Welcome to Snafu, a newsletter about behavior change.

In work and in life, change can feel scary, expensive, and difficult. It doesn't have to be.

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Is this safe to try?

I’m frequently doing ridiculous self-experiments like eating just three ingredients for six months, sitting in freezing cold water, or selling a cafe on Craigslist.

When I first read the Respnsive.org manifesto and started talking about the “future of work,” someone offered me the question: “Is this experiment safe to try?”

That phrase has become a guiding principle for my personal or professional experiments since.

​As I wrote about recently, experiments can feel risky. “What if we tried…” feels like going out on a limb. That’s true for personal experiments like my cold plunge and for professional experiments like hiring a new employee or implementing a new process.

Change often feels scary, expensive, and difficult.

We think of change as a permanent state; experiments are big efforts that take a lot of work to get moving. And once an experiment has been started, it can’t be changed.

But actually, the opposite is true. Real change occurs through the small, day-to-day moments. Experiments can be tiny habits; tests in a slightly new direction.

Next time you’re trying out something new, ask yourself, “Is this safe to try?” Not for the rest of the year, or the rest of your life, but in this moment. Then try one small test at a time.

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3 things I’ve loved this week

Idea I’m considering:

“Storytelling is how we make sense of the world.”

Book I’m reading: The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca​

My girlfriend is Moroccan, so I've been refreshing my Darija (Moroccan Arabic), and reminiscing about my first trip to Morocco.

All that prompted me to re-read this book by author Tahir Shah, which chronicles his family’s purchase of a sprawling, rundown mansion on the outskirts of Casablanca. The narrative introduces a host of colorful characters, the trials, tribulations, and beauty of living life in Morocco. The book captures some of the magic I've experienced in north Africa.

Tahir Shah follow-on book In Arabian Nights is also excellent.

Tool I’m loving: Free course on Music Theory​

A few weeks ago, I mentioned a free app for language learning tool called LanguageTransfer.org. Created by polyglot Mihalis Eleftheriou and funded through Patreon, I’ve been continuing to love these free courses for language acquisition.

I also discovered that Mihalis also has a free course in music theory, which is something I’ve never studied before. It is worth listening to, both as a study of music and even more as a study of meta-learning.

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Share Snafu - If you're enjoying Snafu, it would mean the world to me if you would share it with one person who you think would like it. What friend, co-worker, or family member comes to mind? Forward this along!

​Books by Robin - I've published two books - so far! If you’re interested in learning to do a handstand, check out How to Do a Handstand. If you’re building a company or want to improve your company’s culture, read Responsive: What It Takes to Create a Thriving Organization.

Thanks for your support! It means the world.

Until next week,
Robin