Hello again and welcome to another episode of me sharing someone’s podcast insights. I guess I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts lately. Do you ever feel like podcasts are your actual friends? (Not saying I do. Just wondering).
Anyway, I always love The Tim Ferriss Show, he has great guests, but I have to say, my favorite podcast episodes from him are when he’s just answering questions about what he finds helpful in his own life. Ever since I read his article Harnessing Entrepreneurial Manic Depression: Making The Rollercoaster Work For you, back in 2008, I knew I needed to pay more attention to what was working for him.
Having any level of creative output or “success” as a person who has to spend a large amount of time and energy managing moods or “getting to baseline” is not a task for the faint of heart.
Tim has been very vocal about his struggles (he considers that post to be one of the most important things he’s written), and luckily for us all, he’s also very vocal about what helps him ward off any depressive episodes or dark feelings these days.
Here are 3 things he mentioned in his podcast that help him avoid (or minimize) depression:
1: Fear-Setting.
2: Prevent Overwhelm With This Question
Tim suggests preventing overwhelm (which can lead to helplessness, and then depression) by asking yourself, “What would this look like if it were easy?”
Make sure to check out Tim’s new book Tribe Of Mentors, where he says he covers this concept a lot.
3: So What?
“If you have a given fear, ask yourself ‘so what?’ This is best done, for me at least, in journaling. You write down the consequence that is the answer to ‘so what?’ When you do that 4 or 5 times, and you answer it earnestly, you realize, ‘I’m actually fine.’ So what? Nothing. It’s manageable, or reversable, in many (most) cases.”
Thanks Tim. I hope you guys find those helpful. I think my favorite is #2. What would it look like if this were easy?
Again, listen to the full podcast here.
Love,
Jenny
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