Becoming Antifragile

Lessons from ‘Sickness Unto Death’ by Søren Kierkegaard.

Søren Kierkegaard (May 5, 1813 - Nov 11, 1855) is the father of existentialism. His work laid the groundwork for later existentialist thinkers. In 'Sickness Unto Death', he argues that your despair arises from your misrelation between the finite and the infinite aspects of ourselves. Despair is not simply an emotion but a true dread beyond dying because you aren't living per your true self. This is worse than sickness unto death. And finally, in the book, he gives his solution to overcoming despair.

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Shownotes

00:00 - Excerpt from ‘Sickness unto death’

04:40 - All suffer from despair

7:35 - Man’s relationship to self

12:55 - Three types of despair for Kierkegaard

15:50 - What is sickness unto death?

19:45 - Harmonize the Infinitude and finitude

24:30 - Don’t be ignorant of your state of mind: the man who lives in a basement

28:14 - Don’t avoid defeating your despair by living a life of distraction

42:00 - The drunkard who loses his legs

43:20 - The role of sin in magnifying your despair

48:27 - Defeat despair by acting out of love and in love

53:35 - Challenge

Lessons from 'Happiness' by Thich Nhat Hanh.

In 'Happiness' Thich Nhat Hanh teaches that by being mindful, we can live in the present and find peace. He provides his key principles and practices to help everyone, whether new or experienced, to live mindfully and enjoy life.

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Shownotes

00:00 - Excerpt from ‘Happiness’ by Thich Nhat Hanh

03:16 - Life of Hanh, becoming a monk, Zen Buddhism

07:44 - Happiness is found in mindfulness

09:14 - Suggestion on how to read ‘Happiness’

11:50 - Our lives are overscheduled so learn how to rest

17:20 - Only this Present moment is real, Krishnamurti’s sunset story

22:00 - Using Gathas to unite body and mind, and doing walking meditations

27:40 - Facing difficulties by finding refuge within yourself

29:50 - How to listen properly & finding community

33:50 - Solitude is a key component for a thriving community

37:00 - Judge yourself strongly, and others lightly

43:45 - Loving yourself, knowing yourself

46:20 - Challenges

Lessons from 'Meditations' by Marcus Aurelius. Aurelius was a Roman Emperor (161 AD - 180AD) and a Stoic philosopher. Meditation is a collection of personal writings during his time as Emperor. He acquired the title Philosopher King during his lifetime.

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Shownotes:

00:00 - Excerpt

02:15 - Marcus Aurelius and Meditations

03:45 - What is Stoicism and the Logos?

07:30 - Predetermined actions and moral responsibility

08:30 - Perception, action, and will

09:18 - Why you are more like a boxer than a fencer

13:05 - Begin each day with gratitude

16:35 - Contemplation on death and perfecting your character

22:40 - Remove selfish thoughts from your mind

28:25 - If you have to travel the world to find yourself, you’re a fool

30:00 - Treat others with real love without care for what others think

33:20 - The difference between sinning out of anger vs. out of pleasure

34:45 - Use your faculty of rationality to build conviction

39:16 - The obstacle is the Way

42:00 - Ambition vs. doing what is right always

45:22 - Challenges

Lessons from 'Bushido: The Soul of Japan' by Inazo Nitobe

In this book, Nitobe breaks down the Bushido ethical system into 11 parts: justice, courage, benevolence, politeness, truthfulness, honor, duty of loyalty, samurai training, self-control, and seppuku.

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Shownotes

00:00 - Excerpt

02:40 - What is Bushido?

07:30 - The Shinto mirror & knowing yourself

09:00 - Don't be a collector of information or else you'll be a rotten vegetable

12:00 - Make knowing and acting one thing

14:30 - Always do what is right & practice true courage

18:25 - Mercy is not a weakness

22:40 - Be polite but speak the truth and keep your word

29:30 - Act honorably and be loyal without sacrificing your conscience

36:55 - Study philosophy and literature for the formation of character

40:00 - Remain composed even in adversity, finding peace

45:00 - Challenge & NEW Patreon

Lessons from 'The Wisdom of the Desert' compiled by Thomas Merton.

Merton compiled 'The Wisdom of the Desert' from the Verba Seniorum or Sayings of the Elders. The Elders refer to the early Christian hermits who lived in solitude in the Egyptian desert. This book contains timeless aphorisms, advice, dialogues, and stories of the experiences of early Christian hermits.

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Show notes

00:00 - Reflections from spending time at a Benedictine Monastery & meeting B and C

09:05 - Excerpt from ‘The Wisdom of the Desert’, who is Thomas Merton

13:10 - The primacy of Love and abandoning the Ego

19:00 - Finding Ultimate Reality in the Silence

21:00 - Why you need to control your tongue and belly

22:40 - Humility is the path to wisdom

25:30 - Apply yourself to silence, and make your life a meditation

27:45 - Embracing death by laughing at it

29:50 - Don’t ask that your struggle be removed, but as for strength

32:15 - What is better, focusing on asceticism or interior life?

34:25 - “Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything”

36:20 - Those who speak, should do; and only those who do, should speak

39:50 - How to love properly

41:15 - Challenge

Lessons from 'The Bhagavad Gita' by Veda Vyasa. The Gita is an essential text within the Mahabharata. It is a dialogue between Lord Krishna and the warrior prince Arjuna, who is conflicted about fighting in the Kurukshetra war. The Gita explores themes of duty, discipline, righteousness, and the nature of reality.

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Lessons from 'A Pocket Mirror for Heroes' by Baltasar Gracián

Baltasar Gracián (1601 - 1658) was a Spanish Jesuit, writer, and philosopher. Nietzsche, Voltaire, Schopenhauer, and more love his writings. Gracián's work continues to influence political and moral philosophy.

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00:00 - excerpt

02:00 - Baltasar Gracian, the polymath

04:45 - We only understand the beauty of life at death

09:00 - To do philosophy well is to meditate on your mortality

11:35 - The only thing you own is your virtue, nothing else

18:00 - Why you need to cultivate contemplation in your life

27:15 - Practical effects of knowing yourself

33:35 - To know happiness you must know sadness

39:50 - Choose your friends and what you do with care

43:00 - Live a heroic life through excellence

45:05 - Challenge

Lessons from 'When Breathe Becomes Air' by Paul Kalanithi

Paul Kalanithia was a neurosurgeon, writer, and a young father. He was completing his residency training in neurological surgery and a postdoctoral fellowship in neuroscience when he was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic lung cancer. He died in March 2015, 22 months after.

'When Breathe Becomes Air' is a memoir and Paul's story of battling lung cancer. It was posthumously published on January 12, 2016

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00:00 - Excerpt

01:46 - We all have a terminal illness, so what then is our call?

03:34 - Who is Paul Kalanithi and why he didn’t want to become a doctor

06:30 - Seeking to answer life’s greatest questions, and learning to understand the “physiological-spiritual” man

09:00 - Surrounded by death becoming a better doctor

12:26 - Neurosurgery must be a calling—it can’t be a job

15:30 - Life is ephemeral. Ask if yourself if you’re ready for death, and then if what you’re doing is something externally or internally motivated

25:16 - “…the culmination of decades of striving, evaporated” What are you going to do with your life?

33:40 - Live each day at a time

38:00 - When you see past the illusion, the most important things become clear

40:20 - Challenge

Lessons from "Leisure: The Basis of Culture" by Josef Pieper.

This book challenges our contemporary work-centric culture and the idea of “total work,” where every aspect of life is dominated by the ethos of work and productivity. Pieper argues that this shift has led to a loss of meaning and a neglect of the liberal arts, which traditionally has been a space for leisure and the cultivation of individual freedom.

Josef Pieper was a professor of philosophy at University of Munster. He was schooled specifically in Greek philosophy and Thomas Aquinas, law and sociology.

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00:00 - Excerpt and background

04:30 - Our work-centric culture vs. leisure

07:10 - Individual freedom comes from leisure

13:30 - When work becomes a religion, leisure makes no sense

16:00 - Hyper-productive state is at odds with enlightenment

19:15 - Servile arts vs. liberal arts

24:30 - Leisure is only possible when you know yourself

33:00 - Crave out a time for leisure

38:00 - Virtues perfect you so that you can act effortlessly

40:10 - Challenge

Lessons from 'Out of Solitude' by Henri J.M. Nouwen.

Henri Nouwen was a Professor of Religion and Theology at Yale University, the University of Notre Dame and Harvard Divinity. He left his academic post to join L’ Arche, a community that helps people with disability.

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Out of Solitude:

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The Power of Silence by Robert Cardinal Sarah:

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Meditation by Marcus Aurelius

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00:00 - Excerpt from ‘Out of Solitude’

05:00 - Fear of the other is the root of all our problems

06:16 - Who is Henri Nouwen?

10:31 - How solitude leads to care

12:00 - Find your lonely place

14:45 - Charity as gratitude vs. Charity for praise

16:40 - Sitting in silence

18:20 - The wise know themself that they don’t require affirmations from others

26:34 - Difference between Isolation and Solitude

31:00 - Darkness meditation

32:30 - Tao’s story of uselessness and why it’s ultimately the most useful

39:00 - What does it mean to be a good friend?

43:15 - To care means to live in the present

50:10 - Challenge