Welcome to The Spark, home to everything Team Mission Drive has found fascinating this month.
A very happy new year to you if you’re celebrating! Can we still say that in late January? I think so. Welcome back to The Spark, home to the little and big things Team Mission Drive has been musing this month.
It may be dark and it may be cold (where we are at least) but we have some bright, shiny nuggets of fascinating facts and personal pondering for your delight. From reading letters from your past self, to dismantling the traditional news year’s resolution – it’s time to grab a brew and get cosy.
If you’re new to the Spark, you’re in for a treat. This is no regular newsletter or marketing round up (you can check out and subscribe to our twice weekly digest Little Missions for that lovely stuff). It’s a little more personal and a spot more leftfield. But we know you’ll love it.
January, let’s go.
This month’s Big World Stuff
Excerpts from a letter from my past self
For the last few years, I’ve written letters to my future self on FutureMe.org. You can write and send letters to yourself to read in one year, three years, five years – or however far into the future you want. A few days before the end of 2022, I received a letter from my 2021 self and it helped me realise how far I’d come in just a year. Here are some excerpts:
‘Honestly, for me, this year wasn’t even about achieving anything in particular. I just wanted to get through it and have a good time, and that I did. Here’s what I want to achieve in 2022:
- Get Twitch affiliate and create content across different platforms
- Find a new job
- Improve cooking skills and try to make new recipes/dishes
- Fundraise for a charity
- Save £££
- Learn a completely new skill
I’d be more than happy if I only achieved one of those because honestly, if I’ve learned anything during the last couple of years, the most important thing is just… having a good time.’
Reading that letter felt like I was getting a pep talk from a very wise and comforting friend. After the peak of Covid-19 in 2020 and 2021, my resolution was to just get through the year. I set myself goals and achieved them, but I think the most important thing was just to have a good time and simply survive.
I will remember that this year. Sometimes we put unnecessary pressure on ourselves to set many goals just because it’s the new year. But we forget that we’ll probably achieve things regardless, and that we can set goals whenever we want! Still, I love writing and reading these letters to myself especially when they arrive in my inbox unexpectedly.
I’m off to write myself a letter to read next year. Why don’t you give it a go?
Why your big new year's resolution might just be pointless
I’ve seen and heard a variety of new year's resolutions over the past month, from eating better, to exercising more, to bingeing less telly. But we probably all have something we could do less or more of in 2023, right?
Well, recently I saw a post from Brett Goldhawk, which kind of blew the whole resolution thing out the water. The post was about how the theories of Sir Dave Brailsford, former performance director of British Cycling, revolutionised the sport using the principles of marginal gains. He said:
‘The whole principle of marginal gains came from the idea that if you broke down everything that could impact a cycling performance — absolutely everything you could think of — and then you improved every little thing by 1%, you’d get quite a significant increase in performance. So we set about looking at everything we could improve by that margin…’
It was my lightbulb moment. Maybe instead of cutting out all chocolate, running every day and turning the TV off completely, you could just cut it all by 1% and see where you end up. I don’t know about you, but that sounds much more manageable to me.
To find out more about Sir Dave Brailsford’s marginal gains theory, check out its impact on the British cycling team here and learn more about its wider impact on the world here.
How to use The Economist’s Big Mac Index to find a cheap lunch
I’ll be honest, you won't always catch me reading The Economist. As much as I’d like to keep up-to-date with current affairs and read The Economist’s thorough analysis of the week’s most important news – it’s not something I often get around to doing. It’s much more likely I’ll be flicking through the pages of Four Four Two. That’s how I like to spend my downtime nowadays – less challenging economic climate and more unimportant football news.
With all that being said however, there’s one piece of research by The Economist that I came across years ago that I keep going back to. The Big Mac Index. Sounds tasty – right? Sorry to disappoint, it isn’t edible. But it does give you a digestible dose of economic theory!
The Big Mac index is a novel way of measuring whether the exchange rates for different countries' currencies are overvalued or undervalued. It works by measuring each currency against a common standard – the Big Mac hamburger sold by McDonald’s restaurants all over the world.
You’re probably wondering what this means for me right? Well, you can see whether you are getting good value for money for your McDonald’s wherever you are in the world. I think that’s reason enough to take a look! The more overvalued the currency is, the worse value the Big Mac is in that country. With that logic, you should definitely think twice about ordering a Big Mac in Switzerland. You’d have to spend the equivalent of £5.75 for the same burger you could get for £3.69 back home. Which is more than a 50% increase. Probably a good thing for the waistline, though.
So consider these my two 2023 recommendations for you. Four Four Two for football lovers (you’re never too old), and The Big Mac Index if you’re in the mood for scouring the world for a good value lunch!
This month's Big Recommendations
TV to talk about
Pepsi, Where's My Jet? Netflix (2022)
What happens when a marketing gimmick gets out of hand? In 1996, American college undergraduate John Leonard found a loophole in a Pepsi loyalty programme, and realised he could buy enough points to actually acquire the Harrier Jump Jet that Pepsi put on offer, for significantly less money than it was worth at the time. Despite no small print ruling this out, Pepsi refused to cough up. This four part Netflix series explores what happened next. It is an entertaining way to learn about corporate greed, legal shenanigans, and the general lunacy of the world of work. John, the protagonist is infinitely likeable and you encounter entertaining characters along the way, including the lawyer who untangled Donald Trump from adult actress Stormy Daniels.
TikTok Trends
What’s on my TikTok ‘For You Page’: Improvised Dance Competition
My TikTok ‘For You’ page is usually full of cooking, gaming and travel content. I think it’s fair to say that TikTok knows me and my interests very well. Maybe too well. But sometimes TikTok shows me a video that absolutely blows my mind. I came across this video of two dancers who didn’t know each other, and had never trained together, performing in an improvised dancing competition. Now, I’m not too well educated on dance but I know a good performance when I see one. And this was like watching poetry in motion. They complement each other so well and I struggled to understand how they’d never danced together before. And yet – the chemistry! The video has over 17m views and I’m pretty sure I might be responsible for half of that.
Books to borrow
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
The well deserved high praise quotes scattered on the jacket of this brilliant debut novel are all from women, but Lessons in Chemistry is an essential read for everyone. Perhaps even more so for men. Garmus’ witty and powerful writing is engaging and emotional and follows the story of Elizabeth Zott, a scientist turned TV chef (the latter out of necessity) in the early 1960s. Its pure comedy writing with incredible charm and observation, yet Garmus unflinchingly dives into the diabolical sexism and everyday misogyny handed daily to women on a plate, especially in this era. And in particular in historically male industries like chemistry. Zott is no exception. From actual assault, to theft of her work, to sexist snipes and reductive comments from both male and female acquaintances, it's no surprise that the forthright, deadpan Zott manages to inspire her female cookery show audience to challenge the status quo. And in the process initiate a quiet suburban revolution.
No One Else by R. Kikuo Johnson
Whilst on holiday, my husband got a book voucher and we popped into Barnes & Noble and made a beeline for the graphic novel section. I picked up six books, including No One Else – admittedly as the beautifully, simple illustrated cover caught my eye. Plus, it’s a sweet story about Charlene, a single mum and full-time nurse who also cares for her elderly father, gorgeously set in and around sugarcane fields. I never thought I’d be ‘into’ reading graphic novels as an adult, but I’ve kind of fallen in love with the simplicity and escapism of the craft. I’ve always been a fan of illustrations and simplicity, and this little book captures that so well. It’s almost as if the storyline is secondary to the reading experience. The first graphic novel of 2023 down – I can’t wait to get onto the next five!
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Take care and we’ll see you next time,
The Mission Drive Team
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