On Cosmopolitan Life, The "Lone-Ranger" Myth, and Dismantling Manipulation
man... I love writing this digest
Hey, it's the Jona Digest.
Rundown of Today:
My struggle: Cosmopolitan life
Hard truth: The "lone ranger" is a myth
Non-fiction book: The Status Game by Will Storr
Fiction book: Dune: Messiah by Frank Herbert
Tool: Co-working
I'm sending you this digest 1 week later because I made a small move to Austin, TX, for the summer. I'm getting to learn a load of wisdom about YouTube from some great guys here, so that will improve my videos dramatically for you!
Cosmopolitan Life Lessons
Traveling to Austin was a move of 7 time zones for me, and though I'm usually firm about my routines, this messed things up for a few days. So here are 2 cosmopolitan life lessons I've learned from living in a different country every few months since I was 16 years old.
Don't Judge Yourself For Being Unproductive 2 Days Before & After Travelling
I try to work intensely. Pretty much constantly.
But if there are days on which I simply don't get shit done, it's the ones right before and after a big move. They create a cognitive minefield that is the antithesis of deep work:
Hundreds of tiny micro tasks need to get done: from making sure you packed every last thing, to printing documents, to checking in online, or doing a last load of laundry...
We know from the literature that intense focus thrives on singular, difficult tasks rather than loads of shallow ones.
Time zone shifts mess up your sleep habits.
Cortisol is elevated because of the chaos travel often brings with it.
The first few times this happened to me, I blamed myself for being unable to grit through it and work anyway. But as it kept on happening again and again, I experimented with being kinder to myself around those days. It's okay that you'll only do shallow tasks for a few days, it hasn't killed me yet at least;)
Get 2-3 great nights of perfect sleep and allow your brain to adjust to your new surroundings.
Airplane Nutrition + Hydration Is Garbage
Nutrition is the first problem. You'll get sugar-loaded processed stuff placed on your tiny flip-out tables, especially in the USA. That'll increase your inflammation and make you feel more exhausted than you already will. If you don't feel like cooking just hit a grocery store the day before your travel and grab some raw nuts, protein bars, and fruits. Your gut will be thankful.
But the even bigger problem I see especially on flights is hydration. The humidity on airplanes is incredibly low, and if you get lucky, you'll be served 3x200ml (7floz) of water on a 9-hour flight.
That. Is. Not. Enough.
And even worse if you opt for alcohol or sugary drinks. Please get yourself at least 1L of water for your flights so you can have roughly 150-200ml per hour. Being hydrated on a long journey is one of the best ways I have found to reduce my tiredness from traveling.
The "Lone Ranger" Myth
The idea is intoxicating.
"You against the world. You don't need anybody. Loneliness is the price of success."
However, history's greats were NEVER the lone cause of their success. While we think of Thomas Edison when asking who invented the light bulb, we fail to realize that he had a massive team of brilliant engineers working under him who actually did the work. The idea of the crazy genius changing the world from their garage just tickles our brains a little better.
I've made the (admittedly too late) discovery that almost any work I do quadruples in enjoyment if I do it in the presence of another person. Even if it's work that I do by myself like writing.
The mere presence of a friend and a few small discussions breaks here and there allow me to actually take joy in working on a tough task for 10 hours straight.
Co-Work With A Friend
So my tool for you is to shoot some of your most ambitious friends a message asking them if they want to meet up or hop on a Zoom call and work together. If you have no one in mind who'd want to co-work, feel free to use this post's comment section to make new friends!
Jona's Library
Non-Fiction: The Status Game by Will Storr
If you can recognize this type of emotional manipulation I think you'll become a more sophisticated consumer of information than 99% of people today. Tyrants throughout history and many a "content creator" today use the same simple sequence to drag the primitive side of your brain over to their side:
Tell you that you are currently not getting as much status as "you actually deserve."
Make clear that it's not your fault but the wrongdoings of your common enemy e.g.: the left, the right, big organizations, taxes, another religion, men, women, trans people, straight people, white people, black people.
Offer you a utopian future of status and prosperity if you side with them to take action against your common enemy.
The last step is the way they claim right to your: vote, money, attention, AND emotional health by hyper-stimulating your amygdala. Pay attention to this pattern in YouTube scripts or political speeches, and you'll dismantle weak propositions quicker than you can say "manipulation."
Fiction: Dune: Messiah by Frank Herbert
I am just getting into this book, so I'll give you a reminder about the power of reading fiction instead of an interpretation.
Reading fiction reduces your stress levels by 68% in 5 minutes.
Give it a shot before sleeping ;)
Life Snapshot
Where
I traveled from Berlin to Austin, TX, and will be here until late August. For those of you who have been to India, stepping out of the Airport here reminded me a lot of stepping out of the Mumbai airport during Monsoon. Very hot. Very humid.
What
I'm helping a guy you most likely know, if you read blogs like this, grow his podcast. I'll learn as much as possible from him about how to make the channel the best it can be for you!
With who?
I'm co-working with a great friend, Devansh, almost every day. Thank you for the good times Ji.
One of my best friends from Austria visited me in Berlin 2 weeks ago, cheers Emil!
Much love,
Jona