Hey there! It’s our tenth issue and somehow we haven’t bored you guys to death. Thank you for reading.

We have another guest writer for this week (let us know if you’re interested in doing one yourself). One of Michael’s fellow Econometrics classmates, Kawah, is sharing some of her Gen Z wisdom about how being delusional can actually be a benefit.

Juan just floated down a river in an inflatable doughnut with 200 other drunk people in the mountains of Thailand. He will talk about how to remember your dreams and add 6 more years to your life.

And lastly, I (Michael) had his joint birthday party with his best friend other Michael (who from now on will be known by Miguel, after legally losing the right to his name after the Michael games). At the end of the party we went to the casino and bet all of our birthday donations on a single roulette spin, and managed to double it (I was stressed af). I’m writing about a piece from the Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.

DREAMING

Get 6 Extra Years of Life: Master the Art of Remembering Your Dreams

Why do you want to remember your dreams?

⏳Dreams take a lot of time in your life
We dream around four to seven dreams per night. A total of around 2 hours per night. That’s about 6 years of your life dreaming.

🧠Automate your Problem-solving
While we sleep, our subconscious mind continues to work on problems that our conscious minds have failed to solve.

Dreams are so powerful that many of the most incredible discoveries have come from dreams:
🪐Albert Einstein’s theory of Relativity.
🎵“Yesterday” by Paul McCartney
📖The book “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley.

How to Remember Your Dreams

🙏Choose to remember your dreams
Right before going to bed, make a conscious choice to recall your dreams.

“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen”.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

✍️Write down your dreams
Train your mind to be more sensitive to your dreams. Have a dream journal by your bedside.

🙈Keep your eyes shut
Dreams can disappear within minutes of waking up. Keeping your eyes closed helps you not distract yourself from your environment.

😴 Sleep like an exhausted baby
Establish a sleep routine to clear your mind before bedtime. Get some of that deep sleep goodness.

🗣️ Share your dreams
Talk about your dreams to others. The more you bring them into reality, the more you will remember them.

🦄You might Lucid Dream
A side effect of remembering your dreams is lucid dreaming. You will become aware that you are dreaming and can control them. Lucid dreamers report sleep adventures.

Everyone dreams. Just because you don’t remember them doesn’t mean you didn’t dream. From now on, expect to remember your dreams, but don’t be discouraged if you don’t remember much initially.

Source: James Kwik - How to remember your dreams.

— Juan

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

Delulu is the Solulu

During a date with a cute guy, a moment of insecurity emerged when he weakly asked if I liked his hair, before confessing that another girl had rated him as ‘slightly better than mediocre’. Honestly, I hadn't thought about it until he mentioned it; but then I realized, she was kind of right. This shift wasn't due to a change in his appearance but rather in how he presented himself. Our self-perception and the confidence we exude significantly affect how others see us, not just in romance but across all life facets.

Fake it till you make it 

Psychological research suggests that our external actions influence our internal emotional states. By outwardly projecting confidence even if we don’t feel it, we nurture a genuine sense of self-assurance over time. All it takes is a simple act of bravery in the face of self-doubt.

Be delusional

“I reinvented electric cars and I'm sending people to Mars on a rocket ship, did you think I was going to be a chill, normal dude?”

- Elon Musk, a not-chill, not-normal dude

Taking this idea further, pursuing what may seem like delusion can be rewarding. Being delusionally optimistic or confident can thus act as a catalyst for growth and achievement. When we believe fervently in our abilities or potential, even to a delusional extent, we set in motion a series of behaviors and attitudes that can propel us forward. This self-assuredness opens doors, creates opportunities, and attracts others to our cause. It's not merely about being unfoundedly optimistic but about harnessing the power of perception to turn our aspirations into reality.

The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do

Taking this concept of delusional optimism to the silver screen, the critically acclaimed film Pearl (2022) serves as a vivid illustration of how unfounded confidence and bold aspirations can lead to transformation.

— Kawah :)

LIFE

Choose Your Struggle

Everyone desires an amazing life, yet the pivotal question is: what are you willing to endure to achieve it? Whether it comes to your physique, your relationship, or your career. Nothing comes easy, and these things take a lot of work and consistency.

In The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck, Mark Manson wrote about how the struggles we choose to take in life define us. We often dream about the outcomes far more than considering what it would take to get there. Rather than merely dreaming, we must learn to find joy in each step towards our goal.

Sisyphus and his boulder
In Greek Mythology, Sisyphus was condemned by the gods to push a boulder up a hill for all of eternity, each time he would get close to the top, the boulder would roll back downhill. Philosophers have since reinterpreted this tale more positively, suggesting that if Sisyphus embraced persistence over despair, he might find deeper meaning in these struggles that he’s forced to endure. This story has been used to embody the human experience, that each day is our boulder, that we can go through the exact same actions as someone else, but our mindset ultimately determines the meaning we derive from our experiences.

And now we’ll end with a series of quotes that fit this topic nicely:

“True contentment isn’t about avoiding discomfort, but embracing the struggles intrinsic to our goals”

“The pursuit of happiness is about the struggle we endure on the way to our destination, not about arriving at the destination itself”

“The most important step a man can take; is the next step” — Dalinar Kholin

— Michael

TAKING ACTION

Sign up to our Accountability Clubs

Want a community to keep you accountable? Willing to put your money where your mouth is? 😂

How it works:
💸 Everyone makes the same deposit at the beginning of the month.
✅ Every day you succeed, you get paid back a small amount from your deposit PLUS the money from others who failed that day.
❌ Every day you fail, your money for that day goes to people who succeed.
🗓️ It is 5 times a week. Month-to-month contract. You can join or leave at the beginning of each month.

March Clubs you can join:
🏋️ Exercise 5 times a week.
⏰ Wake up early during weekdays.
📵 Digital minimalism during weekdays.
📝 Signup to join for March

Updates from this week:

We want to start some new accountability groups! So if you have some ideas for what you’d like to be held accountable for getting done, let us know 😉.

Exercise: Juan has been showing off his trip by doing pushups in scenic places in Thailand. Seba is continuing to be a badass and showing us his handstand pushups. Danae has been climbing. Jaq has been sick, but for some reason still is working out. And Nirmay and I have been doing pull-ups. 💪

Wake-up: Vitalii is becoming fearful of the red X emojis. And I’ve been failing my wake-up routine while everyone else has been doing great.

Highlight from Exercise Club: