Mental

Positive mental habits: Write down a list of 10 ideas, Read for 25 minutes, Read morning email newsletters (Seth Godin, A Learning A Day, Daily Stoic, Morning Brew), Explore a Google search rabbit hole on a topic you're curious about, Listen to a podcast during your morning routine or workout, Listen to an audiobook, Explore online learning classes, Ask a friend for their favorite book recommendation, Do a Suduko or crossword puzzle, Play Elevate app brain training games on your phone.

The Horizon (physical plane) is a place where the sky meets the land, and you know you will never be able to reach it.

The Ideal (mental plane) is a place where your mind directs you toward your goals, but you cause yourself great emotional pain by never reaching the Ideal.

The Gap = Measuring your progress and happiness against the Ideal.

You are always in the Gap if you are measuring toward the Horizon or Ideal.

Happiness comes from measuring backward.

The Gain = Measuring your progress and happiness against where you started.

The Gain > The Gap

Dahli Llama said Happiness is a skill.

You need a development process for Happiness.

How do you develop your skills at being Happy? What things can you do everyday to be Happy?

• 1. Be really thankful for something.

  2. Find something funny.

  3. Do something to help someone.

All 3 Abilities come from within.

These 3 Abilities encapsulate Man's Search for Meaning.

6 Criteria for Optimized Mental Health by Marie Jahoda

• 1. Positive attitude towards the self

  2. Self-actualization

  3. Autonomy - Independence and self-reliance without the need to depend on others

  4. Resistance to stress - Ability to handle stressful situations competently

  5. Environmental Mastery - You can adapt to new situations and be at ease at all situations in your life

  6. Accurate perception of reality

You don't need to measure yourself compared to these 6 criteria for the Ideal. Recognize if this is a time when you would be beat yourself up for not being perfect in all 6 criteria right now all at the same time. You might be tempted to beat yourself up now, or beat yourself up later when you think about the 6 criteria for Ideal Mental Health because you were, are, or will be struggling in. Instead of beating yourself up, practice a more positive attitude towards your self.

Boom!

You just got better at #1 with a more positive attitude towards yourself, which creates positive momentum to improve in more ways than one.

You feel Happy about measuring your progress backwards.

This is a powerful method for generating internal Happiness.

The Pillars of a Creative Life

For something to be considered capital-C Creative, it must satisfy all three of these criteria:

• 1. Objectively important in your domain

  2. Subjectively valuable to you

  3. Intersubjectively meaningful in a way that influences how society and its people operate and live

The intersubjective is neither objective nor subjective. It’s the world of collective ideas that drive our cultural direction.

It’s the realm that shapes what we value and what we believe.

A truly Creative life is as much about other people in the world and what they gain from your work as it is about how it makes you feel and what it accomplishes in the eyes of your peers.

5 Simple Notions to Solve Problems

• 1. Simplify

     • Start with big, no-brainer questions

     • Everything should be made as simple as possible - but no more simple

  2. Numerical Fluency

     • Math is the language of God

  3. Invert

     • Think in reverse

     • Work backward from solution

     • What would have to be true for the solution to occur?

     • Identify required true/false conditions

     • Look at problem in a mirror or upside down (common tactics used by artists)

  4. Study the Basics

     • Understand fundamental ideas and principles deeply

     • First Principles Thinking (like Elon Musk)

     • Complete "freshman" course in each subject

  5. Lollapalooza Effects

     • Combine really big things

The human mind is an unparalleled pattern-recognition machine, and it's your job to feed it well.

5 Elements of Effective Thinking

• 1. Understand deeply

  2. Make mistakes

  3. Raise questions

  4. Follow the flow of ideas

  5. Change

Creative Health: How are you creative today? Write 10 Ideas A Day.

10 Things I Value More Than Money

• 1. Community

  2. Creativity

  3. Curiosity

  4. Giving

  5. Caring

  6. Helping

  7. Laughter

  8. Learning

  9. Freedom

  10. Kissing

Nostalgia: A Mental Time Machine

We don't want to return to our past - we want our past to return to us.

People miss someone they loved and things they did when they were younger.

People miss most not having to worry, loved ones, holidays, things we did, family, the way people were, and not knowing sad/evil things.

Priorities in other aspects shift as we age and transition from one stage of life to the another stage of life.

In Stages 1-3 (1-21), children and teens miss the toys of our past.

In Stage 6 (35-42), adults miss the music of our past.

Contemplation of the best of our past shines light on what we should now retain, restore, rebuild, and rediscover what will be continue to be truly meaningful.

You are the hero in your own hero's journey.