62 Badassness, lazy habits, and morals
No. 62 – 9 Feb 2024
Welcome to the 62nd edition of the True Progress Newsletter, a weekly newsletter on beating fear and anxiety for optimal performance.
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Article
Performance anxiety prevents you from being at your best when it's needed. There is one tried and tested principle to conquer it.
— Read more
Quote
Albert Einstein, on laziness:
“Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.”
Insight
Performance anxiety clutters your mind and kills your ability to be at your best when it counts. Use this battle-tested protocol I learned in the US Army:
When I joined the Army JAG Corps (Army legal branch), I was in a class full of highly talented and driven individuals. Army Special Forces soldiers, federal prosecutors, Ivy League graduates, and Division 1 athletes.
When you're part of a group, science shows you’re more likely to fall in line. Part of it is the social pressure to do.
And, most importantly, the group’s identity becomes your identity. Top psychology experiments show how quickly a person falls in line with a group that's acting or thinking a different way.
Renowned psychologist Angela Duckworth calls it the power of culture. Over time and under the right circumstances, the norms and values of a group become our own and we internalize them.
Eventually, the way the group does things and why becomes indoctrinated to the person. And becomes the way you do things and why.
Why this matters: Performance anxiety is overcome when you're with the RIGHT people and the RIGHT training environment.
LESSON
1. Join a group with values and behaviors you want to adopt.
2. And make sure it has a training environment that will work to increase your stress and adrenaline tolerance.
Emotion Signpost
Neuroscience and brain-imaging research shows that properly naming an emotion is critical to managing and taming it.
It's key to decreasing fear and anxiety, becomes a pause for reflection, and increases understanding of yourself and others.
Here are 2 to explore:
Serenity
Definition | The quality or state of being serene; calmness, tranquility.
Origin | From the Latin word "serenitas," which means calmness or clearness. It is derived from the Latin word "serenus," meaning clear or serene.
Anticipation
Definition | The act of looking forward; especially: pleasurable expectation.
Origin | From the Latin word "anticipatio," which is derived from the verb "anticipare," meaning "to take before, anticipate."
Question
Have you ever paused to consider who you want to be? What character traits you want to live by?
Character refers to the collection of qualities and traits that define an individual's behavior and values. It includes traits like honesty, kindness, fairness, and responsibility.
If you're unsure, reflect on when you're most proud of yourself or identify someone who has the highest possible character and who you aspire to be like.
Till next week,
— Carlos & Stef