4 Ideas To Transform Your Life
Two kinds of people, everyone should run, extremistan and knowing thyself
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1. Everyone should run
I used to run a lot.
I started taking it seriously in 2020 after reading Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins and I learned about Ultra Marathons for the first time.
For those unfamiliar, a normal marathon is 24 miles and the tradition is in honor of the Greek messenger Pheidippides who ran to Athens without stopping, to deliver news of victory after which he collapsed and died.
An ultra marathon on the other hand can go over 100 miles and even an insane 3100 miles.
These distances make Pheidippides’s run look like a breeze to the store.
It blew my mind that this was possible and I wondered how much I’d been undershooting my physical abilities.
Soon after I began training for a marathon.
Running is basically goal setting and actualization embodied.
This is the same process by which you achieve anything in life really.
You set a goal and then you work to attain it. And you either give up or reach this goal.
Running instilled in me an intense awareness of how much in control we are over outcomes in our lives.
I remember so many times while running, my lungs felt stuffed with sawdust and my legs burned like someone was dripping acid on them.
Yet if I made up my mind—that I wouldn’t stop running until I reached the end or died—I would always finish and obviously, I didn’t die.
Running exposed me to the runner’s high. The point at which the pain gives way to euphoria and the feeling of peace.
To run is to be aware of every step and every breath. It is the act of optimizing your body for forward movement in conditions of stress.
You think, “I could binge Netflix while eating a pizza right now.”
But here I am choosing this pain.
Everyone should run because to run you need to know why it is you run.
And to know why you run is also to know why you live.
Most people think that the idea of running a marathon is crazy and an ultra marathon even crazier.
But about 4% of the human population has a serious mental illness.
Whereas less than 0.17% of the population has run a marathon. So in a way running a marathon is 23x rarer than being “crazy”.
It’s something else then.
I think runners know exactly what they want. And in an over-stimulated world, this mindset is rare.
This leads me to…
2. Two kinds of people
There are those with a Descending mindset and those with an Ascending mindset.
People with an Ascending mindset are growth-oriented, open to criticism, life-long learners, aware, connected, self-directed, curious, and creative.
A person with a Descending mindset is closed to new experiences, stressed, unaware, distracted, isolated, hates learning, and follows the crowd.
In a world powered by technology that amplifies our core human tendencies. The divergence between ascending and descending minds will only increase.
You can blur through life with Netflix, YouTube, video games, and porn.
Or you can use the greatest collection of human knowledge to learn, make valuable connections, and create wealth.
Both paths are open.
3. Live in Extremistan
“If you don't aim high, then you aim too low”
In the book Black Swan, Nassim Nicholas Taleb talks about two kinds of realities.
Extremistan Vs Mediocristan
Mediocristan is a reality in which things are bounded by averages and don’t deviate too far from the mean.
For example, height, weight, and age are examples of things in this territory.
The shortest and tallest humans are far apart but not so much so.
The youngest a person can be is 0 and the oldest human is about 115.
There’s divergence but not as much as we’ll see in extremistan.
In Extremistan great deviations from the mean are the norm…wealth, intelligence, books sold, youtube views, and the mass of stars.
For example, the poorest you can be is at $0. But there’s no limit to how rich you can get.
The average author is lucky to sell even 1,000 books.
Whereas J. K. Rowling has sold billions.
Everything falls into one of these two categories.
The more an outcome depends on different variables and especially if these variables compound the more that outcome is likely to be in extremistan.
Given that technology is pulling us deeper into the realms of extremistan.
You should go ahead of this curve and actively place yourself in extremistan territory in as many positive areas as you can.
Find what you’re already great at. Then focus entirely on compounding these abilities.
Become a freak of nature.
A perfect storm.
And to get there though you’ll need to…
4. Know Thyself
Ever since reading the book Principles by Ray Dalio. I've made it a priority to learn as much as possible about my personality.
Hence, I’ve taken a lot of personality tests over the years.
You may think you know yourself pretty well and don’t need a test. Yet just as a character in a movie can’t see obvious pitfalls in their behavior.
There are aspects of your personality that you’re completely unaware are getting in the way of the life you want.
I find personality tests to be like finally putting into words aspects of your personality you felt subconsciously but couldn’t explain.
It’s like getting a dashboard of your attributes like in a video game.
You now have the opportunity to identify weaknesses, correct them, and amplify your strengths.
For example, I did a handwriting analysis that revealed that I’m introverted and creative but that I overlook important details.
Another personality test informed me that I’m dangerously low in practicality.
I can just accept these as quirks of my personality.
Instead, these tests gave me something to reflect on and improve.
How can I be less introverted? How can I be more practical?
Since then I’ve made notable changes to my personality— like reaching out to people more, and asking others for advice—things I’d never ever do because they make me feel extremely uncomfortable.
Yet I do them now.
Your identity is just a story you tell yourself and then try to stay consistent with. You can change this story if you desire.
Here’s a list of the best tests for understanding your personality:
I’ve personally taken each of these and they’ve helped me tremendously.
You should focus on your strongest and weakest attributes. They have the most outsized effect on your life.
Understand that the more resistance you feel to change an aspect of your personality the more critical it is that you do.
Write your story.
Choose the path of Transcendence.
Until next time friend ✌
P.S. Book recommendations
Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggin
Principles by Ray Dalio
Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Change Your Handwriting, Change Your Life by Vimala Rodgers