EP.17 - - 12 Ideas To Construct A Life Worth Living - - #1 GIVE UP

We are told to chase, and strive, to never stop, to just do it, to hustle. To wake up at 4am and keep pushing. That nothing good ever came to the person who doesn’t compete, who doesn’t get down and dirty. You get the picture. You know the picture. It’s everywhere! 

Sutter opens season 3 of his popular talk series, Sutterfaction, with a piercing look into the modern world’s addiction to doing. How did we become such ardent hard workers? Where did we learn to never give up? Is hustling merely a modern age gimmick? Is it healthy or dangerous? Join Sutter as he pulls back the curtain and scrutinises the problematic messaging from David Goggins and the mistruths of Steve Jobs. With Thich Nhat Hanh, Kristen Neff, Daniel Gottlieb, Carl Jung, and others along for the ride, buckle up for idea number one for constructing a life worth living. 

It’s a commonly held misconception that if we are hard on ourselves, we will be more motivated and driven, that we will succeed more. The “inner critic” is often seen as “the task master” and that if we don’t listen to this loud, barrating, harsh and critical voice then we will become a slob and stay at home in bed eating chocolate all day.  A common fallacy is that the inner critic is highly necessary in order to achieve and maintain productive momentum.  

Interestingly, research has found that self-criticism is not an effective motivator because it tends to undermine our self-confidence, increase procrastination and leads to a fear of failure. Whereas if we are kinder, more accepting of our inadequacies, we will still be motivated to achieve our goals but not because we perceive ourselves as inadequate and failures but because we care about ourselves and regard reaching our full potential as important and enriching. 

We too often associate courage with pushing ourselves, working hard, making huge sacrifices, but what if we used our courage to motivate us to give up? The courage to foster a deeper awareness to notice that the path we are taking may be harmful to our health, and our relationships.