Sidikas Head

Why live in our heads?

In the newsletter two weeks ago, I shared that I was in the process of making a hard decision. After thinking about the decision thoroughly, talking with my therapist about it, and getting advice from one of my mentors, I finalised my decision. The next step was sharing my decision with the person, let’s call him X, who would be affected by my decision.…

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Nobody is perfect.

I have been reading “Everything is F*cked” by Mark Manson recently. If you follow me on YouTube or Instagram or read my newsletter a few weeks ago, you know I like Mark Manson. I love his book “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck,” his YouTube videos, and podcasts. (You can listen to "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" for free with a 30-day trial of …

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How to make a hard decision?

In the last few weeks, I have been in the process of making a hard decision. As this is an important decision about my professional life and career, I have been thinking about it a lot recently. Making any big decision is not easy, but it is even more difficult to make a decision that deviates from the “normal” path or what is expected of me.

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Kindness will save the world.

On Friday, I had a flight from Singapore to London. I was so tired of grading and writing a new research paper last week, and what I wanted to do was just to get on the plane, read my book 📖, write this newsletter ✍️, plan a few new YouTube videos 🎥, and watch some YouTube videos 📺. As soon as I got on the plane, I got devastated 😔. The man sitting …

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The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

I read The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson in 2019. At the time, I was struggling significantly with my PhD, dealing with constant negative feedback from co-authors and trying to maintain my optimism for my first research paper, despite harsh reviews. I realized that many aspects of academia were not for me, faced with uncertainty, self-d…

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Happy birthday to me!

You are the most important person in your life, not your mom, not your dad, not your partner, not your future kids—you. The most valuable thing in life is doing what you want, when you want, with whom you want. This is the life you want to build. You are very lucky to be able to create the chance to build the life you want. Always be grateful.

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Back to therapy

I've returned to therapy after almost a year. My journey began in summer 2020, after reading "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" by Lori Gottlieb while I was in Turkey, navigating the changes brought on by Covid and my PhD life. The first few sessions were transformative. At the age of 29, I discovered aspects of myself and my personality that I had never…

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"What would you do if money were no object?"

I have been wanting to start journaling for a looong time. Today, my favourite YouTuber released the following video:

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Let's talk about the "Dream Gap"

I have been thinking about the following video since I watched it last week (p.s. it made me cry): I feel so lucky that when I was a kid, I didn’t stop believing I could be a scientist, big thinker, engineer, or CEO. I didn’t think that boys are smarter than me.

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Sidika's 2024 Goals Update

Dear Friends, As we journey through 2024, I wanted to share a personal update with you all. Back in December 2023, Guven and I found ourselves huddled over a table in a cozy London pub, dreaming about the milestones we'd love to celebrate at the end of 2024. While I ambitiously penned down four major goals (two of which remain a delightful mystery for no…

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