Dickie's Digest - Inner Voices, Money, and Razors
Friends,
Happy third Sunday of quarantine— thanks for taking the time to read this today. I say happy Sunday but in reality, the last three weeks have been a continuous stream of Wednesdays. The variation in my days recently is remarkably small: wake up, stretch, go for a walk, do some work, do a few kettlebell swings, eat the same few meals, read, fall asleep. However, I speak for most people my age in saying we should be incredibly grateful that our biggest problem during this time is that we are a little more bored than usual. And to be honest, it’s been nice to have a bit of break. Maybe having the entire country work from home every March is worth exploring.
I’ve made a couple of observations during this working-from-home experiment. 1— Open floor plans lead to a tremendous amount of social interaction — it’s stark how little there is in a remote-work environment. 2— My days are much quieter without office background noise. A direct result of these two changes is the voice in my head seems to have gotten a little bit louder. While we all experience this voice every day, it seems when things quiet down, it has an opinion on slightly more things and can be slightly more critical. Given that this setup is likely to continue longer than we think, I set out to revisit a few books and podcasts for some strategies on quieting this inner voice back down. I’ve listed each of them along with the tactics I collected in this post — Resources for Quieting the Inner Voice. It’s a good mix of podcasts you could listen to today, books to read over the long run, and quotes to think about. Check it out if you feel the same way!
Thanks to those of you who signed up over the past few days — here is this week’s edition of the Digest. As always, reach out if you find anything particularly interesting. Have a safe and epic week!
Reads I’m Enjoying—
Money: The Unauthorized Biography— From Coinage to Crypytocurrencies
We are in the midst of the greatest monetary and fiscal intervention in history. Printed money, massive deficits, digital money, UBI, MMT, you name it.
I wanted to better understand where money originated so I could better grasp where it’s headed. The common origin story of money is that barter societies needed a medium of exchange to facilitate trade. However, this book claims there is no evidence of money originating in this way. Instead, the author presents evidence that the origin of money was simply a clearing system for credit and debt.
Coronavirus Will Change the World Permanently. Here’s How.
This is a topic I am continuing to think a lot about. What are the long-lasting changes to sports, media, entertainment, social interaction, the scope of government, and the medical system?
“A global, novel virus that keeps us contained in our homes—maybe for months—is already reorienting our relationship to government, to the outside world, even to each other. Some changes these experts expect to see in the coming months or years might feel unfamiliar or unsettling: Will nations stay closed? Will touch become taboo? What will become of restaurants? But crisis moments also present opportunity: more sophisticated and flexible use of technology, less polarization, a revived appreciation for the outdoors and life’s other simple pleasures. No one knows exactly what will come, but here is our best stab at a guide to the unknown ways that society—government, healthcare, the economy, our lifestyles and more—will change.”
Mental Models I’m Thinking About—
Hanlon’s Razor. “Hanlon’s Razor states that we should not attribute to malice that which is more easily explained by stupidity. In a complex world, this principle helps us avoid extreme paranoia and ideology, often very hard to escape from, by not generally assuming that bad results are the fault of a bad actor, although they can be. More likely, a mistake has been made.”
Occam’s Razor. “Occam’s razor states that the simplest explanation is preferable to one that is more complex. Simple theories are easier to verify. Simple solutions are easier to execute. In other words, we should avoid looking for excessively complex solutions to a problem, and focus on what works given the circumstances. Occam’s razor can be used in a wide range of situations, as a means of making rapid decisions and establishing truths without empirical evidence. It works best as a mental model for making initial conclusions before the full scope of information can be obtained.
Podcasts I’m Revisiting—
These two podcasts were a couple of the ones I revisited while looking for resources for quieting the inner voice.
Tim Ferriss | Tara Brach: Meditation and Overcoming FOMO
Tara Brach is the author of Radical Acceptance, a book that’s come highly recommended but I have yet to read. The idea of Inviting Mara to Tea is the one that resonated with me the most, which she describes in the linked post.
Inviting Mara to Tea is a frame of mind that when negative thoughts or emotions begin to, instead of pushing them away or trying to ignore them, we make space for them. We become aware of the physical sensations that are present as a result of the thought.
Peter Attia | Sam Harris: The Transformative Power of Mindfulness
Sam Harris is the founder of Waking Up, my meditation app of choice. I’m currently in the middle of his 50-day course which you can try for free here.
This podcast discusses Sam’s meditation practice, his thoughts on dealing with the story we are constantly telling ourselves, and ideas around human distraction.
End Note
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Have an epic week,
Dickie