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3MM: Life, Competence & Complaints
3 MINUTE MONDAYHi friend, “Living an examined life is just one insult after another, you have to maintain a sense of humour.
Your mind has absolutely no shame, it will think anything.
The person you meet when you look in the mirror is not one person.
It’s a congress of selves, and many of them are total assholes.
And ultimately you can’t take it personally, you didn’t create yourself, or your culture, or your consciousness.
You find yourself here in this circumstance, and the question is; what can you do next; what is possible given the kind of mind you have?
Morally, psychologically and existentially we have a navigation problem, and there are tools we can put in-hand to be a much wiser and happier pilot.” — Sam Harris
This describes a kind of Internal Multiple Personality Disorder which we all feel. A selection of Avengers assemble inside of us, except more than 50% of them are villains. The best versions of us so often seem to be drowned out by the judgemental, harsh, emotional, juvenile voices which cause us to behave and think in a way that aren’t in our interests. Your moment to moment experience of the world is largely determined by the story you tell yourself about it. And if our narrator happens to be a total dick most of the time, is it any surprise that we struggle to find happiness? Sam summarises it nicely… “Wisdom is a matter of making your mind your friend.” Honestly, how can any of us truly say we are wise if our mind is out of control? If you’re so smart, and so wise, then why aren’t you happy? 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. “The more we see someone as competent, the less we see them as warm (and vice versa). As a result, people who are highly successful can seem cold and people who are warm and friendly can seem incompetent, even when they’re not.” — Rob Henderson 2. “Just because someone carries it well doesn’t mean it isn’t heavy.” 3. "The best thing about startups is you only ever experience two emotions: euphoria and terror. And I find that lack of sleep enhances both of them.” — Marc Andreessen LIFE HACKChoose window seats on busy flights. I’ve war-gamed this a lot and have come up with a definitive answer. Having the window seat provides two clear advantages. Not being disturbed by other passengers getting up to go to the bathroom. Control over the window blind (sometimes blindS if you get lucky). Both are crucial for sleep and general peace. Now you do lose arm-width on the side closest to the window, but you also lose that in the middle seat, and the benefits outweigh the costs. 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, 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...