Brian JohnsonChairman & Philosopher in Residence at Heroic

Making recovery into a game.

11 Jul 2023 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:55

Brian Johnson uses an aikido anecdote to introduce the idea of treating recovery and equanimity as a game: everyone loses their center, but the skill is how quickly you recover. He frames resilient recovery as a practiced habit—expecting setbacks ("I'm the golfer that expects five bad shots"), not wasting bad days, and focusing on the next action as the practical method for regaining composure and performance.

Chapters

The founder of aikido. He's a master. You know, he's this beautiful, elegant, graceful martial artist. And his student said, you're unbelievable. You never lose your center. And he says, no, no, no. I lose my center all the time. But I just have learned how to recover it as quickly as I can. It's the Marcus Aurelius Equanimity game. You will get knocked off. The question is, how fast can you get back on? And can you make that a game? And can you remember that the most creative act of your life is to notice when you're off and get back on? And again, you're never going to be perfect at that. And I don't waste bad days. I don't waste times. When I fel short, I expect them to happen. I'm the golfer that expects five bad shots around, so I'm not surprised. When I feel overwhelmed or anxious or not on, I know that's going to happen. I have the wisdom to know that that's part of the process. I'm no longer an amateur. I'm a professional. And I've got the wisdom to know what can help me navigate that quickly. For the golfer, what is it? And for you, what is it? It's to focus on the next shot.