How To Stop Feeling Lost And Uncertain About The Future
The Mastery Letter #10
I know what it feels like to wake up exhausted and unmotivated for the day.
I would get 4-5 hours of sleep, chug coffee and go sit in traffic for an hour.
I would ponder: “how did I end up here?”
“Why is my entire body achy when I’m 25?”
“How much longer can I keep doing this? Is this actually what life is?”
What’s even worse is, traffic was a good part of the day, because my job was so stressful.
Here are some habits & actions I took to reduce my stress and be excited about life and work.
1. Cut out your drinking buddies.
Yeah, this one comes up first because it's the low hanging fruit. Alcohol raises your baseline cortisol, and these people invite you out every few days and "holidays".
You lose momentum every 4-6 days from hangovers and that adds up overtime.
You are the average of the 5 people you hang out with.
Do your friends:
Go to bars as their only hobby?
Obsess over fantasy football and drinking beer?
Play video games 8 hours a day?
Gossip behind her friends backs & clubs every weekend?
She hooks up with a new guy every 2 days?
Constantly negative energy and victim mindset?
All of these friends are ANCHORS. You want SAILS. They will destroy your progress, make bad decisions easier to make, and lead you down a path of stress.
2. Get off your ass
Get outside and walk.
I used to literally roll out of bed, chug coffee and get in the car for an hour drive in traffic. Do not do this.
Nature scientifically reduces stress.
You need sun for vitamin D and setting your circadian rhythm in the morning.
10k steps a day also cuts 500 calories and is a hack. Win-win.
Men should be getting 22k steps a day to mimic our ancestors and women about 14k/day.
8 hours of sitting DELETES a 1-hour workout.
The studies are proving clear, we should NOT be sitting.
Get a standing desk and a mini treadmill if you work from home. Only sit during writing or deep work.
If you have to drive to work, wake up earlier and get at least 3k steps outside and another 7k before sunset.
Trust me.
3. If your job is shit, get a new one
If you are commuting 2 hours a day in traffic, you scientifically never adapt to this stress.
Get mentors, gain new skills, network, take courses, get certifications.
Whatever you need to do, to apply elsewhere for a remote job.
I drove 2 hours a day across DFW for a tech job making 50k/a year.
I know how destructive this on your body.
It was hard at first, I did side projects for a mentor at work and got a difficult certification and applied elsewhere.
I now work from home making 3x that, working half as much with autonomy.
I am so glad I bit the bullet because what I was dealing with was 10x worse than the extra work I did to get out.
If you don’t want to change jobs, move closer to your job.
4. Replace cheap dopamine with good dopamine sources
You only have a finite amount of dopamine per day.
You need to use this to pursue your goals.
Dopamine is linked with testosterone. healthy levels of both make effort feel good.
If you blow dopamine reserves on cheap pleasures, you will not only have no drive to accomplish anything, but you will also feel stressed out and low energy.
Cut these out:
gaming.
eating sugar.
watching the news.
binging social media.
watching big titties on a screen.
Replace with:
a physical hobby.
meal prepping.
a side hustle.
meditating.
lifting.
You will feel the results very quickly if you make this adjustment.
Don’t do them all at once.
Maybe swap one every 2 weeks.
Make sure you are consistent, if you take on too much, you will quit.
5. Practice minimalism
Fewer decisions = more creativity
Avoid material wealth as it complicates your life.
Minimize your wardrobe.
Throw away any useless clutter in your home.
Hyperfocus on things that move the needle.
Invest in assets.
Own nothing.
Simplify everything.
Thanks for reading.