3 Minute Monday
Hi friend,
First, a public service announcement – Apple Podcasts is having a total nightmare since the most recent app update.
If you listen to Modern Wisdom on there, check something for me please…
Apple may have moved your subscription and/or made the entire MW library appear oldest>newest instead of newest>oldest on your phone.
To fix it, go to Modern Wisdom on Apple Podcasts.
Top right hand corner > make sure you’ve pressed “+” to Subscribe. If there’s a ↓ arrow then you’re already sweet,
Then press the three dots “…” in the top right corner > Settings > Show Episodes Newest To Oldest.
This will fix your app, and the same strategy works for any other shows it’s rekt too.
Thank you, together, we can prevent Apple Podcasts from breaking my baby.
Anyway now that’s done, I’ve been thinking about how hard we try to control our lives this week.“Fear and ego—in other words, ignorance—are keeping your hand on the tiller. Release the tiller for whatever reason, and the steering takes care of itself.” – Jed McKenna
Just let that sink in for a moment.
What would life actually be like if you didn’t grip the tiller so hard?
(The tiller is the handle that attaches to a rudder on a boat – it’s the thing that steers)
I heard Aubrey Marcus say something similar in a video when he announced the release of his NYT Best Selling Book.“I spent so much of my life terrified of what I was going to become and whether I was going to be right here right now.God, how much time did I waste afraid I wasn’t going to be right here right now?If I could change, the only thing I’d change about my whole life would be fearing less that I wouldn’t get right here – the place I was going anyway.I wouldn’t change all the mistakes and mishaps, I needed those.But all the constantly worry that I wasn’t going to make it, that took me out of enjoying the moment.It took me out of enjoying these experiences, smiling or eating my lunch or doing whatever I was doing.Know your mission, have faith you’re going to get there.Wherever you go, it’s going to be alright.Just find ways to get out of your head.”
Beautiful.
Humour me for a second…
Just imagine that the outcomes in your life are predetermined.
Imagine that where you’re going to end up – the achievement of your goals, the attainment of your pursuits are predestined and you’re going there anyway, no matter how much you fear or worry.
You still need to work, you still need to do the things, but you don’t need to fear about completing the work or worry about whether you’ll do the things.
The things you need to do will get done, and the ones you don’t, won’t.
How differently would you experience life?
You’d be able to just BE.
In the world but not of the world.
Doing the things but not attached to the things.“You observe events and you allow the flow of things to do the steering and you go where you go.” – Jed McKenna
I really think there’s something to this.
“Release the tiller” is a mantra I’ll definitely be carrying with me when I notice myself gripping too hard to fears or expectations.
Why fear about whether you’ll get to the place you were heading toward all along?
We’re all gonna make it.
MODERN WISDOM
I do a podcast which has had 20 million+ downloads. You should subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
This week’s upcoming episodes:
Monday.
Mark Manson – 11 harsh truths about life with Mr Uncomfortable Insights himself. A lively, fun, brutal ep including what it’s like to write a book with Will Smith.
Thursday.
Life Hacks 205 – the boys are back to discuss why Yusef is leaving Evernote, the best way to spend £12, our favourite watches on Netflix and more.
Saturday.
Jim Poole – insights into the neuroscience & biology of stress with the CEO of NuCalm. The technology he’s creating sounds like science fiction.
(I moved Jim back a week to publish an episode about an invisible drug lord on Saturday just gone, you should listen to that one, it’s unreal)
THINGS I’VE LEARNED
1.
Voter ID support skews toward the people who it’s supposed to oppress.
% who support photo ID requirement to vote:
Nonwhites: 84%
Whites: 77%
Non-college graduates: 85%
College graduates: 69%
Income less than $50K: 81%
Income more than $100K: 76%
h/t Rob Henderson
2.
The introduction of trans women to women’s sport is an interesting discussion ethically, but not competitively.
There’s over 300 high school males in the USA who run 100m faster than the current world record for all women sprinters.
That record has stood unbeaten by another woman since 1988.
3.
Blind people are superhuman.
Some blind people can understand speech that is almost three times faster than the fastest speech sighted people can understand.
They can use speech synthesisers set at at 800 words per minute (conversational speech is 120–150 wpm).
Research suggests that a section of the brain that normally responds to light is re-mapped in blind people to process sound.
LIFE HACK
Learn A Good Gym Warmup.
Such a basic part of training is overlooked by nearly everyone.
Your warmup is a crucial element to reduce injury, increase performance and improve recovery.
Yet almost no one knows what to do.
I recorded an episode last year with Dr Sam Spinelli covering his tips for the mechanically perfect, quick warmup.
You only need to watch the first 30 minutes or so here to get all the info. Enjoy.
Big love,
Chris x
Listen to me on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Say hi on Twitter or Instagram.
PS
Modern Wisdom Reading List soon cometh.
