Dr. Aziz argues that being less filtered makes you more energized and alive. He points to how children play unselfconsciously, like pretending to be ninjas, and suggests trying to be just 5% less filtered as an experiment in reclaiming that freedom.
Check this out. He's a ninja, obviously. Have you seen this? The sword? And you got a little snippet of that. But kids playing, you know when kids are playing, especially that age, they're what, six, seven, eight years old, they're just like, I'm a ninja. And now you do this. And then we killed this guy. Oh yeah. Well, now I'm the bad guy. And they're just all over the place, they're just saying whatever comes to their mind. You ever watch improv? You know, a lot of my clients that I work with in my Mastermind program, it's kind of a semi regular thing where sometime during the year long program that I'm, that I'm running, in addition, they want to go do some improv class. It's a, it's a common thing. Maybe, I don't know, a third of the people ended up going into the Mastermind, end up wanting to do some improv thing. And the reason they're drawn to it is because they want to be more expressive and they want to be more free and they want to say things more and they want to be more like when they were a kid and you can see when little kids are playing, there's not a filter going on saying, should I say I'm a ninja or not? Is that okay? What if other people don't like that I'm the ninja and I shouldn't say that. You know, it is just boom, idea, expression, idea, expression. There's a spontaneity, there's a freedom, there's a sharing. You can do that, you're allowed to do that. It is acceptable to do that. It is valuable to do that. It is a gift to others when you do that, when you share, when you express, when you say what comes to your mind, what's going through, you just, it is a value. And I see so many people are like, oh, but is it interesting? And are they going to like it? And I don't know how much I should share about this. And that way of being is just that it's so draining. It's so much more energizing to be like that. But what if they don't like it? Well, I don't know. You just keep saying, you say something else and you say something else and you talk to somebody else and you ask a different question of a different person and you just keep showing up that way and you're way more energized, right? When you're unfiltered, when you're just sharing freely, aren't you way more energized. And then because you're more energized, you are more interesting. People are more engaged with what you're saying. And sometimes someone might not like it, but that's okay, because there's another person and then there's another person. And you keep showing up as you. You keep being expressive, you keep being alive. You keep being dynamic and spontaneous and unfiltered and raw and passionate and people. You're gonna have plenty of people that want to be friends with you, plenty of people that want to spend time with you, plenty of people that love you because you're being you. So if you're wondering, well, how do I access? How do I access that? Just think back to then. Can you remember what it was like when you were 6 years old or 7 or 5? Like a moment where you were free, a moment where you were just expressive and alive and laughing. Things you used to love to do as a kid. There's the ninja. He's back. So awaken that inner child with you. Just play with it today. Say, how can I be 5% more free, 5% less filtered, 5% more expressive? And just play with it, experiment with it. And there's that. You. You'll have a thought that'll go through your mind to something you could say. And then normally you're like, I don't know, just say it. You have an impulse to. To do something, to move towards someone, to shake someone's hand, to give them a pat on the back, to make a joke. Just do it. Oh, but I don't know, override the. The hesitation and just do it. And then pretty soon it just becomes a way of being, a way of life, a way, you know, you being you. And it truly is. It's you coming back to this really beautiful state of you being in your essence. That really is a gift. Gift to you and gift to others. All right. Thanks for being with me today. Until we speak again, may I have the courage to be who you are and to know on a deep level that you're awesome.
