Brains, Bodies, Psychology and Mental Health
I have decided to choose my favourite flavour of shit sandwich, instead of waiting for an imaginary life of purpose to find me, free from discomfort, effort and pain.
Are We "Finding Our Purpose" All Wrong?
I think virtually everyone, except perhaps the very Zen or very old, goes through life haunted to some degree by the feeling that this isn't quite the real thing, not just yet – that soon enough, we'll get everything in working order, get organised, get our personal issues resolved, but that till then we're living what the great Swiss psychologist... See more
Oliver Burkeman • What if you never sort your life out?
Dr.K Breaks Down Life Purpose in 20 Minutes
youtube.comFor feeling in control it’s all about the active vs the passive challenges. Passive challenges are things you didn’t choose yourself, something that live throws at you. Active challenges are things you choose to do yourself like meditating regularly, working out etc. If you can improve the ratio of active vs passive challenges, your perception of control gets better and it’s less important how many challenges there are overall.
De-Reflection: Zooming out from yourself and your situation and seeing your problems on the scale of the narrative of your whole life. This can lead to a feeling of bigger purpose. Paradoxical Intention: Looking forward to things that you dread. Seeing it as a temporary thing that you have to get through to get to the other side.
The Four Agreements (Don Miguel Ruiz)
1 - Be Impeccable with Your Word
Words are powerful. Use your words responsibly and express kindness instead of manipulation and harm to yourself and others.
2 - Don’t Take Anything Personally
What others say or do is a reflection of them, not you. Others are going to have their own opinion according to their
... See more“We are an auto domesticated animal. We can now domesticate ourselves according to the same belief system we were given, and using the same system of punishment and reward. We punish ourselves when we don’t follow the rules according to our belief system; we reward ourselves when we are the “good boy” or “good girl”. […]
The inner Judge uses what is
... See more- YouTube
youtube.comHe talks about alignment and how all of the goals and habits are not worth their time if you don’t know what you actually want. You can be insanely productive and still feel completely lost. Discipline without direction is just an endless path to nowhere. What am I doing that is pulling me out of integrity/alignment?
I think we are all like this. People are not just high-agency or low-agency in a global sense, across their entire lives. Instead, people are selectively agentic.
Let’s say that life is divided up into three theaters: work, relationships with others (all kinds) and relationship to self (physical health, introspection, emotional development, all of... See more
Let’s say that life is divided up into three theaters: work, relationships with others (all kinds) and relationship to self (physical health, introspection, emotional development, all of... See more
Cate Hall • Maybe You’re Not Actually Trying
Similarly, people who are being selectively agentic often have a kind of faulty sensory appreciation. Perhaps relationships feel hard for you, they take willpower, so it’s tempting to believe that you’re Actually Trying, that you’ve brought the full weight of your genius to bear on the problem. You might even take some pride in the struggle. Like... See more
Cate Hall • Maybe You’re Not Actually Trying
I used to be so obsessed with consistency. I would beat myself up to mediate every day or do yoga or go running or journal or whatever it was at that time I thought I needed to do. It felt like I was really working hard on getting better. So I thought the struggle would mean that I was doing my best.
But being so fucking hard on myself is one of my main problems. And I wondered why this didn't help?
With the knowledge I now have I realize that all of these things ARE helpful. But the way they are actually useful to me is if I reflect on WHAT I really need in that moment. It helps if I journal when I notice that the thoughts in my head could use a little bit of sorting through them. It helps when I exercise when my body actually wants to move.
Gut Health
Up to 95 percent of serotonin is created in our gut.
Ideas to try to help with gut health
Eat only until your 80% full
Buy more fruit and try to eat it first when you have a craving for something sweet
Protein helps feeling more full. One gram of protein for every pound that you weigh is a good amount.
80/20 rule - use an extra shopping bag to