Joys of J (ep.26)
📖 What Book I Loved
Thanks to Jessica for straight shoving this one in my lap. You’ll be glued in from page 1. I hadn’t realized there was so much depth that existed in Matthew McConaughey beyond the wash board abs and “alright, alright, alright”. But woah, you’ll be absolutely blown away by his talent in stringing words together as he reflects on the many outrageous lives he has lived to date.
From floating down the Amazon river butt naked on a tab of acid to living in mud huts in rural Africa, Greenlights is a wise and entertaining recount of his life through his journal entries over the years. While reading I couldn’t help but think of one of my Father’s favorite quotes throughout as I feel it so accurately depicts his approach to this one life we have:
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!” - Hunter S. Thompson
A few notable quotes I loved from the book below:
“The first step that leads to our identity in life is usually not I know who I am, but rather I know who I’m not. Process of elimination. Too many options can make a tyrant out of any of us, so we should get rid of the excess in our lives that keep us from being more of ourselves. When we decrease the options that don’t feed us, we eventually almost accidentally, have more options in front of us that do. Knowing who we are is hard. Eliminate who we’re not first, and we’ll find ourselves where we need to be.”
“We are not here to tolerate our differences, we are here to accept them. We are not here to celebrate our sameness, we are here to salute our distinctions. We are not born into equal circumstances, or with equal abilities, but we should have equal opportunity. As individuals, we unite in our values. Celebrate that.”
“Days of prosperity make us forget adversity. Good times seem out of reach during the bad ones. Both can seem like final destinations, the summation of our days. Then the cosmic joker plays with our ways, yesterday’s condition no longer remains, all commas, no periods, all stops, no stays, the pleasure’s for rent and so is the pain.”
“The road less traveled may not be a dirt road; for some, it may be the autobahn. Robert Frost was right, taking the road less traveled can make all the difference. But that road isn’t necessarily the road with the least traffic. It may be the road that we, personally, have traveled less. The introvert may need to get out of the house, engage with the world, get public. The extrovert may need to stay home and read a book. Sometimes we need to get out there, sometimes we need to get in there. Some days are road less traveled is a solitary dirt trail. On others it’s the subway on the 7 line.”
“I believe the truth is all around us all the time. The anonymous angels, the butterflies, the answers, are always right there, but we don’t always identify, grasp, hear, see, or access them— because we’re not in the right place to.”
“We are more constantly bombarded by unnatural stimuli than ever before.. we need to put ourselves in places of decreased sensory input so we can hear the background signals of our psychological processes. As the noise decreases, the signals become clearer. Time alone simplifies the heart. Memory catches up opinion form. We meet truth again, and it teaches us. Landing on stable feet between our reaching out and retreat, letting us know we are not lonely in our state, just alone. Because our unconscious mind now has room to reveal itself, we see it again. With nowhere to run and forced to deal with ourselves, our ugly everyday suppressions break out of the zoo and monkey around. Where we find our self in the ring with them, deciding, no more, or let is slide. Whatever the verdict, we grow. It’s us and us, our always and only company. We tend to ourselves, and get in good graces once again. Then we return to civilization, able to better tend to our tendencies. Why? Because we took a walkabout.”
“If we stay in process, within ourselves, in the joy of the doing, we will never choke at the finish line. Why? Because we aren’t thinking of the finish line, we’re not looking at the clock, we’re not watching ourselves on the jumbotron performing. We are performing in real time, where the approach is the destination and there is no goal line because we are never finished.”
“We cannot fully appreciate the light without the shadows. We have to be thrown off balance to find our footing. It’s better to jump than fall.”
📰 What Newsletter I Love
Synapse- Clayton Mansel (@Clayman98)
For my fellow neuroscience junkies 🧠, this is a must subscribe para tu!
“Synapse is a weekly newsletter that brings thoughtful and accessible analysis of the latest neuroscience research to your inbox. No click-bait titles or self-help pseudoscience—just deep dives into the inner-workings of the most fascinating object in our universe: the brain! My goal for Synapse to discuss interesting topics in neuroscience with the kind of nuance and smart analysis that goes on in academia, but is largely unseen by the general public. Synapse will be accessible for everyone yet have enough depth to interest enthusiasts. The kind of person that will love Synapse is someone who can appreciate science writing with more depth and less click-bait than is typically found in newspapers.”
Subscribe here > https://synapse.substack.com/
🎙️ What Podcast Episode Has Got Me Thinking
Very solid listen on how understanding our own personality tendencies can help us be more successful in work, love, relationships and beyond.
Gretchen breaks down personality types into 4 quadrants. We often aren’t finitely one but we certainly skew towards one in particular. I felt it particularly fascinating as it pertains to work and how to best approach each of these personality types to work most effectively with one another.
UPHOLDER: “I do what others expect of me—and what I expect from myself.”
QUESTIONER: “I do what I think is best, according to my judgment. If it doesn’t make sense, I won’t do it.”
OBLIGER: “I do what I have to do. I don’t want to let others down, but I may let myself down.”
REBEL: “I do what I want, in my own way. If you try to make me do something—even if I try to make myself do something—I’m less likely to do it.”
If you’re curious to learn where you land, take the Four Tendencies Quiz here.
📝 What Workbook I Love
Unravel Your Year - Susannah Conway
I’m not one to wait for a particular date to implement new habits or set intentions for the future so I’d recommend folks go through this exercise at any point that it feels good to you. We are in a constant state of “in progress” and I believe it’s all about acquiring new tools to equip your brain with so you are more healthfully and effectively prepared to handle the everyday stressors of this life.
A nice force function to really sit down to review the past and mentally and emotionally shift habits and thinking that set you up well for the future.
This intention setting workbook by Susannah Conway is one of the better that I’ve found out there. You can download it here.
📱 What App I’m Digging
The once super exclusive Clubhouse app is now spreading far and wide. Think podcast, reddit, and lecture hall meshed together where you can listen in to a vast array of different conversations on particular topics and ask questions as well.
Everything from MDMA use in the treatment in PTSD in Veterans to music discovery to Bitcoin 101 to Bridgerton Lovers, this social listening environment has something for everyone. Feels a lot like a digital burning man to me personally and a nice little retreat throughout the day to hear what experts in particular fields you are interested in are chatting about!
“What quarantine has revealed is that when you separate everyone, spontaneity is a big thing you miss. In your office, that could be having a random watercooler chat with a co-worker or commenting aloud about something funny you found on the internet. At a party, it could be wandering up to chat with group of people because you know one of them or overhear something interesting. That’s lacking while we’re stuck home since we’ve stigmatized randomly phoning a friend, differing to asynchronous text despite its lack of urgency. Scheduled Zoom calls, utilitarian Slack threads, and endless email chains don’t capture the thrill of surprise or the joy of conversation that giddily revs up as people riff off each other’s ideas. But smart app developers are also realizing that spontaneity doesn’t mean constantly interrupting people’s life or workflow. They give people the power to decide when they are or aren’t available or signal that they’re not to be disturbed so they’re only thrust into social connection when they want it.”
If you’re intrigued and need an invite, holla at me and I will shoot one your way!