The End-of-History Illusion and ‘What on Earth am I Doing with This Newsletter?’

Hey there! 👋 Welcome to the very first edition of my newsletter! Grateful to have you here on this journey together 😌

I decided to start this newsletter as a space to share thoughts, tips, updates, bonus content, free resources, and more.

Writing a newsletter feels like a much more cosy way for me to share with you - no video editing on top, no algorithm in the way, nothing but purely the thoughts that I feel would be most interesting for you - delivered every week, straight to your inbox. Feels kinda nice, right? 🤗

You probably know me primarily from YouTube, which is where this all began. Behind every single YouTube video I’ve ever created is an idea. Some kind of concept that I wanted to share, something I thought might be helpful or interesting to at least one other person, somewhere on the internet. So similarly in this newsletter I'm hoping to create something that connects and resonates with you in some way. I respect your time, so I’ll keep these short enough for you to read in just a couple of minutes each week. :)

Documenting thoughts each week like an open journal also feels like a good way to record this part of the journey, in a written letter format. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about a related psychological phenomenon, which I’ll tell you more about after firstly asking you these two questions to think about:

1. How much have you changed in the past 5 years?

2. How much do you think you’ll change in the next 5?

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This particular psychological illusion is called the End-of-History illusion, where we humans have a tendency to feel that we have experienced significant personal growth and change in the past up to the present moment, but that we will not significantly grow or change in the future. That we have somehow already “completed” our growth and development, and are steady-state. I’ve noticed in myself that this tendency to underestimate our potential for future change can create limiting beliefs and hold us back from dreaming big and staying open and attentive to opportunities as they arise.

This is where the journal comes in. I’ve kept a personal journal for over 5 years now. Looking back at the things that I’ve written, the feelings I’ve experienced, and the person that I was at the moment I wrote those words gives me a time capsule to see how far I’ve come. This in turn helps me to believe in how much further I can and will go - even if right now that future seems intangible and nebulous. For me, it’s been one of the best perspective-creating exercises.

This Week’s Personal Progress Prompts ✍️

(Each week I’ll ask a few journalling questions for us both to think about and answer together!)

Where were you 5 years ago today? 👧🏻

I was in the summer holiday between my 3rd and 4th year at Cambridge University - I’d just finished my 3rd year studying Biological Anthropology, and was about to start my clinical, patient-facing years of medical school. I’d just gone on a choir tour with the Emmanuel College Chapel Choir, which I was part of during my 3rd year of uni and was hands-down one of the best things I did in my undergrad years.

How have you changed since then? How would your self from 5 years ago think of you today? 👩🏻

I’ve graduated from medical school and become a doctor. I’ve also grown and changed significantly as a person. I dove deep into yoga and meditation, and even went on a 10 day silent meditation course. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, again and again. I self-studied Mandarin Chinese, I started my YouTube channel, I’ve grown in confidence, self-efficacy, and learned to love myself. I performed as the female lead in the annual clinical school pantomime, something I would never have even dreamed of before! I’ve even become the kind of person to start a newsletter (!) which is wild. Izzy 5 years ago today would think, “Oh my goodness I can’t believe I’ve changed and grown so much. I wouldn’t have even been able to imagine all of these things if I tried. I can hardly even imagine what it would feel like.”

In what ways do you think you might change in the next 5 years? How would you like to change? (This is the hard part.) 👩🏻‍🎓

With infinite choices, there are infinite ways we could craft our future stories - which also makes it infinitely harder to pin down. The good news is that we get a direct say in developing ourselves into the person that we want to be. I like to remind myself that, every day, I am slowly becoming the woman I want to be. Who is she? I hope that I grow even more in my confidence, compassion, kindness, equanimity, and ability to love myself and others. I hope that I will have learned skills such as running a successful business, become fully fluent in Mandarin and maybe another language like Spanish or Hindi, and kept pushing myself beyond my comfort zone every day. I hope that I have spent time travelling and learned more about the world. Maybe I’ll settle down and eventually start a family, with all the major changes that come along with that. 

How are you documenting your life from now until 5 years time? What do you wish you’d documented more of in the past 5? 📖

Moving forwards, I’m documenting my life in my journal, this newsletter (an open diary of sorts!), my YouTube channel, Instagram stories (@izzysealey), and taking LOTS of photos and videos along the way :)

I wish I’d taken more videos in the past 5 years :) Video is such a beautiful format to look back on. You can really feel the energy of the moment, see the way people move and laugh, the sound of their voices, the smallest expressions on your face. It’s one of the richest formats of communication - which is partly why I love YouTube so much.

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That’s all for today’s newsletter! I’d absolutely love to hear your thoughts on this first newsletter, any of your responses to the questions above, or your suggestions for things to do in future editions. :) Hit reply on this email and let me know - I read every single one of your emails (though sadly don’t always get the time to respond to them all)!

Love,

Izzy xxx

Learning Tip of the Week 📚

In what ways are you bringing in accountability into your work and study? How could you bring accountability more into your life?

Accountability buddies have been proven in psychological studies to increase our likelihood of reaching our goals. I’ve had accountability buddies for learning Mandarin, working on my a YouTube channel and business, studying, going to the gym, meditating, among other things. If you’re serious about committing to something, maybe try it out, and hit reply to this email to let me know how it went!

Are You Learning Mandarin? 🇨🇳

I'm creating a course sharing all the top tips, techniques, mindsets and resources for successfully and effortlessly self-studying Mandarin - based on things I've personally picked up through hundreds of hours of self-study. If you're interested in learning more and would like to sign up to receive discounts and updates, click here.

Favourite Things This Week 💝 

1. Leuchturmm1917 A5 Hardcover Dotted Notebook in Sage - My current bullet journal, where I track, plan and reflect on my life, every day. I’ve kept a bullet journal since 2018 and tried various notebooks, my favourite so far is the Leuchturmm1917 A5 Hardcover with the addition of two pen loops which I stick on myself - one in the front and one in the back cover.

2. Muji Gel Ink Ballpoint Pens 0.38mm - What I use to journal with every single day. I mostly use black 0.38mm and also a green 0.38mm as an accent colour. I keep each of these two pens in the two pen loops, so they're always at hand if needed!

3. Movie: Hachiko - I watched this on a flight this week, and bawled my eyes out like a baby. The lady sitting next to me even offered me a tissue, which was sweet. It’s a Chinese movie based on a true story about an adorable abandoned puppy who’s rescued by a professor and becomes an unbelievably loyal and loving family dog. I watched it with Mandarin audio as part of my Mandarin learning journey, along with English subtitles. Really lovely scenes of 20th century China vibes and so so wholesome overall - would highly recommend.

Videos This Week 🎥

🎥 You're Not Lazy: How to Actually Learn Any Language. Here we discuss the true main barrier to success in learning any language - and how to overcome it! Free notion worksheet available too :)

🎥 How to Learn More by Studying Less: 7 Science-Backed Techniques. Here I share the key study techniques I learned during each of my 7 years studying medicine at Cambridge University and how you can apply them to your own studies.

Quote of the Week 💭

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished”.  —Lao Tzu

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