for that.
Imagine if life worked like that.
Instead of scrolling endless options—jobs, apartments, partners, Netflix queues—we’d start with what actually matters: how we want to feel.
But (here comes the villain! 🤣)… that’s not how the world works.
The world drowns us in choice.
It’s a firehose of options. Swipe left, scroll more, pick from 50 flavors, 500 jobs, 5,000 cities. We’re told “more is better.” But more doesn’t make us happier—it makes us stuck.
So, what’s our response?
Much like Steve Jobs wore black turtlenecks every day to avoid decision fatigue, we need to HACK THE SYSTEM.
We need to constrain our options, so that we don't give overwhelm a fighting chance. 🤣
👉 Try this experiment:
Pick one of these hacks and try it out this week.
- 🍽️ Restaurant hack: Instead of ordering off the full menu, ask for the bar menu or go for happy hour. Fewer choices, easier decision.
- 💘 Dating hack: Instead of endlessly scrolling, set a simple pre-filter. (e.g., “I want to match with someone with kind eyes” → Stop as soon as that happens.)
- 🎥 Netflix hack: Instead of doom-scrolling for an hour, decide how you want to feel before you open the app. Then say yes to the first movie that fits. (Want inspiration? Go straight for a documentary. Need a good cry? Hello, Nicholas Sparks.)
Notice what happens.
Does hacking the system make decisions easier? Harder? Lighter?
Start with small things, and soon you’ll spot bigger ways to hack the system—like navigating the job market differently or picking a city based on how it feels rather than how a magazine ranks it.
Hack the system with a friend.
Forward this and challenge each other: Who can try the most audacious hack this week? Winner gets bragging rights (and a newsletter mention, so hit reply and tell me what you do!). 🤣
And next week?
👉 I’ll share the perfect pairing for the "hack the system" rule—the shift that’s helped me go from overthinking to making decisions with more ease. I still get stuck sometimes, but this has been a game-changer. (Hint: It’s not just fewer options, but it does supercharge hacking.)
If you were forwarded this, be sure to sign up so you don't miss it.
Speaking of experiments… I’m running one too.
I’m testing how to make this newsletter feel less like reading and more like playing.
✅ Let’s make it interactive—so we build wisdom together.
✅ Let’s focus on connection—because real change happens with others.
✅ Let’s make it shareable—so insights don’t stay stuck in your inbox.
This is real-time learning. If something hits (or flops!), tell me! You’re shaping this with me, and I’m so grateful. 💛
Can’t wait to hear how it goes,
Amy
