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- #050 – Burnout & Inputs vs Outputs
#050 – Burnout & Inputs vs Outputs
Quote, Podcast, Mental Model, Hack, Tweet.
Dimitri Gremos
February 21, 2024
Sending 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
#050 at a Glance:
Quote that will get you thinking: You’re gonna be okay.
Podcast you should listen to: Steven Bartlett x Barbara Corcoran.
Mental Model: Same input, different outputs.
Hack you should try: 5 ways to avoid burnout.
Tweet I liked: 50 years of psychology research.
Quote that will get you thinking:
“America was built on the backs of men who smoked cigarettes, drove without seatbelts, and had bacon for breakfast. If you miss your biohacking routine this morning – you’re gonna be okay.”
Podcast you should listen to:
The Diary Of A CEO with Barbara Corcoran
Barbara Corcoran is an absolute mogul when it comes to real estate in New York City.
Born into a modest household and a family of 10 siblings, Barbara was dyslexic and struggled tremendously throughout her formative years, often being bullied for her lack of intelligence.
At the age of 24, she had already worked 22 different jobs. It was after being let go from what eventually became her last job ever, that she borrowed $1,000 from her boyfriend at the time and turned it into a $6 billion real estate empire.
Incredible story.
[Podcast Length: 1 hour 11 minutes]
Mental Model:
Same Input, Different Outputs
I was listening to a podcast between Patrick Bet-David and Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel earlier this week.
A very fascinating discussion, particularly with regards to the way they dissected the history and diaspora of Assyrian people – a culture and group that I previously knew very little about.
One of the parts from the pod that stuck out to me was a story that the Bishop told about a programme he saw on TV here in Australia:
“I believe if we were to put two people in the same situation, you will always see that there is an outcome different to the other.
I remember there was once, on television back in Australia, two twin brothers. One ended up being an alcoholic, the other one was a very successful businessman.
They interviewed both and look at what they said: the alcoholic one was asked, ‘Why did you end up being an alcoholic?’ He said, ‘My Dad was an alcoholic and that’s all I knew growing up. I became like my Dad.’
The other one, they asked, ‘Well, why did you become a successful businessman?’ He said ‘When I saw my Dad, the way he was, I decided for myself that whatever happens, I will never end up like Dad. I’ll make sure that I will be totally different to prove to my Dad that I can make it if he couldn’t.”
Same input, different outputs.
This is an extremely powerful idea and reminds me of a concept that I wrote about a few months back: Anti Role Models.
We see this example in life all of the time and it applies to virtually any type of destructive behaviour such as smoking, gambling, abusive communication, harmful relationships, and can even spill over into less tangible factors such as a weak mindset and low ambition.
The ‘inputs’ that we are exposed to in life are often not within our power. The ‘outputs’ that we action are entirely within our control.
Hack you should try:
5 Ways to Avoid Burnout
Was watching another brilliant rendition of Behind The Diary with Steven Bartlett last week and loved the 5 ways he shared to avoid burnout:
Planned pleasure: In the non-stop intensity of daily life, it’s important to plan pleasure (dinner with friends, time at the beach, etc.) that we schedule into our routine. It’s equally important that we don’t measure the return of this time using any of the measures that we use for our productivity.
Talking: Sometimes, just talking through the things that are weighing on our minds can make them dissipate and seem lesser in importance. I also find this to be an incredibly useful way to articulate what exactly it is that I’m concerned/worried/stressed about. The problems in our minds often feel quite jumbled. Talking helps.
Meaningful work: Numerous studies show that if we don’t think our work is meaningful or intrinsically aligned with who we are and where we want to go, we are much more likely to experience the stress of the work and ultimately feel a sense of burnout. I think we can all attest to the idea that the times in life when we’ve worked the hardest on our most meaningful projects are not the times we reflect on in life when we may have felt burnt out.
Sleep: 7-8 hours, pitch black room, avoid blue light before bed, room at 20 degrees Celsius. Bliss.
Pull the ripcord: The emergency needle in the balloon when everything gets on top of you. It’s the plug you pull to detach from your obligations and schedule when you’re about to reach burnt out. A day off work or a weekend dedicated to recharging the batteries.
Tweet I liked:
The American Psychological Association once invited William James to give a talk on the first 50 years of psychology research.
He simply said: “People by and large become what they think of themselves.”
Then, he left.
— David Perell (@david_perell)
4:04 AM • Feb 21, 2024
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Stay hungry, stay humble, stay curious. ⚡
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