3 MINUTE MONDAYHi friend, “Dopamine is not about the pursuit of happiness, it is about the happiness of pursuit.” — Dr Robert Sapolsky So true. So much of life and enjoyment is about the anticipation of things coming. In fact, the anticipation is often actually more enjoyable than the experience itself. Tim Ferriss used to book week-long holidays years and years in advance so he could get as much enjoyment out of the anticipation as possible. This puts a new perspective on “it’s not the journey it’s the destination”. There actually is no destination. Each arrival at a destination simply marks the beginning of another journey toward the next destination. Morgan Housel told me that when he went on holiday recently, after months of planning and organising to get there, he finally arrived, and one of his first thoughts was “wow, we should totally come back here next year. It would be great if we could come back next year”. So literally DURING the supposed enjoyment of “the destination”, Morgan was captured by the allure of the next “journey”. How absolutely tragic, and hilarious. The dangerous thing about anticipation is it can cause us to look over the shoulder of the present moment, to always see what’s coming next so we never actually experience what is happening right now. This anticipation and dissatisfaction will drive you to do many amazing things. But they’re things which you’re risking never be present for and essentially forgetting about them during the experience of them. One potential solution is to make sure you find ways to enjoy your pursuit. Micro-celebrations, miniature wins, lots of little victories along the way. Create as many destinations to enjoy the anticipation of as possible. MODERN WISDOMI do a podcast where I pretend to have a British accent. You should subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. This week’s upcoming episodes: Monday. Thursday. Saturday. THINGS I'VE LEARNED1. “It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life … perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping stone just right, you won’t have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren’t even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they’re doing it.” — Anne Lamott 2. “Open plan office noise increased negative mood by 25 percent and sweat response by 34%. Compared with workers in cubicles, workers in open-plan offices had 62% more days of sickness absence” — Rob Henderson 3. “Be quiet, work hard, and stay healthy. It’s not ambition or skill that is going to set you apart but sanity.” — Ryan Holiday LIFE HACKThe best bloodwork in America. If you’re not feeling the way you want to, you need to find out what’s happening inside of your body. Function can draw your blood anywhere in the country then give you a comprehensive, clinician-informed list of insights from heart and hormones to thyroid, cancer signals, nutrients, toxins, autoimmunity, immunity, and more. It’s 5x more comprehensive than a typical physical. Plus they monitor for early signs of hundreds of diseases. And it’s only $500. Bypass their waitlist and get the exact same blood panel I get. Discover what’s happening inside of your body. Big love, Try my productivity drink Neutonic. PS |
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3 MINUTE MONDAY Hi friend, The Modern Wisdom Reading List Vol. 2. It’s happening. I finally finished it. This one took me so much time to put together, I really hope you like it. Goes live to the public this Wednesday 2nd July. You guys will get access before anyone else though, just check your email inbox this Tuesday 💜 Anyway, here’s 6 rules about productivity: 1. Your life does not need to be easier. It needs to be simpler. Your system is designed to handle stress and challenge but not...
3 MINUTE MONDAY Hi friend, Brand new Neutonic Focus Blend flavour just dropped. Limited Edition Watermelon Mint stick packs. Get them before they're sold out. Anyway, onto what I’ve been thinking about this week… “It is a supremely cruel thing to have your mind conjure a desire which it is functionally unable to realise.” — Max Barry This describes a special category of problem that I think about quite often. Person A has the talent to become successful but doesn’t have the resilience to...
3 MINUTE MONDAY Hi friend, Come see me live in NYC, Boston, Denver, Austin, Salt Lake City & Chicago. I see a problem with taking advice from super successful people. There’s a trend of people who’ve “made it” explaining what their routine looks like now, when they’re asked how they became successful. They’ll talk about work-life balance, the importance of leverage, walking lots, early bedtimes, playing with ease and grace, not obsessing, transcending their resentment and overcoming a sense...