3 Laughably Simple Habits to Set You Apart from the Masses
The art of aliveness in a world full of sleepy people
Western culture has become psychologically infantile.
Our schools and public health institutions skip over essential yet basic information that would otherwise keep us sane and healthy.
Most people don’t know (or care about) their purpose for being on the planet.
They have no clue how to be healthy, so they slather class 1 carcinogens on their fingers (hand sanitizer) and call it a day.
You’re different (I can feel it from here).
See Consumption as a Psycho-Spiritual Tuning Fork
Because the masses don’t know how to be alone with their thoughts, they thoughtlessly consume media.
Yet it’s more than thoughtless: it’s corrosive. Rest assured. The mainstream media will always have its supply of disturbing stories and images to share with you.
By consuming this hypnotic gobbly goop, you’re not “getting informed”: you’re ingesting trauma-based mind control.
Instead, think about the information you ingest as an opportunity for mindset optimization. As a baseline read at least 10 pages a day of something that inspires you.
This is a natural way to curb disempowering thoughts. It will also feed into ways of perceiving the world that support your creativity, resourcefulness, and ease.
Some of my favorite mindset-tuning books include:
- The Power of Awareness
- The Tao Te Ching
- Existential Kink
- The Science of Getting Rich
- The Obstacle is the Way
Raise Your Core Body Temperature
I don’t know about you, but when I’m cold, I’m lazy, uninspired, and prone to tension. Being shivery makes me want to hide under blankets and eat chocolate.
Yet after even moderate movement, I feel like myself. I feel more like how I imagine humans were meant to feel: focused, alert, and innovative.
The masses assume that they need to be energized in order to do something ambitious like running, cold showering, or doing stand-up comedy.
But very often, we have to create energy to have energy. This doesn’t need to be torturous. Simply do the minimum amount you feel capable of at the moment, and watch your energy levels increase.
Whenever I feel cold and sleepy, I get on my treadmill for five minutes. This brief gesture gives me energy and zest for hours afterward. Even with the short commitment, it supplies a more sustained energy and focus boost than caffeine.
You could do the same with a 30-second cold shower or with an off-beat joke that skirts the edges of acceptability.
Commit to Creative Act a Day (No matter How Small)
While there’s certainly a place for consumption, when your ratio of consumption exceeds your creation quotient, it’s easy to become psychologically imbalanced.
Humans were born to create. If creation feels like a chore, it may just be that you haven’t yet tapped into your natural inclinations (or you’re dehydrated or eating too many simple carbohydrates).
Let whatever you like to consume be the foundation for what you create. Allow both processes to feed into each other. This not only will make you feel more engaged as you consume, but it will help you better metabolize what you’re learning.
As you process others’ ideas through your own filter, patterns you wouldn’t have otherwise seen will pop out at you.
Create, even when you feel like your output is disgustingly bad. Exercising your creativity, no matter how sloppily, is almost always more energizing than feeding on the work of others 24/7.
The gods, we are taught, created humankind in their own image. Everyone has the urge to create.
Its expression may flow through many channels: through writing, music, through inventiveness in work, or in any number of ways unique to all of us, whether it’s gardening, stretching, or the art of social discourse.
The point is to honor the urge. To do so is healing for ourselves and for others. To not create is itself a stressor. It deadens our bodies and our spirits. — Dr. Gabor Maté
