#044 – The Mental Garage & Gratitude

Quote, Podcast, Mental Model, Hack, Tweet.

Author

Dimitri Gremos
January 10, 2024

Bringing 5 interesting ideas to your inbox every Thursday morning to ignite your curiosity and drive your growth.

read online on my website 

read time 3 minutes 

#044 at a Glance:

  • Quote that will get you thinking: Where real value comes from.

  • Podcast you should listen to: Theo Von x Jordan Peterson.

  • Mental Model: The Mental Garage.

  • Hack you should try: Gratitude in its purest form.

  • Tweet I liked: An important reminder.

Quote that will get you thinking:

“The most value comes from doing something no one else can do, or no one else has thought of, in a way that is hard for other people to copy. If you try to be just like everyone else, and do just what they’re doing, you will maybe do okay, but certainly not great.”

Sam Altman

Podcast you should listen to:

This Past Weekend w/Theo Von – E460 Jordan Peterson

Theo Von is a comedian and podcaster who grew up in the depths of Louisiana in the 80s and 90s.

He is, by a country mile, the most entertaining person I’ve come across on the internet.

His podcast, ‘This Past Weekend w/Theo Von’ is one of the most popular podcasts in the world because it captures the amalgamation of Theo’s larrikinism and candid worldview with an incredibly diverse range of guests, from entrepreneurs and philanthropists to comedians and porn stars.

His recent episode with Jordan Peterson was seriously, seriously good. Theo was able to bring out such an interesting side of Jordan that I haven’t seen before on any other podcast that he’s appeared on.

For a captivating, fascinating, and immensely insightful conversation, click the links below and have a listen.

Listen on Spotify here. Listen on Apple Podcasts here. Watch on YouTube here.

Mental Model:

The Mental Garage 

This is my favourite concept that I’ve learned from David Goggins.

‘The Mental Garage’ is David’s idea that in order to have the capacity to be disciplined, one must declutter their minds of unnecessary ‘wasted space’ to allow for a consistent and sustainable application of discipline within the various domains of their life.

Let me explain.

I want you to visualise a really messy garage. It has shelves, containers, and miscellaneous items all over the place, piled on top of each other on the floor. Everything is in complete disarray. Nothing is organised, when you go to look for something you can’t find it, there are spiderwebs everywhere, etc.

Now, imagine that garage is your mind. The shelves, containers, and items represent everything that occupies any form of cognitive energy or importance in your life: relationships, work, faith, ambitions, dreams, goals, fears, worries, concerns, trials, tribulations, insecurities, the whole lot.

David’s proposition is that it is impossible to fully commit to consistent and sustainable discipline while your mental garage is in such a chaotic state. Discipline can only ‘fit’ inside an orderly garage – one with the shelves and containers neatly stacked, labelled, and organised. One where the floor has been swept and everything is in its place.

Only THEN can discipline be ‘implanted’ within your mind.

I’m sure many of you can relate to this idea.

I know I definitely can.

If you were to reflect on the periods of your life when you struggled with discipline the most, did those phases coincide with times in your life that were categorised by chaos and disorder in other areas? Times when you felt you were mentally stretched too thin?

Very, very powerful.

Hack you should try:

Gratitude in its purest form

I read an incredible quote from Mark Manson the other day which said, “love what you have before life teaches you to love what you lost.”

That hit really hard.

One of the goals I’ve set myself for 2024 is to imagine that everything I do is the last time I'm going to do it.

The last time I go for a run, the last time I see the sunset, the last time I see a friend, etc.

Some of you might think that’s a bit morbid, and that’s fair enough, but it works for me.

Gratitude in its purest form is acknowledging that each time we enjoy the sheer blessing of an experience, it may be the last time we ever get to do it.

Something to think about…

Tweet I liked:

2024 ⏳……….

There is no time to waste.

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading!

Grateful for your support.

Stay hungry, stay humble, & stay curious. ⚡

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