by TheThinkingGuy | May 19, 2025 | Uncategorized
Ever feel like your brain is its own worst enemy when it comes to actually doing things? You know what you should do, maybe even want to do, but then the internal debate team kicks in, and suddenly, you’re three episodes deep into a new series instead. 😅
I stumbled upon a fascinating concept recently, inspired by a Douyin video, that framed this in a radical way: What if you could “enslave” yourself to take action? Sounds intense, right? But stick with me, because it’s about a powerful separation of mind and body.
The Real Villains: Why We Get Stuck in Quicksand
Before we get to the “how,” let’s be honest about why we often find ourselves stuck. For me, and maybe for you too, it usually boils down to two major culprits:
- Villain #1: The “What Do I Even DO?!” Paralysis.Sometimes, the hardest part is just deciding what’s important. We’re floating in a sea of possibilities (or a void of them!), and picking even one truly valuable task for the day can feel like a monumental effort. I’ve had days where I couldn’t even nail down one key thing! It’s like living life without a clear target.
- Villain #2: The Mental Chatter Monster.Then there’s the starting. Oh, the sheer effort of starting! Even when we know what to do, our minds can conjure up a symphony of useless background noise: fear, reluctance, a million “what ifs.” We start looking for escape routes – “Maybe I’ll just watch one episode first,” or “Let me just quickly write my daily thoughts.” Our mind is essentially trying to cope with the fear and pressure of the task itself by distracting us with less important things.
Sound familiar? If so, you’re going to love this next part.
Enter the Mind-Body Commander! (Your Secret Weapon) 🦸♀️🦸♂️
The core idea is beautifully simple: Treat your mind and body as separate entities. Your mind can be the planner, the strategist, even the worrier. But your body? Your body becomes the loyal soldier, the action hero, that simply executes commands without question or complaint.
- If you (the Mind Commander) command, “Go to sleep,” your body just… goes to sleep.
- If you command, “Time for exercise,” your body starts moving.
- If you command, “Go talk to that interesting person,” your body walks over and starts a conversation, regardless of what your mind thinks about the potential outcome.
Why This “Enslavement” is Actually Sweet, Sweet Freedom
This “commander” approach is incredibly effective because it systematically dismantles our usual roadblocks:
- Bypassing the Noise: All those unnecessary calculations, worries, and “what ifs” your mind loves to churn out? They get sidelined. The body isn’t programmed for debate; it’s programmed for action once the command is given.
- The 80% Rule Supercharged: We’ve all heard that starting is 80% of the battle. This mind-body trick forces the start. Once your body is in motion, that initial inertia is overcome.
- Emotionless Execution (Almost!): By taking your overthinking mind out of the initial action equation, you remove a lot of the emotional baggage tied to the task. It’s like your body is just following a program. Once you issue the command, it feels like a magical force takes over, and your body just starts doing.
- The “I Do What I Say” Power: This is the true essence of self-discipline. It’s like having your own personal genie, making you follow through. It’s still you, but it’s an upgraded, more powerful, action-oriented version of you.
Building Your Action Hero Habit
Imagine consistently applying this. Every time you identify a task, you issue the command, and your body executes. No more wasted energy on internal debates about whether to start.
Think about looking back after a few weeks or months of this. The sheer volume of things you’ll have accomplished! The projects completed, the connections made, the habits formed. The sense of pride and capability would be immense.
Your Mission (Should You Choose to Accept It):
You don’t need to overhaul your life overnight. Just try it with one small thing today.
Is there something you’ve been putting off?
Silence the mental chatter. Assume the role of the Mind Commander. Give your body a clear, simple command.
And then, let your inner action hero take over.
You might be surprised at how powerful you truly are.
by TheThinkingGuy | Apr 30, 2025 | Uncategorized
We all know good posture is important, but let’s be honest, constantly reminding ourselves to “sit up straight” can feel like a chore. What if there was a simpler, more intuitive way to improve posture and boost your energy at the same time?
I stumbled upon a mental visualization recently that seems to do just that. It’s incredibly simple:
Focus on Open the chest for more energy.
Think about creating more space in your chest area. Not in an exaggerated, puffed-up way, but just a subtle opening.
Here’s why this simple visualization works on multiple levels:
- Better Airflow: When you consciously open your chest, you naturally allow for deeper breaths. More space means more air can flow into your lungs.
- More Oxygen = More Energy: Deeper breaths mean more oxygen intake. More oxygen circulating in your body directly translates to feeling more alert and energetic. It combats that sluggish feeling.
- Posture Corrects Itself: Here’s the magic part. To physically “pop” or open your chest, you have to engage the muscles that support good posture. Your shoulders naturally pull back slightly, your spine straightens a bit. You can’t really open your chest while slouching! Good posture becomes an almost automatic byproduct of seeking better airflow and energy.
So, instead of thinking “shoulders back, spine straight,” which can feel forced, the focus shifts to something more organic: “Open the chest for more energy.” Energy comes first, and posture follows naturally.
It’s a small mental shift, but I’ve found it surprisingly effective. Give it a try next time you catch yourself slouching or feeling a bit low on energy. Just visualize gently opening your chest, take a deeper breath, and see if you notice a difference in both your posture and your vitality.
by TheThinkingGuy | Apr 30, 2025 | Uncategorized
Have you ever considered the idea that the world around you isn’t just happening to you, but is actually a reflection of you? I stumbled upon this concept recently, often summarized as “the world is a mirror,” and it’s profoundly shifted how I see things.
The core idea is simple yet radical: Your external reality is largely a projection of your internal beliefs. What you truly, deeply believe about the world and your place in it tends to manifest externally.
- If you genuinely believe the world is hostile and people are out to get you, you’ll likely find evidence confirming that everywhere. Interactions will feel tense, opportunities will seem scarce, and people might react negatively.
- Conversely, if you cultivate a deep-seated belief that the world is fundamentally supportive, that people are generally good, and that things tend to work out in your favor, you’ll start noticing evidence for that reality. People might seem friendlier, opportunities might appear unexpectedly, and challenges might feel more like stepping stones.
Beyond Positive Thinking: The Power of Core Belief
This isn’t just about slapping on a happy face or repeating affirmations you don’t truly feel (though those can be starting points). It’s about excavating and reshaping your core beliefs. It’s the difference between thinking “I hope people like me” and believing “People genuinely connect with me.” That underlying belief radiates outward and influences how you perceive interactions and how others, in turn, perceive and react to you.
Think about it: If you walk into a room believing you’re welcome and have value to offer, your body language, tone, and energy will reflect that. People pick up on that subtle confidence and are more likely to respond positively, reinforcing your initial belief. It becomes a self-fulfilling loop, powered by your internal state.
Personal Experiments in Manifestation
I’ve been experimenting with this in various ways, trying to consciously hold certain beliefs and observing the results. For instance, deciding to operate from a core belief of being incredibly lucky. It sounds simple, maybe even a bit naive, but consciously adopting the identity of a “lucky person” changes how you frame events. A near-miss becomes “Wow, I was lucky to avoid that!” instead of “That was terrible luck.” A small win becomes “See? Lucky again!” This reframing, driven by belief, genuinely seems to attract more positive experiences, or at least makes you perceive the existing ones more positively.
Previous experiments in social settings, where I focused on holding a specific positive belief about the interaction, also yielded surprisingly positive results, further reinforcing this “mirror” concept for me.
Shaping Your Reflection
The implication is powerful: If you don’t like the reflection you’re seeing in the world, the place to start making changes isn’t “out there” – it’s “in here.”
- What are your core beliefs about yourself, about others, about life?
- Are they serving you?
- Could you consciously choose to cultivate beliefs that align more with the reality you want to experience? Beliefs like “I am capable,” “People are helpful,” “Opportunities are abundant,” “I am inherently lucky”?
It requires introspection and consistent effort to genuinely shift these deep beliefs, but the potential payoff is immense: a reality that increasingly mirrors the best version of what you hold within.
What reflection are you seeing today?
by TheThinkingGuy | Apr 30, 2025 | Uncategorized
I found myself with 48 hours alone in Osaka recently before meeting up with friends. Solo time in a new city always sparks a desire for adventure, but this time, I had a specific mission, inspired by something I’d just read in the Almanack of Naval Ravikant. He mentioned that maybe 90% of our decisions are driven by fear, and only 10% by true desire.
That hit me hard. How many things do I not do because of some underlying fear? Fear of rejection, fear of judgment, fear of looking stupid?
So, I decided to run an experiment for those 48 hours: Actively identify fear in every decision, and then consciously choose what I would do without that fear.
Step 1: Spotting the Fear Monster
The first step was just awareness. Before making a choice – big or small – I’d pause and ask: “Is fear playing a role here? Am I holding back because I’m afraid of something?”
Step 2: Calling It Out (The Chris Voss Hack)
Here’s where it got interesting. The moment I mentally pinpointed the fear (“Okay, I’m afraid of looking awkward if I approach that group,” or “I’m afraid she’ll say no”), something shifted. It reminded me of Chris Voss’s negotiation technique of “labeling” emotions. By simply naming the fear, acknowledging its presence, its power seemed to diminish significantly. It was still there, maybe, but it felt less controlling, less paralyzing. Paradoxically, seeing the fear made it less scary.
The Testing Ground: Osaka Nightlife
Dinner led to deciding to check out a club – the perfect laboratory for this experiment. Clubs can be high-stakes environments for social fear.
Armed with my fear-labeling technique, I decided to operate with zero fear as my default. If I felt a flicker of hesitation about talking to someone, I’d label it (“Ah, fear of rejection”) and then act anyway, as if the fear wasn’t a factor.
I ended up talking to tons of people. I chatted with a cool Japanese DJ named Yui and, pushing past my usual hesitation, asked direct questions I normally wouldn’t. Did it lead anywhere? No, but that wasn’t the point! The point was I acted despite the potential for awkwardness or rejection, simply because I’d decided fear wasn’t going to be the driver.
I also had an interaction with a girl from Laos. In a moment of wanting to push my boundaries of acceptable conversation (after labeling the fear of being perceived negatively), I asked a very direct, perhaps unconventional question about her appearance, making sure my tone was genuinely curious and non-creepy. It was purely an experiment in acting without the usual social filters dictated by fear. And guess what? The world didn’t end. She wasn’t offended; we just continued chatting.
The Revelation: The World is Kinder Than Your Fear
Across these interactions, the biggest takeaway was this: The negative consequences my fear usually predicts rarely happen. Or if they do, they’re far less dramatic than imagined. People are generally more accepting and resilient than our fearful minds give them credit for. Acting authentically, even a bit boldly (while still being respectful, of course!), didn’t lead to disaster. It led to interesting conversations and a profound sense of liberation.
Living Free from Expectation
This experiment connected deeply with another idea from Naval’s book: We have such a short time here, and we’re not obligated to live up to anyone else’s expectations. Worrying about disappointing people or fitting into their mold is a burden, often rooted in fear. Their expectations are theirs, not yours.
True freedom comes from shedding that fear – fear of judgment, fear of not meeting expectations, fear of failure. When you operate from desire, from authenticity, from a place of “What would I do if I weren’t afraid?”, you become incredibly powerful.
My 48-hour experiment was just a glimpse, but it was potent. Imagine consistently identifying fear, labeling it, and choosing to act from desire instead. Keep doing that, and yeah, you might just become unstoppable.
by TheThinkingGuy | Apr 28, 2025 | Uncategorized
You know that saying, “Being sleep-deprived is like being drunk”? I always kind of nodded along, thinking, “Yeah, sure, makes sense.” But I never truly got it until recently.
Over the past couple of days, I seriously skimped on sleep – we’re talking maybe two hours one night. The next day, I felt exactly like I used to feel after a night of drinking too much. My brain was fuzzy, thinking felt slow and difficult, and my overall sharpness was just… gone. It was the same feeling.
The only reason I could finally pinpoint this similarity so clearly is because I’ve spent the last few months consciously cutting back on alcohol and really prioritizing getting enough sleep. By cleaning up my system, I established a clear baseline of what “normal” feels like. So when that intense fatigue from lack of sleep hit, the comparison to the effects of alcohol was unmistakable. Before, when I might have been both tired and had drinks the night before, the lines were blurred.
Here’s the funny kicker: When I was both sleep-deprived and had been drinking, I didn’t feel “double drunk.” I just felt… drunk (or extremely tired). It seems like once your mental processing hits that impaired level, whether from alcohol or exhaustion, it just feels like impairment. You don’t get extra points for combining the two!
This little self-experiment brought the point home loud and clear: Lack of sleep significantly impacts your mental sharpness, mimicking the cognitive impairment of alcohol.
It’s not just about feeling physically tired; your ability to think clearly, make good decisions, and react quickly takes a massive hit.
So, the lesson learned (or rather, deeply understood) is simple but crucial:
- Prioritize sleep: It’s non-negotiable for mental performance.
- Minimize alcohol: It directly hinders your cognitive function.
If you want to stay sharp, focused, and operate at your best, treat sleep like the essential fuel it is and be mindful of how alcohol throws a wrench in your mental gears. Your brain will thank you.
