So I started this channel five months ago,
and I've made 33 videos so far.
All with a single purpose:
to enable you to improve your life;
to get closer to living your best possible life.
I made a decision when I started
that I wasn't going to talk about what's happening in the world.
That was for two reasons.
One: that's what absolutely everyone else is talking about.
And I didn't think that adding another voice to the mix
was going to make much of a difference.
Two: every single idea and insight about life that really has value... is timeless.
So, that's why every video up to this point
and probably every video after this
won't say a word about stuff going on in the world.
Right now, I've just got a few things I gotta say.
So here goes.
Life, at the moment, is fucking hard.
It's challenging for every one of us.
And when we face challenges like the ones that are in front of us right now -
something happens to us inside.
Look, we *think* the strife and the conflict is out there -
with the politicians -
and the people whose opinions we can't begin to understand or relate to -
We go online, we look at these people,
and we shake our heads...
and we say "what. the. fuck. ?"
"How could these people actually believe what they believe?"
"What is wrong with them?"
But then *they* go online, and they look at us,
and they say the same thing.
And we all think that we're fighting against what's out there.
Whether it's a virus -
or political ideas we disagree with -
or people doing things that offend us -
or things that get us really pissed off -
or scared.
[I mean, if we're pissed off, that means we're scared...]
We look at the economy -
for a lot of us, we look at our own personal finances right now -
and we think 'holy fuck where is this going?'
Well, the problem is...
...that all the noise out there
scares the shit out of us...
It makes us feel like we're in serious danger -
maybe rightly so...
But the danger activates our monkey mind -
a part of us that hasn't evolved in the last 2 million years.
And our thinking mind doesn't have a chance when it goes up against the monkey.
Everything inside us gets hijacked -
and it heads in a direction
that's not good for us.
Look, here's where it takes us:
Our monkey mind says
"things out there are *bad*...
We gotta go somewhere safe and comfortable and lay low."
For nearly everyone watching this video -
our basic needs are met.
We have food, we have shelter -
we have clean water - clothing...
the big stuff is covered.
AND THOSE THINGS ARE ALL OUR MONKEY MIND CARES ABOUT!!
((Well- those things *and sex*...))
So the monkey in here says
"we're good.
We just gotta get comfortable and burn as few calories as possible."
Well, two million years ago, that made a lot of sense.
Look, if it felt like the world was ending outside the cave,
and we had plenty of food inside the fridge in the cave...
getting comfortable and chilling was a damn good plan of action.
But these 2-million-year-old monkeys inside us are still running the show.
The amazing thing is -
Our thinking minds -
the part that has evolved -our neocortex-
which is 75% of our brain -
- knows that the monkey's wrong.
But it's fucking hard to argue with a monkey!
And here's what the monkey has us do -
First of all, he says
"You gotta pay a ton of attention to what's going on out there -
You gotta look at shit online, watch the news,
see what crazy people on Twitter are sayin'..."
"That monkey may be 2 million years old, but he ain't stupid"
He knows exactly what he's doing...
As long as he keeps us all shaken up inside...
he stays in control.
Alright... I have this friend,
who takes a lot of pride in being super well informed about the pandemic.
He reads every kind of article.
He watches every kind news channel -
the good kind and the bad kind —
[Look, No matter which side we're on...
we think the other guys are the bad guys...
That's monkey logic!]
And this dude, he spends hours each day soaking in all of this noise,
You know, he *thinks* he's doing it so...
he'll have all the facts and that'll somehow empower him -
to make better decisions -
to do the right thing for himself and his family...
But he doesn't know that the monkey's making him do all that...
...because the monkey has a plan...
As long as this dude is panicked by all that crap he's taking in -
which is unavoidable -
I mean, you can't watch and read all that not start to panic —
the panic keeps the monkey in charge.
It pulls the plug on 75% of our brain;
We go into... emergency power-saver mode.
But our thinking brain is still there -
and it's trying to raise its hand - and say...
"uhhhh I don't know if this is so good for us..."
But we got a screaming monkey between our ears,
and it's drowning out that voice.
So pretty soon, we get tired...
All that panic drains the life force out of us...
So - the monkey...
>
So the monkey says, "Hey, let's relax... get comfortable."
And, of course, we listen to the monkey...
And we settle in for a night of Netflix.
By the way, It totally makes sense that the most popular show on Netflix right now...
is about a bunch of superheroes trying to save us from the end of the world...
It's the perfect fantasy for this moment in time.
I mean, you know Netflix knew what they were doing with that...
So - you sit there on the couch - binge watching Umbrella Academy -
maybe checking in on Instagram every few minutes -
And you say to yourself
"I know I shouldn't order this pizza,
but the way things are right now...
well, I just really want to"
And so you get double cheese, double pepperoni, double pineapple,
you call it a cheat night -
even though you've had like 20 of those this month.
And that monkey - is fucking happy.
You add some sex to the mix,
and the monkey has a hundred percent of what he wants from life.
But the monkey is a tiny part of our brain way deep inside -
and it's not the part that makes us happy — or fulfilled.
Meanwhile...
The smart part of our brain -
The neocortex -
Is a fucking supercomputer -
is way more powerful than any actual computer that exists.
I can see what's going on.
So it tries to raise its hand again -
And it tries to say
"HEY - all this pizza and Netflix and Twitter and cable news...
It's fucking us up!"
WELL - I don't know if you ever heard a screaming monkey, live up close...
I went to a monkey forest in Indonesia once -
where they sell you a bunch of baby bananas on the way in...
And they're fucking loud -
So.. for a lot of us -
we don't even fight this war inside...
we just give in to the monkey.
Alright, I see you -
shaking your head -
saying "Nah, I ain't got no monkey inside...
I'm in total control."
ARE YOU?
Really - stare at yourself in the mirror -
And ask yourself,
"What I'm filling my days and nights with right now - is that good for me?
Is that giving me happiness and fulfillment and inner peace?"
But you're gonna something like -
"With the way things are right now,
how am I supposed to be happy? Or peaceful?
I actually think I'm doing pretty damn good... considering."
All right. If you wanna wave the white flag and
totally give up on this battle for your life -
Fine.
BUT IF YOU DON'T -
Here's what you do.
You wait for a time when that monkey's asleep -
And remember they sleep a lot -
A really good time would be early in the morning,
before anyone else gets up -
ideally before the sun comes up -
You go sit somewhere quiet you ask yourself -
"What am I doin' that's not working for me right now?"
You gotta be brutally honest with yourself -
Look, you got 16 hours you're awake every day.
That's about a thousand minutes.
Where are all those minutes going?
How many of them go to things that make you feel worse?
Things you're feeding your mind -
and your body.
Look -
You're smart.
You're 2 million years smarter than that fucking monkey.
And you know what you could change to make life better today -
and to create a better life in the future.
You already know the things you could be doing every day - but you're not doing.
And you already know the things you are doing that might be giving you some pleasure
or comfort in the moment -
But they're not worth price.
The solution ... is SO SIMPLE -
You sit there in your quiet place,
and you WRITE ALL THIS SHIT DOWN.
And you decide, right there, before you go anywhere -
What are you gonna do about it?
Are you gonna be nice to yourself,
or are you going to let that monkey keep screwing things up?
Now, look, I didn't say it's going to be easy.
I said it's simple.
Once you write all this down,
that is a declaration of war against that monkey.
You know - monkeys rip people's faces off.
They're not gentle creatures.
But you can see what's at stake.
This is about your happiness
Your sanity.
Your health.
Your entire life.
And the lives of everyone you care about.
So you -
are - gonna - make - a - promise - to - yourself -
that you're going to change things,
RIGHT NOW
That you're going to quit feeding the monkey crap that keeps them in control -
The social media, the news, the people you listen to who you know you shouldn't listen to...
And you're going to feed your body what gives it power -
rather than feeding it crap that slows it down.
You're going to do all the things that you already know make you happier,
make you a better human being -
Whether it's going for run every day or yoga or meditating
or taking a cold shower every morning -
or all those things - you're gonna do it
Because you have compassion for yourself.
And you know -
Just because the world around you is in crisis -
That doesn't mean you need to have a crisis raging inside you.
You can decide RIGHT NOW -
before this video is over -
you're gonna turn this around.
That you're gonna do what YOU ALREADY KNOW YOU'VE GOT TO DO.
Because you know you deserve a better life than you're living right now.
It doesn't fucking matter that everyone out there is freaking out -
You can be happy and peaceful inside.
Just by making the decision to do whatever it takes to make that happen.
And your deadline for making that decision...
is ... RIGHT NOW!
