Podcast (January Week 2) — To Cure Anxiety, Quiet Mind Modifications
I’m starting a new podcast where I take weekly deep dives on articles that went viral!
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Weekly podcast episode —To Cure Anxiety, Quiet Mind Modifications
The article itself — To Cure Anxiety, Quiet Mind Modifications
When I was 22, I decided I was going to take a real shot at writing and publishing a book. I had no idea what a never-ending series of humiliations was heading my way.
I’m a firm believer in the positive power of delusion.
I had been writing little stories since I was a kid, but this was the first time that I was going to try to write out my science fiction novel and submit it to publishers. If I knew how little I knew, I don’t know if would have had the will to start. …
I bet that once I get to 10,000 followers, I will feel… good. I’ll be able to put that aside and really focus on the work, you know? That’s when I’ll feel like I can be proud of myself.
You know what? I said the same thing when I was aiming at 1,000 followers. And I bet I’ll be looking at 100,000 followers as soon as I hit 10,000. I’m sure all of you — above and below — can relate.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s TED talk about the subject really drives this point home:
“I have 4.2 million followers. It has never made me feel amazing.” …
I am a slowpoke to accept new obstacles.
Gumption is the eagerness to climb a mountain. A gumption trap is when you realize that the mountain is twice as tall as you expected and you have half the stamina you hoped.
I expected to be rich by this age, and I’m going to waste a lot of time being mad while reality continues to be what it is. A better orientation — now that I’m thinking about it — might be, “what needs to be done about money today?”
I was reading “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” and the take on gumption traps struck…
I didn’t become a man until I lost everything at the age of 24.
My girlfriend dumped me, and I moved to Texas with a pile of clothes and a Leesa mattress jammed in the back seat. A few years later, I can finally say that she was right to dump my ass, and I am thankful for everything that happened.
When we met, we were children (only in maturity, to be clear). When we stopped being college students, she wanted to grow up. Me being a man-child (think: Nick from New Girl) was no longer cute.
We’ve stayed friends, and I’ve talked to her a few times about everything. She doesn’t know exactly why she broke up with me; it was just an “intuition.” I led the witness a bit: “Do you think you knew I would never grow up if we stayed together?” She said yes. …
The Queen’s Gambit came out, and suddenly everyone loves chess again. I’m not ashamed to admit I got the chess app and started learning how to play.
I watched the show at my friend’s house. He was a regional chess champ when he was a kid. I had only played a few times with my dad. Needless to say, he wiped the chessboard with me.
I wanted to beat him. I took up watching YouTube videos about strategy. I played computer opponents and real opponents online. …
Driving toward an intersection in downtown Los Angeles. There are dozens of cars near me. My dog sits on the passenger seat. A podcast is playing, the sun is shining, and I’m thinking about what my girlfriend and I will eat for dinner later.
To my right, I feel my attention pulled to a car. Something is odd about the way the car is being driven. I can’t really put my finger on it. Without thinking, I resolve to wait for him to go away before I start driving.
The light turns green. Sure enough, he peels off, honking and swerving into my lane — right where I might have been if I hadn’t waited. …
2021 was supposed to be a relief. So far — no dice.
I can’t just wait around for life to start up again. Like it or not — this is life. There is no pause button. And for me, if I’m not growing, I’m shrinking.
It’s confusing, right? Any time I have a hard day, I feel like I can just shrug and say, “Pandemic!” That was a nice relief for a while, but I’m starting to feel a little bit stagnant.
How can I keep growing when I want so badly to just wait for things to reset? Since it looks like 2021 isn’t the do-over I was hoping for, I changed my outlook from waiting for life to tell me how to act to demanding that it show me. …
If you’re reading this, you’re a storyteller.
You told your friend the story of what happened over Christmas, you re-tell what you read on Reddit, and you rehearse the story of your life every single day.
If you want to become a storyteller as a profession — as I know many people here do — then you need to become extremely conscious of your own story. There are simple steps below to show how.
I have made some really important discoveries on my journey from a town of 2,000 people, to a philosophy degree, to a salesman, then a marketer, then finally as a writer. …
There are truly creative people, and then there are rich people — right?
Obviously, there is some overlap. Keanu Reeves comes to mind.
I don’t know about you, but most of the creative people I know are eating chicken and rice from pressure cookers every night. It’s practically a trope that creative people are poor. “Starving artist,” obviously.
Are my poor creative friends and acquaintances “purer” than their rich counterparts? In my experience, no. The really good ones are the ones who grow every day. They would be thrilled to make lots of money from their work. …
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