Notes From The Week #23

Happy New Year! I hope you’re doing well. Hope you’ve all had a beautiful start to the year. The last week was super reflective for me and I appreciated the time to zoom out and think about things over a longer timeline. There’s been a few resources that have been recommended to me over the last few weeks and for some of you that may still be goal-setting and vision mapping—these resources may be useful. The two I would strongly recommend are the Year Compass and Sahil Bloom’s Annual Planning Guide. This week we look at Africa ahead of a crucial election year and consider why reading more fiction should be one of our most important goals for 2023.

Reading Fiction

The beginning of the year usually begins with resolutions. While the ink is setting on some of your goals for 2023 may I offer another goal: read more fiction. The benefits of reading fiction are well documented and worth exploring. Let’s look at a few of them.

I’ve spoken before about this but believe that it’s worth reinstating the impact that reading fiction has with developing a strong sense of empathy. When the psychologist Raymond Mar analyzed 86 fMRI studies, he saw substantial overlap in the brain networks used to understand stories and the networks used to navigate interactions with other individuals.

In psychology, theory of mind refers to the capacity to understand other people by ascribing mental states to them. This includes the knowledge that others' mental states may be different from one's own states and include beliefs, desires, intentions, emotions, and thoughts.

Fiction helps us to empathise with people who may share different beliefs, desires and intentions from us. As we follow the course of a character over a novel we are forced to dwell with them, consider their motives and understand how their context informs their decisions. It’s hard to hold onto critical judgment when you’ve been provided a glimpse into the interior life of a character. You may not agree with them or their actions but you will be compelled to understand. An important gift for us all as we navigate life with others.

In addition to the gift of empathy, for those looking to improve the rest they get—reading fiction is among the very best ways to rest. The New Yorker reports that:

Research at the University of Sussex shows that reading is the most effective way to overcome stress, beating out other methods like listening to music or taking a walk. Within 6 minutes of silent reading, participants’ heart rates slowed and tension in their muscles eased up to 68%. Psychologists believe reading works so well because the mind’s concentration creates a distraction that eases the body’s stress.

Africa Goes To The Polls

The year 2023 will be election-heavy across Africa, with polls in almost 20 countries. The state of the economy will be a key factor in deciding the outcome of various elections. Africa is at a critical juncture: adverse weather, high inflation, huge debt & slowing demand for commodities are all weighing on Africa's outlook. As Africans in different nations go to the polls there is a looming understanding that this election year could be one of the most important of the century. Providing a system of governance and a vision of a new Africa in an ever changing world.

One of the most important elections this year will be the Nigerian General Elections set to take place on 25 February 2023 to elect the President and Vice President and members of the Senate and House of Representatives. Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, recently penned an urgent and heartfelt letter to Nigerians ahead of February 25th in which he confirms his support for the Labour Party presidential candidate—Peter Obi.

As arguably the most effective head of state the Federal Republic of Nigeria has had he serves as a strong referee for the Labour Party presidential candidate—who has galvanised many Nigerian youths to consider a new trajectory for Nigeria. A particular salient point in Obasanjo’s letter is his assessment of the presidential candidates seeking election. He provides a strong argument of what Nigerians should look for in a leader as they go to the polls next month stating that there are four major factors to watch out for in a leader. The acronym is TVCP:

• T: Track record of ability and performance

• V: Vision that is authentic, honest and realistic

• C: Character and attributes

• P: Physical and mental capability with soundness of mind

I had the pleasure of hearing the incumbent Nigerian Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, speak at the Warwick Africa Summit a few years back. His speech reminds me that Africa is at a critical juncture in which the democratically mandated decisions that take place at the polls over the next few years will reverberate for the rest of the century.

Until next week. Peace.