Jack and I completed a 10 hour silence challenge on Sunday.
No phones. Outside in the shade. No stimulus.
Just a journal and a pen.
I learnt more than I initially thought from this experience. I thought it was just a waste of time but the whole experience recaptured my motivation for my journey. I felt really content with myself and at peace, inspired now to create an impact for others and build a life i’m proud of.
Yes it was boring. But the beauty of the boredom was that it really re set me and made me realise my values and the direction I want to go.
You should try it sometime. Although I’d recommend 4-6 hours as plenty.
2 Ideas from me
- Goals can be a double-edged sword
I think goals are great. They can guide you and inspire you.
The problem is when your goals are used as a justification for why you aren’t happy.
The gap between where you are now and where you want to be can create a sense of inadequacy.
It’s so easy to fall into the trap of delaying and sacrificing your happiness in the present until you live up to a certain standard in the future.
Social media creates this trap by pushing content from successful people who present their struggles and sacrifices as the reason for their success.
We don’t see the thousands and thousands of individuals who have done this and failed.
A survivorship bias is created where we try to instill their recipe for success onto ours with a lack of understanding that their internal states are often not ones to be admired.
So yes, goals are great and all but understand that life is not about promising yourself happiness to justify why you don’t like the journey.
Life is all about the journey. There will no doubt be struggle & sacrifice but mixed in with many moments of enjoyment and fulfilment.
You should know the difference. Are you excited to wake up?
- Success is different, find yours.
Social media is constructed in a way that espouses success in a very narrow sense. Wealth, titles, reputation, power…
The problem is that young people’s mind are quite fragile and they have no idea who they are and who they want to be. When a confident and inspiring presence is shown on a screen, it leaps into and speaks to their ambitious minds and hearts.
Consequentially, these young individuals compromise their own intuition and curiosity. They retrofit ‘successful’ people’s ideas onto their lives and find ways to justify their choices.
To me, success is a very individual pursuit.
Success will look different to me and you. The more we can push this message, the more we can encourage younger people to explore, be curious and find a life that is meaningful to them.
Another problem is that we change our version of success to match our circumstances as a coping mechanism.
Instead of hard conversations, introspection and an intention to live an authentic life, we create a story as to why our life is the one we want.
Be careful. Make sure you tune into your inner voice.
1 Quote
Never give up.
– Alistair Peacock (Pop)
My pop. A man who reads every newsletter I write and listens to every podcast I create. One of my biggest inspirations. Alongside my Dad, he used to always instill this idea into me and it has stuck.
I find it funny as he continually gives me ideas to utilise my psychology studies to find a secure job but it’s his faith and ideology of never giving up that is part of the reason I never will give up in the pursuit of my dreams.
Thankyou Pop, the simplicity doesn’t take away from the power of it.
Keep showing up. Do it anyways, find a way. I always will. I love you.
1% Tip
Boredom to Brilliance.
Find some time to eliminate the noise. Whether it’s 30 mins of silence or an afternoon journalling. Try to be bored. Lean into the boredom and try not to escape it. Embrace it.
Boredom often leads to brilliance if you let the mind quieten down and find a space to let your inner voice guide you.
Yeah, it can be scary and uncertain but find the time to listen to yourself without all the noise.
I did 10 hours. You can give yourself one hour.
And no, Netflix on the couch isn’t the solution to this 1% tip.
Pod Summary
#84 – Bailey Chalmers – Club promoter, business owner – young man doing great things in the nightlife world with music. Sacrificed a lot for his success and we chatted through all of it.
#85 – Riley Burke – Founder of Mingle – massive community group – a great chat around mental health & mindset – the power of quality relationships and connection.