On the Nature of Time
Welcome to the Cutting Room Floor, a newsletter where I round up all my personal finance articles, put out exclusive content and interviews, and flag my favorite job listings from around LinkedIn.
Without giving away how old I am ... let's just say I've been thinking a lot about time lately.
As a concept it's too much for our limited brains to handle. Behind us is the past we can't do anything about, in front of us is a future that hasn't happened yet, and so here we sit on the knife's edge of the present, which is all we really have.
And our perception of it changes. As a kid, you think you have all the time of the world, and it seems like a year lasts forever. As an adult, years pass in about five seconds -- especially once you have kids of your own.
My point is that time is a currency and a resource, probably the most precious one we have. Ask a billionaire on his deathbed if he would trade every penny he has for one more year of existence, even one more day, and he would most likely say yes.
Since it's so precious, we should all be using our time much better. Which brings us to my new Reuters column, for which I talk to 谷歌 's very own productivity expert, Laura Mae Martin .
Her new book "Uptime" gives us practical strategies for how to be thoughtful about this curious thing called time -- what to do, when to do it, where to do it, and how to do it well.
(Hint: You're probably thinking about 'productivity' all wrong.)
Even if it only helps you design your days 1% or 2% better -- compound that over decades, and we're talking about real life-changing impact.
Check out that article here:
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How Free Are You? (Not Really)
Q&A with Author Emma Sepp?l?
We all like to think of ourselves as free and sovereign people -- in our thinking, our feelings, our behavior.
But are we really?
Just look at that smartphone in your pocket. Is your daily usage really about your own thoughtful decisions -- or are you being nudged into addictive behaviors, by very smart and highly-paid engineers who are creating algorithms to keep you hooked?
Yeah, that's what I thought.
The first step is recognizing where we are being truly 'sovereign' in our thinking, and where we're not. To help you with that, Emma Sepp?l?, Ph.D. -- a lecturer at 耶鲁大学 and a science director at 美国斯坦福大学 -- has a new book out on the subject, 'Sovereign'.
Exclusive for this newsletter, she sat down to give some pointers about how to reclaim our freedom and agency in an overwhelming world.
Q: Why did you feel this book needed to be written?
A: After studying the science of happiness for 20 years, I realized that you can do all the well-being practices in the world, but if you’re still buying into beliefs that are standing in your way and behaviors that are harming you, then it won’t make much of a difference. 70% of people on their deathbed regret not living the life they wanted. Let’s not be like them.
Q: What are some of the ‘bound states’ where we are not really sovereign in our lives and thinking?
A: Most people are addicted. You don’t have to be an alcoholic. You can be addicted to your phone, to stress-eating, to work, to distracting yourself, to entertainment, to stress itself. Most people are so uncomfortable being with themselves that they would rather give themselves electric shocks than sit in a room with themselves - research studies have found this! That’s just one example. Another one is that 95% of people identify as being highly self-critical - believing that it will lead to self-improvement. Yet psychology defines self-criticism as self-loathing. Self-loathing!?
Q: Is the smartphone a key driver of all this, with all these apps designed to keep us hooked?
A: The smartphone is cleverly designed to tap into our addictive tendencies, especially for those of us who’d rather be distracted by something than dealing with our own lives, our own feelings, our own challenges. And yet it’s an escape leading to nowhere and keeping you bound, stuck, and still in pain. The smartphone can either be a wonderful tool that helps us communicate and learn or it can be a self-imposed prison - depending on how you use it.
Q: How do we recognize whatever is binding us, and deconnect from it?
A: There are many strategies I describe in my book - but one of them is meditation which research has shows helps significantly boost our self-awareness, self-regulation, emotion regulation, decision-making and creativity. When we are able to bring our brain into alpha-wave mode, we are able to derive innovative ideas and insights seemingly effortlessly. In that way, meditation can be a potent way to boost our sovereignty.
Q: Once we deconnect from what is binding us, how do we go about creating lives that are freer and more fulfilling?
A: When you disconnect from what is binding you, you connect to yourself. Children are naturally connected to themselves - they are extremely creative, enthusiastic, upbeat and follow their passions. As adults, each one of us has individual ideas, interests and gifts that can stay dormant - if we are bound - or find expression when we reconnect with ourselves.
Q: One place people often feel bound or stuck is our work and careers - how do we cope with that?
A: Research shows that after food and shelter our greatest need is for positive social connections. And these can be nurtured no matter where you work - even if you don’t enjoy your work. When we support others or create “micro moments of upliftment” with others - a shared joke, a kind gesture, a moment of compassion - it not only uplifts those around us, it feeds back to us, uplifting our energy - research shows. That is just one small example of how we can create more meaning, happiness and energy in our lives.
Q: What is the one thing you want readers to take away from this book?
A: In this era of strife, war, disillusionment, a negative news cycle, distraction and overwhelm - there is hope. We may not be able to control the chaos of the outside world or even the inevitable personal challenges coming our way. But there is one thing we?do?have a say over and that is the state of our own mind. Our own internal state - and we have a say over that.?
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Fun numerical tidbits from my overflowing inbox
75%: Percentage of Americans who say social media has made spending on beauty much worse, according to the new 2024 Cost of Beauty Report from NerdWallet . Since everybody is so obsessed to look perfect for the 'Gram, 15% of people put the costs on plastic and didn't pay it off, 9% went the 'Buy Now Pay Later' route (aka layaway), and 5% took a loan from whoever was providing the service. And 11% report thinking that cosmetic procedures are a good financial investment.
77.8%: That's the percentage of times that the S&P 500 goes up from May-October in presidential election years, according to a recent data dive from Ned Davis Research . That's the highest out of all four years in the cycle, and account for the fact that we're bumping record highs here in June (for now, anyways). That would imply that the old market adage of 'Sell in May and Go Away' is not necessarily applicable -- at least this year.
3.4%: Core inflation reading year-over-year for May, as described in this analysis by J.P. 摩根 Wealth Management. Costs that are falling the most: Gas, new vehicles, and auto insurance. (Housing and medical care remain high.) With inflation cooling, we should finally see some rate cuts later in the year -- in fact those pesky Canadians have already done so, leading the way. Fed moves should trickle into pocketbook areas like mortgages, so ... better times ahead.
领英推荐
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"America's Loneliness Has a Concrete Explanation," M. Nolan Gray, The Atlantic
"The Workers Who Do Everything On Their Phones - Except Answer Calls," Callum Borchers , The Wall Street Journal
"Phoenix is a Vision of America's Future," George Packer, The Atlantic
"His Ex Is Getting His $1 Million Retirement Account. They Broke Up In 1989," Ashlea Ebeling , The Wall Street Journal
"Gen X is the 401k Experiment Generation. Here's How That's Playing Out," Kerry Hannon , Yahoo Finance
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Manager of Hockey Communications, Utah NHL
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Stay tuned for next week, when we'll go behind the scenes at LinkedIn HQ! Yes, I was invited to the Mother Ship!
As always, feel free to get in touch via Twitter (here), or email ([email protected]), or by DM on LinkedIn -- to suggest story ideas, or ask money questions, or hire me as a freelancer, or sponsor this newsletter, or broadcast your job opening.
Until next time!
-CT
Journalist
9 个月Thanks for the word Chris Taylor Yeah CT!
Yale School of Management Faculty ? Research Scientist ? Psychologist ? International Keynote Speaker ? Bestselling Author: The Happiness Track (2015) & Sovereign (2024)
9 个月Thanks Chris!
Award Winning Nurse, aginginplace.com, Speaker, Podcast Guest, Author of The NEW BOOKS, The Senior Real Estate Market ADVANTAGE, Women-Aging & Myths, Troubleshooting Aging, Marketing Your CAPS Aging in Place Business.
9 个月Rich content here, worthy of your time…Thanks for posting. ??
Career and Retirement Strategist | Keynote Speaker | Award-Winning Bestselling Author: In Control at 50+, Great Pajama Jobs, Never Too Old To Get Rich | Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist | Opinion Writer| Workplace Futurist
9 个月Thanks for the shout-out Chris Taylor!! Love your newsletter!
Founder at Tephra Cloud
9 个月Exciting edition. Can't wait to dive into it. ??