Bro, what a top post. Lately you are killing it! Really love the insights. Question: Do women benefit from testosterone increase in order to become does or "action" oriented people or is there another pathway that would fit better with the female hormonal make up?
Yes, sir. Indeed you are right. And your skills of research are as sharp as usual. But... how come researched and scientific information is not enough to create change in human beings? How come learning about doing things doesn't automatically create deep, consistent change in our lives?
There will be people who, just by reading this, something will click, and they will get instantaneusly changed by it. Yet, others will understand the information, but no click there. They will keep researching.
I think the solution to this problem is actually to see it as it is without wanting to change.
So, you gotta write some work but Death Stranding is way too good. So there the mind goes:"You are wasting your time" "You got things pending" "Loser" or whatever mind dialogue we have and we anxiously force us to sit and do the thing (In the process not even enjoying the game), and then, as other options are out of reach the mind finally focuses on the task. It would rather do that than being bored. So every day we have this struggle. Brute force everything, there is resistance, because we have wants and we have anxieties and so on.
But what happens if you do nothing instead? You don't play. But you don't work either. And you manage to relax your intentions to do either. So you observe intently what is going on. As you don't do either way, the feelings intensify and you start relating to them on a deep level creating insight over time.
So then, you come to this post, you read it and you have a click, like a flower waiting to bloom or, even without it: That we are not our wants. And when you have that insight, it fills you so completely that it changes you, and you no longer wait for wanting to come. You go through without it.
Right, sir. And being present in total acceptance. I believe therapy works to an extent because when talking about something there is some acceptance involved. But not enough awareness to let it grow to it's outmost transformative potential. Once you have the insight that "control" and "ego" is just the conservation of the old, then the whole game feels incredibly childish.
but maybe just-prior-to-implosion Shia LaBeouf isn’t the best spokesperson for your proposed lifestyle intervention?
Humor me with a couple of quick questions to see if we can flesh out your hypotheses here,
Could “therapy” in formats more suited to manly men be beneficial?
You’ve mentioned that you’ve spent hundreds of hours meditating, do you think that had “therapeutic” value for a manly man like yourself?
How about MBCT?
How about evidence based “talk therapy” approaches in more “shoulder to shoulder”formats?
“It is often better to deduce the nature of our hidden minds by looking outward at our behavior and how others react to us, and coming up with a good narrative.”
N of 1, but I can assure you that this approach would’ve been entirely fucking useless in my personal case, even taking my testosterone status into account.
The one thing that helped break a decades long cycle of seemingly inexplicable procrastination was working through a “therapy” workbook by myself.
Wall to wall evidence backed“talk therapy” techniques, just in a workbook format rather than in person.
It was a bit of IFS stuff which helped me to notice some bullshit “trauma” (you triggered bro?) that I had internalized as a kid. It was bullshit, but that completely inobvious subconscious bullshit was absolutely behind my NEXT LEVEL procrastination.
A few days of diving a bit deeper and I’m good now.
Just do it.
—Shia LaBeouf
Absolutely didn’t, and couldn’t help me before I dealt with some bullshit childhood“trauma”.
On increased T for disregulated folks,
In the prison population of the United States for example, what percentage of the inmates do you think had high testosterone when they committed the crimes that got them incarcerated? (Statistically speaking mostly disregulated young men with high ACE scores)
At the time of the precipitating incident would having higher testosterone helped or hindered them?
How about a couple of sessions of something like CBT or IFS presented to them in a way that resonates with young men?
Is higher testosterone an unalloyed good?
Is throwing all varieties and modulations of evidence backed cognitive interventions out with the bathwater of eternal pity parties really going to improve mental health on a population scale, or are you about to synthesize some novel ways to integrate the best parts of evidence backed talk therapy and Shia LeBeouf?
I thought that including Shia LaBeouf was an irony? Cause when I accidentally looked at how he lives and what he preaches, I really don't associate him with Joseph Everett, to be honest :) Forget about one quote from Shia who didn't write the other things.
You bring up tangential points and not direct contradictions (as you, I think, see them?). It describes a mechanism. There's even a small paragraph reminding that there are caveats if you dig deeper. So you describe other things that worked. Well... now I see that the title or the article says "there's only one way" -- yeah, that's maybe unfortunate.
And, to mention the combative tone, it's hard for me to reconcile "Respect you bro" and "(you triggered bro?)".
I'll look at the workbook, that sounds interesting.
"Evidence based" really starts to create a sore in my mouth, though, cause it's used as a trump card by people who never ever looked at it or know how to interpret it. In no way saying that you're amonst them, I'm just saying that it doesn't sound... powerful anymore on its own. See what I'm saying?
Also happen to believe that body comes first, "mind" second. Really not a distant second, but second nonetheless. (Yeah yeah, we can say that brain is body, so mind is body and there's nothing that is separate. But I mean the approach and the action side of it.) So I'd rather start with understanding my health, cause that what gave me sufficient "ammunition" or "fuel" (IRL) to execute anything we're discussing in the realm of analysis, therapy, etc. Just even "the deciding power", I didn't possess as much. I just couldn't do it when I wasn't baseline-ok-energetic. Now, it feels completely different.
I appreciate your feedback, and I agree with you on basically every point you brought up.
I agree that the Shia LeBeouf quote was probably intended to be humorous, as was my response to it and the “bro”s, but I think that from these examples alone we can probably agree that irony is difficult to communicate in text ; )
I also agree with you that some of the points I brought up were tangential to the focus of this particular article. I was trying to add a slightly different perspective to the broader hypotheses that I think Joseph has been exploring recently.
As far as “evidence based therapy” goes, I hope that it’s actually a useful stipulation to make around psychotherapeutic interventions. For example CBT has a robust evidence base in even short interventions as opposed to some of the old-school “never ending rumination rocket fuel” stuff like Freudian psychoanalysis., the latter of which is what I think Joseph has been reacting to recently.
I also agree with you that the brain is part of the body, and the mind is what the brain does, so bodily health is essential and fundamental to the health of the mind. Testosterone included.
I’m just trying to check in with Joseph to see if he might be throwing evidence backed and useful psychotherapeutic interventions out with the bathwater of appeal-to-authority based bullshit.
Like I mentioned, I respect Joseph’s thought processes and investigations, I just wanted to say hi and bring up the point that GOOD therapeutic practices can be useful for us Bros too ; )
love the mention of a possible ADHD + testosterone link…overall would love to hear your thoughts on modern ADHD and potential dopamine desensitization.
1) Love this, as I usually love and empathize with your way of organizing data and coming to conclusions yourself. Also feels refreshingly simple, but puts the responsibility on you. Already sent it to a couple of friends.
2) If I'm not mistaken (I'm not a native speaker, easy to make a mistake), there are some typos in section 5 "Testosterone and Procrastination". a) "dosing men with testosterone helped them be less swayed by distracted" - by distractions? b) "However, this association “when testosterone" - something missing there in this sentence, like an "is", no?
Thanks a lot for your work and a clear mind, love what you did with your tendency to analyze and compartmentalize. We spoke way back before you blew up and discussed video bg music. So what I'm saying is that I'm happy that other people are listening to you, too. :)
Niel Fiore gives some excellent advice in his book "The Now Habit". One is limiting the time you're allowed to work on a project you chronically procrastinate. After a couple of days, you not only look forward to those work sessions, but you're also becoming incredible efficient and focused during those sessions. And you also notice how much guilt-free time off you get. To get started, divide the allotted work time into segments of ~15 minutes, during which you apply the Pomodoro Technique.
Shia LaBeouf was right all along
Best comment xd
Delectable post. Concise, explorative, self-sceptical and actionable. Thank you!
Bro, what a top post. Lately you are killing it! Really love the insights. Question: Do women benefit from testosterone increase in order to become does or "action" oriented people or is there another pathway that would fit better with the female hormonal make up?
Yes, sir. Indeed you are right. And your skills of research are as sharp as usual. But... how come researched and scientific information is not enough to create change in human beings? How come learning about doing things doesn't automatically create deep, consistent change in our lives?
There will be people who, just by reading this, something will click, and they will get instantaneusly changed by it. Yet, others will understand the information, but no click there. They will keep researching.
I think the solution to this problem is actually to see it as it is without wanting to change.
So, you gotta write some work but Death Stranding is way too good. So there the mind goes:"You are wasting your time" "You got things pending" "Loser" or whatever mind dialogue we have and we anxiously force us to sit and do the thing (In the process not even enjoying the game), and then, as other options are out of reach the mind finally focuses on the task. It would rather do that than being bored. So every day we have this struggle. Brute force everything, there is resistance, because we have wants and we have anxieties and so on.
But what happens if you do nothing instead? You don't play. But you don't work either. And you manage to relax your intentions to do either. So you observe intently what is going on. As you don't do either way, the feelings intensify and you start relating to them on a deep level creating insight over time.
So then, you come to this post, you read it and you have a click, like a flower waiting to bloom or, even without it: That we are not our wants. And when you have that insight, it fills you so completely that it changes you, and you no longer wait for wanting to come. You go through without it.
Being present in the moment is always the answer to any human psychology issues
I once proudly coined a paradox.
It goes like this:
"Every generalization is bullshit."
Get it?
Which also Includes your quote, amigo 😂
Which is exactly why it's called a paradox.
I call it the First Anikin's Paradox (after my surname). Very proud of it. xD
Ok. I like it hehe
Right, sir. And being present in total acceptance. I believe therapy works to an extent because when talking about something there is some acceptance involved. But not enough awareness to let it grow to it's outmost transformative potential. Once you have the insight that "control" and "ego" is just the conservation of the old, then the whole game feels incredibly childish.
Respect you bro,
but maybe just-prior-to-implosion Shia LaBeouf isn’t the best spokesperson for your proposed lifestyle intervention?
Humor me with a couple of quick questions to see if we can flesh out your hypotheses here,
Could “therapy” in formats more suited to manly men be beneficial?
You’ve mentioned that you’ve spent hundreds of hours meditating, do you think that had “therapeutic” value for a manly man like yourself?
How about MBCT?
How about evidence based “talk therapy” approaches in more “shoulder to shoulder”formats?
“It is often better to deduce the nature of our hidden minds by looking outward at our behavior and how others react to us, and coming up with a good narrative.”
N of 1, but I can assure you that this approach would’ve been entirely fucking useless in my personal case, even taking my testosterone status into account.
The one thing that helped break a decades long cycle of seemingly inexplicable procrastination was working through a “therapy” workbook by myself.
https://www.amazon.co.jp/Getting-Unstuck-Workbook-Practical-Overcoming/dp/0593713214
Wall to wall evidence backed“talk therapy” techniques, just in a workbook format rather than in person.
It was a bit of IFS stuff which helped me to notice some bullshit “trauma” (you triggered bro?) that I had internalized as a kid. It was bullshit, but that completely inobvious subconscious bullshit was absolutely behind my NEXT LEVEL procrastination.
A few days of diving a bit deeper and I’m good now.
Just do it.
—Shia LaBeouf
Absolutely didn’t, and couldn’t help me before I dealt with some bullshit childhood“trauma”.
On increased T for disregulated folks,
In the prison population of the United States for example, what percentage of the inmates do you think had high testosterone when they committed the crimes that got them incarcerated? (Statistically speaking mostly disregulated young men with high ACE scores)
At the time of the precipitating incident would having higher testosterone helped or hindered them?
How about a couple of sessions of something like CBT or IFS presented to them in a way that resonates with young men?
Is higher testosterone an unalloyed good?
Is throwing all varieties and modulations of evidence backed cognitive interventions out with the bathwater of eternal pity parties really going to improve mental health on a population scale, or are you about to synthesize some novel ways to integrate the best parts of evidence backed talk therapy and Shia LeBeouf?
I thought that including Shia LaBeouf was an irony? Cause when I accidentally looked at how he lives and what he preaches, I really don't associate him with Joseph Everett, to be honest :) Forget about one quote from Shia who didn't write the other things.
You bring up tangential points and not direct contradictions (as you, I think, see them?). It describes a mechanism. There's even a small paragraph reminding that there are caveats if you dig deeper. So you describe other things that worked. Well... now I see that the title or the article says "there's only one way" -- yeah, that's maybe unfortunate.
And, to mention the combative tone, it's hard for me to reconcile "Respect you bro" and "(you triggered bro?)".
I'll look at the workbook, that sounds interesting.
"Evidence based" really starts to create a sore in my mouth, though, cause it's used as a trump card by people who never ever looked at it or know how to interpret it. In no way saying that you're amonst them, I'm just saying that it doesn't sound... powerful anymore on its own. See what I'm saying?
Also happen to believe that body comes first, "mind" second. Really not a distant second, but second nonetheless. (Yeah yeah, we can say that brain is body, so mind is body and there's nothing that is separate. But I mean the approach and the action side of it.) So I'd rather start with understanding my health, cause that what gave me sufficient "ammunition" or "fuel" (IRL) to execute anything we're discussing in the realm of analysis, therapy, etc. Just even "the deciding power", I didn't possess as much. I just couldn't do it when I wasn't baseline-ok-energetic. Now, it feels completely different.
Hiya Segey
I appreciate your feedback, and I agree with you on basically every point you brought up.
I agree that the Shia LeBeouf quote was probably intended to be humorous, as was my response to it and the “bro”s, but I think that from these examples alone we can probably agree that irony is difficult to communicate in text ; )
I also agree with you that some of the points I brought up were tangential to the focus of this particular article. I was trying to add a slightly different perspective to the broader hypotheses that I think Joseph has been exploring recently.
As far as “evidence based therapy” goes, I hope that it’s actually a useful stipulation to make around psychotherapeutic interventions. For example CBT has a robust evidence base in even short interventions as opposed to some of the old-school “never ending rumination rocket fuel” stuff like Freudian psychoanalysis., the latter of which is what I think Joseph has been reacting to recently.
I also agree with you that the brain is part of the body, and the mind is what the brain does, so bodily health is essential and fundamental to the health of the mind. Testosterone included.
I’m just trying to check in with Joseph to see if he might be throwing evidence backed and useful psychotherapeutic interventions out with the bathwater of appeal-to-authority based bullshit.
Like I mentioned, I respect Joseph’s thought processes and investigations, I just wanted to say hi and bring up the point that GOOD therapeutic practices can be useful for us Bros too ; )
love the mention of a possible ADHD + testosterone link…overall would love to hear your thoughts on modern ADHD and potential dopamine desensitization.
Death Stranding 2 is a masterpiece. Do you still live in Japan?
1) Love this, as I usually love and empathize with your way of organizing data and coming to conclusions yourself. Also feels refreshingly simple, but puts the responsibility on you. Already sent it to a couple of friends.
2) If I'm not mistaken (I'm not a native speaker, easy to make a mistake), there are some typos in section 5 "Testosterone and Procrastination". a) "dosing men with testosterone helped them be less swayed by distracted" - by distractions? b) "However, this association “when testosterone" - something missing there in this sentence, like an "is", no?
Thanks a lot for your work and a clear mind, love what you did with your tendency to analyze and compartmentalize. We spoke way back before you blew up and discussed video bg music. So what I'm saying is that I'm happy that other people are listening to you, too. :)
Niel Fiore gives some excellent advice in his book "The Now Habit". One is limiting the time you're allowed to work on a project you chronically procrastinate. After a couple of days, you not only look forward to those work sessions, but you're also becoming incredible efficient and focused during those sessions. And you also notice how much guilt-free time off you get. To get started, divide the allotted work time into segments of ~15 minutes, during which you apply the Pomodoro Technique.