Brian Johnson uses a rubber band stretched between where you are and where you want to be to explain dynamic tension, the productive discomfort that drives progress. He suggests clarifying one big goal, taking a small step today, and loving your current life while you work toward it.
Questions this episode answers
Optimize with Bryan Johnson (intro: 'You're listening to Optimize with Bryan Johnson.')
A Philosopher's Notes (mini-chapter read by Brian Johnson).
The Power of Ted by David Emeralds ('I love the book so much I bought 25 for Christmas presents one year.').
25 copies ('I bought 25 for Christmas presents one year.').
You're listening to Optimize with Bryan Johnson. More Wisdom in Less Time this is a mini chapter from Brian's book A Philosopher's Notes. You can find it on Amazon.
Rubber Bands and your Ideals Grab a rubber band, stretch it between the pointer fingers of your left and right hands. If you need to imagine it, it's fine. So you feel that tension. Let's imagine that your left hand is your current reality and your right hand stretching away from the left is your ideal. That tension is called dynamic tension. It's a good thing, but most people don't like that feeling. It's a little uncomfortable. Way too often we do everything we can to escape that dynamic tension. We quit dreaming and pull our ideals back. Or we manically chase after insane goals and then collapse. Or we numb ourselves with another beer or another glass of wine or another hour of TV or another hour online. Those are not good things. But what we want to do is to be honest about and love where we're at. Get giddy about our goals, and hold the tension as we joyfully take the next baby step in the direction of our dreams. And then the next step and the next step and the next and the next. Diligently, patiently, persistently and playfully. And sure enough, we're moving toward our ideal. And our ideal is moving toward us. And life feels splendorific. That's the technical description. So how are you doing with your rubber bands and your ideals? Do you have a clear vision of your ideal? Are you loving where you're at? Taking baby steps in the direction of your dreams? Let's get practical. What's your most important goal and what step can you take right now in its direction? My number one goal is really feel into that. What's your number one goal right now, and what's a little baby step you can take right now in the direction of that goal? Moving toward your ideal as you hold the dynamic tension between that ideal and your current reality. And now is always a good time for that next step. So if you want to press pause and come back to this later, we will be here. Little footnote before we wrap up this chapter, this is another great idea from David Emeralds, the power of Ted. I love the book so much I bought 25 for Christmas presents one year. Highly recommend it.
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