Set a timer for 35 to 45 minutes daily, with no phone and no agenda, and simply sit (not necessarily meditate), exploring what is happening in your internal experience. Ian sits on a sheepskin with a meditation cushion and almost guarantees it gives access to your emotions without needing anyone to name them.
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Connections
Themes and ideas
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The highest form of self-respect is sit down and just give yourself 10 minutes to be with yourself every day in your breath, and just see what happens.
- Consuming wisdom isn't doing the work
Podcasts, books and conversations about growth are as good as unread until you internalize them and act. People massively overcomplicate inner work. Free, simple, consistent sitting beat…
- It's not that you don't have time
Everyone can make five or ten minutes. Jews pray three times a day and Muslims five times while running families. 'Same 24 hours' rhetoric from single 21-year-olds ignores parents of…
- Meditation works like cardio
Like running, meditation feels like torture after a break and effortless with daily practice, the way 5 km stops feeling like anything. It also improves focus and emotional reactivity.
- Start meditating at two minutes
Forget the image of hours in a cave. Start with two minutes, then three, four, five, building like cardio, until ten minutes with your breath is a daily act of self-respect. Parents can…
More practices from this episode
- Die Complete Tonight
Ask yourself: if my head hit the pillow tonight and that was it, what would I need to do today to die complete? Use the answer to cut your priorities down to the one or two things that…
- Start meditating at two minutes
Forget the image of hours in a cave. Start with two minutes, then three, four, five, building like cardio, until ten minutes with your breath is a daily act of self-respect. Parents can…
- Get curious about body signals
When you notice fear or contraction, look up and ask, 'Huh, I wonder what my body is trying to tell me right now', instead of making the feeling a problem. Sometimes the answer is as simple…
- Reframe pain mid-effort
When a run (or a day) feels terrible, remind yourself that this is what will make the good ones feel good. Stop trying to make bad days good, don't cling to good ones, and allow the full…
- Social media fast
Delete Instagram from your phone for a weekend or a few days to notice how habitually the brain 'hunts' for it.