6-Second Sunday: On humanness, virtue, and mirrors

6 Ideas. 6 Second Skim. 6 Minute Read.

Happy 6-Second Sunday!

Here are 6 ideas I’m applying that take 6 seconds to skim and 6 minutes or less to read…

Overview

1. Thought I’m Refining: The Human Condition

2. Strategies I’m Deploying: 5 Food Guidelines

3. Realization I’m Making: True Virtue 

4. What’s Making Me Happier: Less Mirror Time

5. Music I’m Listening To: The Hip

6. Quote I’m Rereading: Understanding Reality

Let’s dive in.

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Thought I’m Refining: The Human Condition

A few weeks ago, I published my most popular post to date on the damage I did to myself, and the damage we’re doing as a society, by using clinical terms—words like depression, anxiety, and burnout—to describe how we feel.

It led me to this realization: 

If everyone experiences something it’s not a clinical condition, it’s the human condition. 

Humans experience worry, stress, sadness, and tiredness. But experiencing these things does not give you the green light to tell yourself or others that “you have anxiety” or “you are depressed” or “you are burnt out.”

All humans momentarily experience these emotions. Few have these clinical conditions.

Take social anxiety for example. Social anxiety is how we learn to socialize. In early human times, social anxiety was what made sure you didn’t get kicked out of the tribe. No tribe meant no support, no shelter, no fire, no group to hunt and gather with, and no group to fight with and protect you from harm.

“Social anxiety” kept you alive. 

It’s normal to have butterflies in your stomach during new or large social gatherings. That’s not social anxiety, it’s the human condition.

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Strategies I’m Deploying: 5 Food Guidelines

Moderation is the biggest nutrition obstacle we face in the Western world.

We love big portions here. This is true for those who are unhealthy. But it’s also true for those who are healthy and maintain low body fat.

I notice it in my family, friends, and myself: we eat more than we need to and often leave the table feeling that we overate, or ate beyond the point of satiation.

Europeans seem to be the gold standard for healthier portion sizes. I recall glaring at my girlfriend at a risotto restaurant in Florence as we were served what I would describe as a side dish but what was actually the main course.

Though I haven’t visited, I believe the Japanese are similarly good at not overeating. Ancient Confucian wisdom of Hara Hachi Bu instructs you to stop eating when you’re 80% full. This practice is believed to be one of the reasons for the Okinawa blue zone, an area with more centenarians than average.

In my attempt to eat more moderate portions, I’m trying to stick to five food guidelines: