“Pressure really kills joy.”

Wisdom from the edge of the Olympic swimming pool

Author

Leonie Mercedes
October 18, 2025

Good morning, sunshine ☀️ Here’s your three-part nudge for the day:

a prompt

Write on the following for 5–10 minutes:

If a blog post is like a search query, what would you write about to find your people? Think about things you’ve read recently, or something you figured out, that made you ecstatic, and start there.

– inspired by Henrik Karlsson, via Austin Kleon

a thought

“Pressure really kills joy.” – Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, Olympic diver

farewell

Gillian Tindall, writer and historian (1938–2025)

“With her encyclopedic knowledge of local planning and incisive thinking, Gillian had little patience for developers who had not done their research or failed to appreciate the history or needs of an area they intended to use… She frequently entertained friends at dinner and, as I found, always had time to discuss a historical question or local planning issue over a cup of tea.”

Thanks for coming, dear makers and shakers. See you tomorrow ☕

PS: If you’re into this, and it’s helping you in any way, please consider passing it on to a friend who might enjoy it. Thank you! ✨