The Tim Ferriss Show #122: The Magic of Mindfulness: Complain Less, Appreciate More, and Live a Better Life
Mindfulness Sharpens Effectiveness
- Mindfulness is present-state awareness that reduces reactivity and increases focus and clarity.
- Tim Ferriss argues sharpening the mind yields better results than just working harder.
Try A 21-Day No-Complaint Challenge
- Do a 21-day no-complaint experiment using a bracelet or rubber band to reset when you complain.
- Define complaint as negative description without a proposed fix and restart the clock when you slip.
Practice A Week Of Voluntary Simplicity
- Practice poverty for a week to learn what you truly value and reduce fear of downside risk.
- Live on simple clothes and cheap food to test whether your worst-case is actually survivable.
This is another special episode of The Tim Ferriss Show. Usually, when I talk about strategies for living a better life, I focus on strategies for effectiveness and efficiency. That is, finding ways for you to be better without wasting time. Both of these are important, but fine-tuning those traits come naturally for me. Mindfulness is something that is difficult and usually overlooked by most people. So why is mindfulness essential? When it comes to achievement, most people just work harder. In reality, you want to first achieve more focus and clarity, which can help guide your effort. This is the real benefit of mindfulness. Once you incorporate it into your life, you complain less, appreciate more, react less, and fill your life with what's most important to you. More than anything, you'll learn how to be present and live in the moment. Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast. This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs. I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body, and I’ve also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service, which is non-spec. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you’re happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run… This podcast is also brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service, led by technologists from places like Apple and world-famous investors. It has exploded in popularity in the last 2 years and now has more than $2.5B under management. In fact, some of my good investor friends in Silicon Valley have millions of their own money in Wealthfront. Why? Because you can get services previously limited to the ultra-wealthy and only pay pennies on the dollar for them, and it’s all through smarter software instead of retail locations and bloated sales teams. Check out wealthfront.com/tim, take their risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and they’ll show you—for free–exactly the portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Or, as I would, you can set it and forget it. Well worth a few minutes: wealthfront.com/tim. Mandatory disclaimer: Wealthfront Inc. is an SEC registered Investment Advisor. Investing in securities involves risks, and there is the possibility of losing money. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Please visit Wealthfront dot com to read their full disclosure.
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Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.
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