3 Minute Monday
Howdy friend,
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I’ve landed in Texas without any catastrophic incidents.
Didn’t get stopped at the border for importing enough recording equipment to turn pro on OnlyFans.
I’m considering it a success.
Anyway, I wanted to open up a bit more about why I’ve come out here, maybe my current situation will resonate with you.
So…
Lockdown was pretty great for me.
There, I said it.
Yes, I know that there was untold suffering, deaths, social isolation, economic destruction and all that.
I wish that hadn’t occurred, obviously..
I also wish my business wasn’t closed for a year and I hadn’t been able to see my friends or workmates or travel or go to the gym.
But I enjoyed some bits of it.
I had the opportunity to dial myself into a working routine where all distractions had been removed.
I had a stable sleep & wake pattern for the first time in my entire adult life.
I had an excuse to focus more on work.
I got to go narrow and deep on a couple of projects.
My fear of missing out on life due to working too much had been removed because there was no life to miss out on.
It was a government-mandated, hermetically-sealed petri dish of optimal working environs.
And then it finished.
But even after the world opened back up, I found myself still in a similar mindset and routine as lockdown.
I’d become accustomed to a limited life.
I’d realised how much I could get done without distractions, so I just continued.
Essentially, I voluntarily extended my own self-imposed lockdown routine, with the addition of the gym & some mate-experiences.
So lockdown was over physically but not mentally.
I’d forgotten about life outside of purely being efficient.
I wasn’t seeking as many adventures, because they didn’t fit into my routine.
(A routine which I no longer even need to follow)
Maybe you’ve noticed some routine-carryover from the last 18 months too.
If you’re comfortable with your own company, you’ve probably had too much of a good thing.
The temptation is there to stick to a solitude-based status quo.
No matter how self-sufficient you are, you still need other people and varied experiences to live well.
Monotony is the enemy of a well-remembered life.
No matter how much your innate programming might tell you that more solitude is good, you very well may have had too much of it.
Your tolerance needs resetting.
So I’m pattern-interrupting mine.
I’m going somewhere where there will be so many new, novel and intense experiences that I’ll not think twice about choosing them instead of working more.
This should hopefully have carryover when I come back too.
Even if you can’t elope to Texas for a few weeks, you definitely can plan a bunch of adventures and new experiences to force you out of your routine.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last year, it’s that there is more to life than ticking off tasks on your To Do List.
MODERN WISDOM
I do a podcast which has had 25 million+ downloads. You should subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
This week’s upcoming episodes:
Monday.
Life Hacks 206 – 1 hour 45 minutes of the good stuff. Jonny & Yusef call me reprehensible for one of my hacks, Jonny gives you free golf club trackers and Yusef has a remote-vacuum-cleaner recommendation.
Thursday.
Rob Orchard – what is the problem with modern journalism? How did being first become more important than being right? And what are the most interesting facts about the world? Very fun episode.
Saturday.
Episode 400 – 19 Lessons From 400 Episodes. I solo-riff on some of the best concepts I’ve picked up over the last 4 years of doing the show. Hope you like this one, some lovely throwbacks in here.
THINGS I’VE LEARNED
1.
More men prefer to be asked out than there are women who prefer to do the asking.
Percentage of women and men who prefer to be asked out on a date:
Women: 93%
Men: 16%
Percentage who prefer to ask someone on a date:
Women: 6%
Men: 83%
2.
Happiness is not zero-sum.
“Someone else living a good life does not prevent you from living a good life.
There are many ways to win and plenty of space.” — James Clear
3.
You’re the judge.
Would you rather let a guilty man go free or have an innocent man go to jail?
LIFE HACK
YouTube Premium.
Last year I was told to upgrade separately by Mikhaila & George Mack.
Gave the 7 Day Trial a shot.
Never going back.
If you watch YouTube on your phone, this is a must-have.
No ads at all, so no ad-skipping required is the main advantage – think about how many 5 seconds per month you spend waiting for the Skip button to be enabled.
You can also continue playing while your phone is locked or you’re on other apps.
And you can download videos for offline play.
Plus a bunch of other features I don’t use.
Take the free trial and I’ll be very surprised if you switch back.
Big love,
Chris x
Join the Modern Wisdom Community.
PS
Rory Sutherland is back on MW tomorrow. BDE.
