Four questions for the new year

Plus my weekly recommendations, including soccer in Ukraine, the delusion of Twitter, and new music from a punk legend

A quick announcement before we get started: As a published author, I am obligated by law to remind you that my book, THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM, is available for your holiday purchases. I’ll be honest here … I’m not sure it’s a great Christmas gift. It’s a memoir about my life as an overweight guy, and if you’re giving it to someone else who’s overweight, tread lightly. However: January is what they call “new year, new you” season, and it might be a thoughtful gift around then, for someone you care about … or maybe for you. Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll be glad to help.

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The other night I taped a podcast—this time I was the guest instead of the host. The hosts are the Rossi brothers, two young guys who love sports and ask good questions. I’ll let y’all know when the episode comes out.

One of the things we talked about was a post I wrote back in 2013 called “The Four Questions.” It started as a tool when I taught classes—a way to get students to sort through the infinite universe of story ideas and focus on the things they might do best.

The basic idea is to make four lists. Each list answers one of these questions:

1. What do you know about?

2. What do you care about?

3. What are you curious about?

4. What scares you?

In class I had students fold a sheet of paper into quarters and take just a minute or two for each list. But if you took as much time as you wanted, I suspect some of you could make pretty long lists for each question.

The answers, I think, give you a pretty good picture of what you pay attention to. If you try this, take a special look at connections among the lists—where things match up or overlap. Those are the real sweet spots.

I’ve come to believe that this is not just a good writing exercise. It can be the start of a way to get at some deeper questions about what kind of job suits you best, or even what you ought to be doing with your life. It’s not a detailed map, but it can get you oriented.

It’s even better if you re-do the list every so often, then get out the old one and see how you’ve changed.

This is the time when we start to build a frame for the new year coming. Maybe this will help you build the frame. One thing I’ve found over years and years of doing interviews is that a lot of people aren’t that self-reflective. That’s not a knock—there are a lot of reasons, most of which are perfectly normal. If you’re that type of person, the Four Questions might help you. I know they’ve helped me.

10 things I wanted to share this week:

1. My earlier post this week was on Grant Wahl, and why you need to be a helper.

2. My weekly for WFAE was about an unsolved murder that still haunts Charlotte.

3. Speaking of WFAE, we’re wrapping up our December pledge drive … our station depends on listeners to keep the boat afloat. If you’re so inclined, please donate.

4. Mike Leach, the quirky genius football coach most recently at Mississippi State, died this week. Here’s a Michael Lewis story from 2005 that introduced Leach to the larger world. And here’s a Spencer Hall piece from this week, adding layers of context and nuance. (Spencer’s piece is behind a paywall at Channel 6, the site he and Holly Anderson run. If you love college football, understand its many flaws, and are still able to laugh at the whole enterprise, I can’t recommend Channel 6 highly enough.)

5. DOG NEWS: While I work on my book, I’m devoting this slot to dog stories. This week: You might have to play with the sliders a bit to get this picture to work, but it’s worth it: It’s a 15th-century illustration of (I’m quoting here) “Dog doctor completes urinalysis of a cat.”

6. Wright Thompson followed Ukraine’s national soccer team as it became a symbol for something a lot bigger than sports. (This is a companion to a documentary on the same subject—the trailer is at the top of the story.)

7. Leonard Pitts is retiring. He’s one of the all-time great American columnists, and just as kind and smart and funny in person. Proud to know him.

8. Are you one of those people who binge-watch TV shows and fly through podcasts at 2x speed? Alan Jacobs has a wise question: And then?

9. Ezra Klein on the delusion of Twitter. I feel better every day about this post I wrote a couple weeks ago.)

10. You might remember John Doe from the great punk band X back in the ‘80s. He’s still around and making music with a little softer sound but the same sharp edge. Here’s “Down South.”
    

See y’all next week, everybody.