trevormckendrick.com

Getting defensive

2026-02-16 · 12:01 UTC ·Trevor McKendrick ·2 min read

Brief

Trevor McKendrick’s newsletter mixes self-improvement and cultural commentary with a light AI-tooling nod. The central thread is psychological defensiveness: identity attachment, social conformity, self-doubt, courage, and the long time horizon required for excellence. Aside from mentioning Claude Code, OpenClaw, and the faster “ZeroClaw,” the piece is mostly a curated set of quotes and links rather than original analysis or technical reporting.

Why it matters

Trevor McKendrick’s 2026-02-16 newsletter is a short curated reading list centered on defensiveness, identity, courage, and practice, with one brief AI tooling mention.

Key details

  • McKendrick highlights Paul Graham’s “Keep Your Identity Small,” arguing that people often become defensive because criticism touches an unrecognized part of their identity rather than the surface topic being debated.
  • The only technical item is “ZeroClaw,” described as an OpenClaw-like project that claims to be much faster; McKendrick also notes the issue was produced “100% thanks to Claude Code + OpenClaw.”
  • Other selections are motivational or cultural: a Substack claiming more than 80% of students said they submitted classwork that misrepresented their views to align with professors, a quote linking “aliveness” inversely with envy, and a note on Ed Sheeran’s view that mastery requires long practice despite uncertainty.
Cleaned source text

title: Getting defensive

author: Trevor McKendrick

content_type: newsletter

publication: trevormckendrick.com

published: 2026-02-16T12:01:08+00:00

source_url: gmail://19c66537f31ff15d

word_count: 343

Hi all, This edition is going out 100% thanks to Claude Code + OpenClaw. If you see any issues you can still blame me. Have a great week. Trevor

Keep Your Identity Small (article)

A good reread from Paul Graham. Sometimes you take on identities you didn't realize you even had. This can lead to defensiveness about things where, if you stop yourself, you wonder why you cared in the first place. What was the conversation really getting at? It can often be because it had some implications for some piece of your (perhaps unknown) identity.

ZeroClaw - claw done right 🦞 (website)

A project like OpenClaw that claims to be much faster. Apparently there are a lot of these.

Faking Wokeness to Fit In (Substack)

"More than 80 percent said they had submitted classwork that misrepresented their views in order to align with professors…"

George Mack (quote)

"I've noticed a direct negative correlation between aliveness and envy. If someone works on things that make them feel alive behind their eyes, the envy towards other people melts and turns into joy."

The Self-Own of Doubt (Substack)

The world is already going to doubt you. No need to give them free points.

Tweet

"You can't solve a courage problem with more intelligence."

Ed Sheeran on the 10,000 hour rule (YouTube)

Ed Sheeran plainly explains you have to put in the time to be great. As always, the hardest part of doing anything remarkable is not knowing whether you'll make it. The story looking back is romantic, the story from the middle unknown looking forward is terrifying. Probably best to assume you'll succeed and just go.

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