Psychological Nutrition (Part 2)
Welcome to part two of a two-part series aimed at redefining what it means to live a satisfied life.
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We use these magnetic emotional granularity wheels hanging on our fridge as reminders and a great visual to help teach our kids about the depth of the soul.
The book The First Rule of Mastery by Michael Gervais provides a deeper dive into understanding and expressing your emotions by overcoming the fear of judgment and developing a healthier emotional life.
Read here for strategies on how to maximize your sleep quality.
Find joy in the little stuff. Arthur Brooks, in his book From Strength to Strength, emphasizes the importance of finding joy in these smaller experiences. He suggests that true satisfaction arises not from pursuing ever-greater goals but from appreciating the details of our daily lives.
Do the three things challenge. Every day pick one action you are doing and dive into the minutiae by identifying three new things about it. Your morning coffee is still your morning coffee but turn into a coffee snob for a bit. How is it different from yesterday? What does it feel like? What flavors do you taste? (Sidenote: there are over 800 aromatic and flavor compounds in coffee and only 200 in wine).
Make a list of 100 simple pleasures in life.
Read widely. Reading books, articles, or listening to podcasts outside of your usual interests. I recommend these.
Praise effort over outcome. Learn how to do that here.
Download the Memento Mori app. Every day I see a widget from the app, Memento Mori (Android, Apple), telling me that I have about 34 years to live, adjoined by a motivating quote by a stoic philosopher.
Do a negative visualization. This Stoic philosophy practice involves contemplating the loss of things we cherish to appreciate them more fully and reduce anxiety about potential future hardships. You can do this in a variety of ways from contemplating your body in the ground after death, the loss of life of a family member or spouse, or the most gut-wrenching for me, the death of one of my kids. Sounds terrible but that first hug after the visualization is incredible.
Have a visual reminder. Buy a memento mori poster where you actively mark the passing of time as a visual reminder.
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