For me, it’s emails from a kids’ fun center we went to once and a Brazilian steakhouse the wifey and I visited about ten anniversaries ago. Yours are different, but you know of which I speak — those persistent emails that long ago wore out their relevance, assuming they ever had any. Clicking that ‘unsubscribe’ button would take, what, ten seconds max? But instead, I usually just hit ‘delete’ and move on, never thinking of them again – until next week or next month, when they show back up. Nothing traumatic, just a little drag here and there, over and over and over, until your inbox is like the hull of a ship laden with thousands of these useless digital barnacles.
I think we hold onto some beliefs like that.
Any of these sound familiar?
– None of this will ever change.
– I will never change.
– I’m not tough / experienced / smart / young / old enough to do that.
– I have to hustle to hide and make up for my weaknesses.
– I don’t have what it takes.
– It’s too much work.
– People don’t want what I have to offer.
– Maybe tomorrow.
– Maybe next week.
– Maybe next month.
– Maybe next year.
Maybe we should stop just temporarily deleting these thoughts.
Maybe we should just unsubscribe to them entirely.
– Matthew Porter
Matthew Porter writes about decoding success, creative leadership, marketing, and productivity.
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Some of us have trauma from the days when email “marketers” (read: spammers) used the unsubscribe link in order to determine if your email address was still alive. Then they would sell your active email to other “marketers” on the dark web. The unsubscribe link still gives me the shivers.
Whoa. Did not know that.