🐥The Paradox of Now #12

Welsh Nationals Champion

Hi people!

April is always a bit of a crazy month and both me and Mother Hazel have birthdays two days apart.

This year was even a little more crazy as the Welsh Pickleball Nationals landed on Hazel’s big day.

I couldn’t be there to celebrate, but I did get her a pretty solid gift…

A son who won the Triple Crown at the first-ever Welsh Nationals.

All whilst wearing the infamous skort…

No one remembers NoRmAl.

🥇 Mixed Doubles
🥇 Men’s Doubles
🥇 Men’s Singles

Sometimes we are always thinking about the next thing in this fast-paced life and don’t give ourselves time to be kind and celebrate the successes of ourselves and those around us.

I was guilty of that this week.

On the long drive home after such an incredible achievement I did noy give myself the space to feel joy or pride for what I had just achieved.

Instead it was relief and doubt started to creep in.

So my reminder to you so that you don’t do the same is:

🎉 Be your own hype person.
🍻 Be someone you’d buy a beer for.
📣 Give yourself the shoutout you’d give a friend.

You’re not being self-indulgent.

You’re recognising your wins.

And that deserves a moment.

No matter how big or small they are.

Now let me give you a taste of what's coming:

🐥A book so good, I’m mentioning it again

🐥A section you’ll forget 99.9% of

🐥Where do you put an ice cube when you don’t want it anymore?

🥚Eggstra News🥚

Your weekly dose of some fascinating and fun finds:

💡 Essentialism – Ditch the noise, focus on what matters, and reclaim your time by reading this book.

📘 Atomic Habits – Still undefeated. Tiny habits, huge results – even your Sea Monkey will thank you after reading this simple masterpiece.

💀 Liquid Death – My vice of choice: sparkling water with killer branding. Because ‘no one remembers normal’.

The Paradox of Now

🏡 Need a break from reality?

Treat yourself to a stay at Bryn Awelon B&B – a charming hideaway on the breath-taking east coast of Anglesey.

Think rolling views, fresh sea air, and a host (Mary!) who treats you like her long-lost favourite child.

It’s honestly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been – and I’ve been inside a Newport nightclub on Christmas Day!

Go on, you deserve it.
👉 Bryn Awelon B&B

I’m also on the following social media channels:

• Instagram - The Paradox of Now

• LinkedIn - Scott Mayo

Message me on socials if you’d like to feature in this section. 🙂

Why do you brush your teeth every day? 🪥 

Last week, I read one of my draft newsletters aloud to my mum in the garden.

Her response surprised me - in the best way:

That sentence is hers to keep. But it reminded me of a tweet I saw about reading:

I’ve had moments where a sentence hits so hard, I have to close the book and just stare into space.

One hour later? Gone. Forgotten.

Post-it notes. Highlighters. Notes in my phone. Have I gone back to them? Of course not.

But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it.

Sometimes, one sentence is enough.

Same goes for podcasts.

One idea that resonates with you in that moment is worth the listen.

For me, two game-changers came from Atomic Habits:

• Never skip two days in a row. Miss once, that’s a mistake. Miss twice, that’s your new habit.

• Habit stacking. Anchor a new habit to something you already do.

These two ideas? They changed how I live.

🧠 107 /107 - I’ve journaled every day this year.

And even more simple than that:
I now take my daily tablets because I do it right after brushing my teeth.

It’s small. It’s stupidly easy. And it works.

But habits cut both ways.

Bad habits start in silence.
The cost of inaction?
It’s invisible - until it’s catastrophic.

I’m not here to preach. And I am certainly not saying you have to live by every idea I write about.

I don’t even live by every idea I write about. That would be insane.

I’m just trying to help my small corner of the world.

And if one idea sticks for you, then I have done my job.

Because…

Action changed my perspective.
And it all started with tiny, almost laughable steps.

Aim smaller

Be patient - but be patient with purpose.

Pick one thing. Try it for one month.

Make it so easy that it’s harder not to do.

Aim so small that you can’t miss.

For example, when friends says:

I always say:

Cool. But let’s aim smaller.

Can you read a book tonight?
No.
Ten chapters?
Still no.
One chapter?
Hmm.

Can you open the book?

✅ Yes?

Then start there.

Tomorrow, one sentence.
Then a paragraph.
Then a page.
Then - your first finished book in years.

That’s how it starts.

And hey - it doesn’t have to come from me.
Not this newsletter. Not the last. Not the next.

What the f*ck do I know?

Take one thing from somewhere.
Let it stick.
Let it guide you.

A final note on focus

Our parents came from scarcity.
We’ve been thrown into abundance.

They had to build with what little they had.
We have to filter through everything.

That’s why we need to think like they do in Essentialism.

✂️ Cut out most things.
📢 Say a louder yes to the right things.

You can’t do everything in this life.
But you can do anything.

Choose one thing.

Start small.

No, I mean really small.

Aim so small you can’t miss.

🐥 Haiku’s Haiku 🐥

This was Haiku’s final act before deciding he’d had enough and dramatically swan-dived off the edge for a casual swim.

Did we miss a trick not saying ‘duck-dived’ then?

Turns out… he floats.
Did not expect him to be such a buoyant boy.

Thankfully, I’ve got a whole flock of alternate reality Haikus lined up - because I know this is a crowd favourite.

🌴 Palm Tree Euphoria 🌴

Anyone else ever get irrationally annoyed when they throw ice in the bin instead of down the sink?

Never be in the same kitchen as me when it happens - it’s like a scene from Hollyoaks.

I’m on my hands and knees, grabbing fistfuls of ice, screaming up at the ceiling.

Calling out to the Ice Lords themselves.

As you can tell, I just wanted to end on something really profound this week.

A personal reminder: the next time I’m holding melting cubes of betrayal… just think, Scott. Think.

With summer around the corner, both the temperature and my odds of an icy incident are rising.

Stay alert out there, people.

The threat is real.
Don’t let the ‘SIL’ get you.

*SIL = Sneaky Ice Lords

P.S. if this weeks’ flavour of newsletter helped you, forward it to a fellow duckling you care about. Word of beak is how we help improve our small corner of the world.

You also get something for FREE for doing so 🐥