Podcaster with 1bn+ plays. I write about the most important lessons from the best thinkers on the planet. 300,000+ people read my free newsletter. Press subscribe to join.
3MM: Anticipation, Perfectionism & Peace
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 |
3 Minute Monday
Podcaster with 1bn+ plays. I write about the most important lessons from the best thinkers on the planet. 300,000+ people read my free newsletter. Press subscribe to join.
3 MINUTE MONDAY Hi friend, It is a sad fact that it’s more socially acceptable to be your own biggest critic rather than your own biggest cheerleader. This creates a fertile environment for external criticism to make you doubt yourself more than it should. Here are some strategies you may have used to try and avoid the pain of criticism with varying degrees of success: Get bitter and think of any critic as a hater just throwing envy and shade; recite the quote “Don’t take criticism from...
3 MINUTE MONDAY Hi friend, Some advice on how to support men. Men want to aim high without feeling insufficient if they fall short. Men want their suffering to be recognised and appreciated without being pandered to or patronised and made to feel weak. Men want to believe that they can be more without feeling like they’re not enough already. Men want to be able to open up without being judged. Men want support without feeling broken. Men want to be loved for who they are not for what they do....
3 MINUTE MONDAY Hi friend, “20 years from now you’d give anything to be this exact age, exactly this healthy, in this exact moment. Take a second to enjoy it.” — Richard Webster We trade the thing we want (time) for the thing which is supposed to get it (money). We give up time to make money so that we can finally have more time when we have enough money. We give up happiness to achieve success so that we can finally enjoy happiness when we achieve enough success. “However much you feel you...