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Quote: Self-Respect
Ideas: Intentionality, Discipline, and Dopamine
Article: Third Place
Media: Life Perspective
Question: Outstanding Tasks
Quote
David Brooks on the meaning of self-respect:
“Self-respect is not the same as self-confidence or self-esteem. Self-respect is not based on IQ or any of the mental or physical gifts that help get you into a competitive college. It is not comparative. It is not earned by being better than other people at something. It is earned by being better than you used to be, by being dependable in times of testing, straight in times of temptation. It emerges in one who is morally dependable. Self-respect is produced by inner triumphs, not external ones.”
Source: David Brooks, The Road to Character
Ideas From Me
I.
There is no area of your life that won’t benefit from intentionality.
II.
Discipline feels like scarcity but it creates abundance.
• Discipline around your schedule gives you more time
• Discipline around your savings and spending gives you more money
• Discipline around your diet and exercise gives you more energy
Who doesn't want more time, money & energy?
III.
Cheap dopamine activities lead to misery.
Good dopamine activities lead to flourishing.
Cheap Dopamine:
• Porn
• Junk Food
• Phone Apps
• Excessive TV
• Alcohol/drugs
Good Dopamine:
• Read
• Nature
• Exercise
• Meditation
• Quality Sleep
It’s easy to think of cheap dopamine activities as “self-care” but they’re actually self-harm. These activities may provide temporary moments of pleasure but they leave you feeling more tired after — not refreshed.
Do you want to be happier?
Drip your dopamine, don’t dump it.
Article
The Triumph of Coming in Third by Arthur Brooks
“The worldly happiness strategy of striving for gold every day is foolish. Fixing your hopes for contentment on being No. 1 is about the most precarious approach you can adopt. More likely, you will spend most of your time feeling like a silver medalist: always aspiring, pinning your bliss on a single outcome, but succumbing again and again to the tyranny of probability—and disappointment. Much better, then, to aim for healthy competition in which you do your best without expectation of being the absolute winner.”
If you aren’t able to read the full article on The Atlantic website, put the link in to this website (12-foot ladder) and it will remove the paywall: https://12ft.io/
Media
Impactful exercise here that could change your perspective on life.
Question
What is the task you’ve been putting off for too long? How can you take a small step towards completing it today?
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Have a great Fourth of July weekend!
Much love,
Beau Burns
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