Category: Life

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The Horrifying Wonders of the Human Mind & Body: Hangovers

I suffered from my first hangover in quite some time at the end of 2017. I spent the next morning moaning in bed. As I lay in bed agonizing, I decided to follow my curiosity and try to learn about the science of a hangover, what’s happening in the body, etc. Two things struck me.

The first seems obvious: when we drink, we get dehydrated. Alcohol is a diuretic. This is the overarching reason for hangovers. But the process itself that causes us to become dehydrated is pretty crazy. “Alcohol…reduces the production of a hormone called vasopressin, which tells your kidneys to reabsorb water rather than flush it out through the bladder” (1), and, “according to studies, drinking about 250 milliliters of an alcoholic beverage causes the body to expel 800 to 1,000 milliliters of water; that’s four times as much liquid lost as gained” (2). So, drinking a single beer can cause four times the amount of water in your system to just be dumped out, rather than used as it should be. This is why you pee so often while drinking. You’re jettisoning water, and along with it, lots of important vitamins and minerals.

The second, and even more horrifying fact involves the headache the next day. The cause is dehydration again of course, but the reality of what’s happening is…pretty disturbing. You’re so dehydrated that “the body’s organs try to make up for their own water loss by stealing water from the brain, causing the brain to decrease in size and pull on the membranes that connect the brain to the skull, resulting in pain.” Holy shit! You’re brain is rung like a sponge in order to feed water to the rest of your body, and it literally shrinks, resulting in that awful headache you’re stuck with. That’s gnarly.

While learning about this process, most of the search results dealt with hangover cures. There is no real, instantaneous ‘cure’. You need to re-hydrate with lots of water and replenish those minerals you lost, like potassium and magnesium. There is of course the trick we’ve all been told, but rarely follow: drink a glass of water between each drink. This way you’re not running such an extreme loss of water, compounding your own hangover the next day.

As for me, if the hangover wasn’t enough to keep me from drinking for another long stretch, the knowledge that I’m shrinking my brain each time certainly will.

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The Horrifying Wonders of the Human Mind & Body: The Unconscious Mind

All the ways in which the human body actually functions are astonishing, and for the most part, completely overlooked by all of us. The brain is where my interest first started, and since learning about it, whenever I’m curious about a part or process of the body, I do a quick Google search to try to figure out what the hell is going on. I wanted to start sharing what I learned to shed light on how mind blowing these processes and functions are, and how completely oblivious we are of them. Today we’ll start where I started, with the brain, and I hope to explore more aspects of the human body and mind in the future. 

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The brain is incredibly complex and there’s so much interesting, crazy stuff going on in it, that it’s hard to know where to start. Neuroplasticity and cognitive biases are two of my favorite areas, but there’s something else that’s seemingly straightforward, yet baffling, that I want to highlight here. I learned about this probably a year ago and it’s only really hitting home now.

This seemingly simple, scientifically proven fact is:

The brain decides before “I” decide.

That seems obvious. Of course decisions arise from our brain, that’s where all thought processes come from. More specifically put, the unconscious mind decides, then the conscious mind, or “I”, decides. The distinction is important, as we’ll see. Your brain decides, then you decide. The more you think about it, the more questions arise.

Before we go on, a quick distinction between the unconscious and conscious mind. The unconscious mind does things automatically, without the need to even be aware of it happening. Our breathing and our digestive system are two examples of this unconscious process. We don’t need to focus on or even think about these things for them to run properly. The unconscious mind also contains desires and fears that we may not be consciously aware of, but nonetheless direct us. The unconscious mind is completely inaccessible to our conscious mind. The conscious mind is actively thinks or acts. It plans our dinner later that night and what ingredients we want to use, it  chooses between two movies, it lifts the barbell for another rep. Our conscious mind makes decisions. Or so we think.

In Sam Harris’s book Free Will, he makes the case that we do not truly have free will. One of his main arguments for this point is that through scientific lab studies, “fMRI techniques show that our brains indicate the choice we are going to make 700 milliseconds before we are aware that we are going to make the choice.” These conscious decisions that we feel we came up with, that we’ve decided on, were actually made by our brain, milliseconds before, unbeknownst to us. 

700 milliseconds might not seem like a lot of time, but the fact remains that the brain makes a decision that is completely unconscious to us, THEN, milliseconds later, we consciously seem to “come up with it”. But “I” didn’t actually “make” the decision. As Harris lays out, “the intention to do one thing and not another does not originate in consciousness. Rather it appears in consciousness. As does any thought or impulse that might impose it.”

All sorts of thoughts and questions sprout from this one clear fact. Our idea of free will is certainly different than how we think of it, if it exists at all. It distinctly shows the power of the unconscious mind over the conscious mind; the unconscious mind decides, then makes it appear that the conscious mind has chosen. We have all of these unconscious thoughts, feelings and desires, which we are completely unaware of, until the unconscious decides to almost  plant them in our conscious mind, making us feel that we determined it. It helps explain why it’s so hard to change a habit or escape from an addiction that we so clearly, consciously want to change, because they are rooted deeper, not in the conscious, but in our unconscious.  It casts questions over the nature of consciousness itself and the power and control we assume we have over our lives. 

This is a tricky one to wrap our heads around. Like I said, I learned about this a year ago, but only after recently reviewing a summary of the book, did the subject sort of click it in my mind. Sure, “I”, this human body that is Sam Post, is still making the decisions, but it’s not necessarily coming from the “I” I imagined it was, that conscious self I identify as. It’s coming from another layer in, the unconscious part of my mind that I, nor anyone else, has access to. So who the hell is running the show that is ourselves? The better question might be, what shapes the unconscious mind and what determines it’s desires and feelings that prompt our actions and behavior?

The genes we are born with determines a lot, anywhere from 20-50%. But once born, our environment, our conditioning, how and where we were raised, and much more, all form and shape our unconscious mind. And the really interesting part, and the hopeful part, I think, is that it is possible to change our unconscious mind, even if we can’t access it directly. It can’t done by our conscious thinking. It can only done by taking action and by changing our behavior in the real world first. 

This is where I think Sam Harris’ argument against free will starts to show it’s cracks. While thinking about change and consciously desiring it does very little to impact our unconscious mind, directly changing our behavior in the real world has a much more powerful effect. This is where the principles of habit change, or the concept of “fake it till you make it”, comes in. By forcing yourself to do something enough times, even if it’s at first uncomfortable or challenging, you’ll eventually form a habit, or put another way, a behavior that doesn’t need to be directed by your conscious mind. The behavior becomes automatic. It has become a part of your routine and can be done without even thinking about it. One example would be learning how to drive a car. At first it seems very complicated and hard, but after enough experience, it seems to take very little conscious will power to get where you’re going. 

Harris’ argument to this would be, well, this person that eventually changed, had whatever factors already set in place that allowed them to change in the first place. His genes or his brain had the capability to do so, and it finally did. That seems a bit to deterministic to me, and for an atheist like Sam Harris, it just seems to run too close to what others might call “fate”. But he is much smarter than me. That’s just the way I choose to look at it now, maybe because it’s more comforting and encouraging.

All of this has gotten me much more interested in the unconscious part of our mind, that we all basically ignore, understandably so, because we aren’t even aware of it in the first place. We literally can’t be aware of it, until we start to pay closer attention to and examine our thoughts, actions and behavior. The unconscious mind and it’s importance has appeared countless times throughout my reading, from great thinkers like Carl Jung to Joseph Campbell and beyond, and I’m only now feeling like I’m able to grasp what it actually means. After reviewing Free Will’s book notes, I found another book James Clear summarized titled Strangers to Ourselves, and it helped clear up some of the confusion I had. I ordered that book and can’t wait to dive in. Maybe I’ll return to this topic after I learn more. But for now, I think this simple fact, that there’s a lag between the unconscious brain deciding, and then ourselves feeling the conscious decision, is more than enough to ponder. At the very least, maybe it can make us a little more thoughtful, or questioning, or simply awed, the next time we’re making a decision, whether it’s what we’re having for dinner, or what we want to do with our lives. 

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Habits Towards Goals

I’m personally a big fan of the end of the year. You get to reflect on what you liked about the last year and what you didn’t, what you want to continue and what you want to change. The new year allows you to start with somewhat of a blank slate, fresh to pursue new goals, experiences and adventures.  I’m spending the end of 2017 thinking about what I want out of 2018, what I want to add to my life and what I want to leave behind. One thing I’m going to try to do, beyond just identifying my goals, is identify the habits that will help me achieve my goal. Having goals is important,  but you need to know how to get there, and for real, sustainable change, you need to change your habits. Below is something I previously wrote on habits that I’ll be reviewing and trying to instill as I pursue my goals in 2018. Best of luck with whatever you set out to do and have a wonderful new year!

https://www.tumblr.com/sampostlives/146708370885/habits

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Airplane Mode

Tech and social media continue to worm into every crevice of our lives, for good and increasingly bad. One of the things I consider bad is the incessant pull to check our phones, with no real purpose, just an unconscious (and addicting) desire to occupy our mind with something at all times. In an effort to fight off the bad, and to maintain some peace in the mornings, I started tweaking my routine.

First, I moved my phone charger from my bedside table to the desk across the room. This way I couldn’t just pick it up whenever I wanted and disturb my sleep with a glowing rectangle. It also forces me to get out of bed to turn the alarm off and start my day. Then I began putting my phone on Sleep mode before bed. No vibrations to wake me up or tempt me. I also wanted to stop checking my phone in the mornings so I could start my day off on the right foot with some peace of mind. But I’d usually wake up to some text or notification that I ended up checking, and then I’d check another app, and then that peace was gone. So, when I heard Tim Ferriss puts his phone on Airplane mode before bed, that seemed like the logical next step. And it’s surprising how effective it is, and how much nicer my mornings have been. I don’t see any texts, I don’t know what’s happened in the news overnight, and I  have no temptation to check anything. That’s the key I think. Just by blacking out my phones network capabilities, I remove the temptation and the pull to check it. My mornings have been a lot more peaceful, and I can flick on the world in my phone whenever I’m ready.

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Staying Sharp in the Dark

We’ve entered November, it’s dark before most of us leave the office, and bad news just seems to keep on coming. I can feel the S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder) hovering over me. But it hasn’t quite taken hold yet, in part because of the routines and practices I’ve made a habit of over the last few years. It used to hit me much harder in years past, before I cut back on unhealthy habits and started practicing healthy ones, but I’m still definitely not immune to it, especially if I’m slacking on those healthy habits. These healthy habits are listed below, and I try to do them everyday in order to give myself the best chance to have a great day. Some of these include locked in routines I’ve been doing every day for years now and others are newer things I’m trying to introduce to make sure I stay at my best. So this is more of a reminder for myself, as much as suggestions for you to try out if the change in seasons gets you down.

Meditation and Mindfulness

Every morning after I shower I meditate for 10 minutes. This doesn’t mean I sit and reach zen enlightenment. Usually I have to continuously pull myself back from thinking about the day ahead and what I have to do, and return to the moment, to my breath, to the mantra, over and over again. That’s why it’s called a practice. Some days are great, other times it’s a struggle. But every morning I do it. It lays the foundation that allows me to be calmer, happier, and more present and in the moment throughout my day. It’s challenging to describe the practice and effects of meditation. I never feel that I do it justice, but I want to try to in a future post and get as in depth and practical as I can with it, so stay tuned for that.

Outside. Water & Tea. Breakfast. Supplements.

After I meditate I let the dog out and I find it really helps to stay outside even for just 30 seconds, to feel the cold and breathe in the fresh air. It helps me wake up and feel alive. While breakfast is getting ready, I’ll drink a glass of water and make some tea (with a little bit of apple cider vinegar and coconut oil splashed in). Then I’ll have breakfast, which is usually oatmeal and peanut butter, or some bacon and eggs. After breakfast I’ll take supplements. Sean (and Tim Ferriss) got me into taking supps, and they’ve done wonders for both Sean and I. He’s written before about his own supplement routine, as well how diet can effect your mood. Almost every day I take cod liver oil, and rotate between potassium, magnesium, garlic, and Vitamin D (especially this one with the time change and lack of sunlight). Not only do these boost my mood, I hardly ever get sick anymore, which I think is due to the cod liver oil in particular. Now that I’ve said that, I’m sure I’ll get sick within the next week.

Practice Gratitude

I’ve written about my gratitude journal before, but in short, the first thing I do at work when my computer boots up is open Evernote and jot down a few things I’m grateful for. That’s it. It’s incredibly simple and I think you’d be surprised at how much it can change your mood and how you look at things throughout the rest of your day.

Go for a Walk

Every day, at 11am and 3pm, I get up from my desk at work and take a nice, mindful walk around the block. It doesn’t take more than 5 minutes each time, and I think it’s vital not only for my health, but my mood as well. Go for a walk. You’ll feel better. 

Limit or Block Information Overload

Working at a computer all day, I have a bad habit of continuously clicking on news sites and Twitter, compulsively and repeatedly, even if I know there is absolutely nothing new, let alone anything I need to know. I’ve tried a number of different tactics but always end up backsliding. This month I started a new tactic. I can check those news sites and Twitter one time, usually in the morning, and then I am done for the day. I block them on my work computer after that one time check-in, and I have Freedom on my laptop set to block all news sites and Twitter after 6:00pm. It’s still early, but I’m off to a good start and I feel much, much better because of it.

Exercise & Sauna

I try to hit the gym at least twice a week, if not three times. It’s a lot harder to do in the colder months, but it’s even more important that I get there. I ALWAYS feel better after a session at the gym, even if it was light. And at the end of each session is a reward, and probably my favorite part of the whole process: I sit in the sauna for 15-20 minutes. It always feels good to sweat it out in there, especially when it’s cold outside. Sauna use has a host of health benefits, and is also just relaxing and pleasurable for its own sake, so if you have one at your gym, I highly recommend it.

Stretch & Music

At the end of my day, I blast music and do a stretch routine that takes about 10-20 minutes. This is where I where I process my day and begin to relax and enjoy my evening. It usually means my day is done. It’s glorious.  

Marijuanna

In the immortal words of Memphis Bleek, “I gets high…I can’t lie” (not while I drive though). Marijuana absolutely helps me unwind and relax in the evenings. I take a couple puffs and put the day behind me. I throw a record on, cook up and enjoy some dinner, write in my journal, then settle into a book, TV or movie. I know it’s not for everyone, and it can be a double-edged sword even for me. If I indulge too much, it can easily launch me into laziness, so less is usually more. But for the most part, it relieves me of unnecessary stress and anxiety, lifts up my mood, and allows me to take life and myself a little less seriously. I feel like I’d be lying by omission if I didn’t include it here.

Conclusion

That’s a brief overview of the regular actions I take that help keep me happy, productive, and at the very least, sane, during the cold, dark days of winter. I focused more on my daily routine, but it’s also of course crucial to get out and be social, have fun, see friends, laugh, and maybe have a deep conversation or two if you can. But some days I’m really dragging ass and I do fall into the pit of junk food and Netflix. And that’s okay too; some days you need to just take a break. But what’s important is you pick it back up the next day. Small, simple actions are what gets us out of our ruts. So if you’re really feeling down but want to get back up, start small. Clean your desk. Bundle up and go take a walk around the block. Try to meditate for 5 minutes. And if it’s just not happening, dive into that favorite TV show for some laughs, and get after it again tomorrow.

All of this is simple advice but it might not be easy for you. My form of seasonal depression is pretty mild, and these things help, but this isn’t to say any of these things would cure a serious case of depression. Please seek out more experienced, professional help if you need it. These are just meant to be some helpful tips if you’re prone to feeling down in the dumps in the fall and winter.

Stay sharp and stay healthy this winter my friends!

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Confession

Confession, for a few thousand years now, has consisted of entering a closet with a screened window, and telling a stranger with some type of moral/religious authority your sins. But like many things established in religious practice, this form of confession wasn’t explicit in the Bible. The origin of confession in the religious practice comes from the Epistle of St. James: “Confess your sins to one another”. This was then taken to mean, confess to your priest, who, appointed by God, can forgive you of your sins, so you can go to heaven. But I think the original message is much more important than the way it was co-opted as a form of authority and religion, strictly for the gain of an eternal afterlife after you die. What about right now?

I found this origin of confession in a throwaway line in a book on philosophy. While doing a quick check for accuracy, I found the wording a bit different, but the same message: “Confess therefore your sins one to another”. But, directly below that came a footnote from someone else, I’m assuming much, much later:

         Confess your sins one to another… That is, to the priests
          of the church, whom he had ordered to be called
          for, and brought in to the sick; moreover, to confess to
          persons who had no power to forgive sins, would be useless.

Hm. This person seems to say that without the promised afterlife you “win” through confession, the act would be pointless. But why the hell should a pure and noble act, admitting our mistakes, be re-purposed solely as a gesture  to purchase real estate in a place no one can guarantee exists? Aren’t there good qualities to admitting wrongdoing that could change our lives now, as we live them?

I think so. In the last 3 years, I’ve found that the act of ‘confessing’, to ourselves, to one another, to the people we care about, is an incredibly freeing, valuable, essential exercise.

Calling it confession might weird you out because of the overtones. I didn’t think of it as confession when originally recognizing and thinking about this topic, but confession seemed like an interesting, historical parallel to enter through. The concept’s been around for ages. In our own lives and the way we might practice it though, I think it can more aptly be described as being vulnerable, and sharing your vulnerabilities. Sean and I have tried practicing this through these essays, which can be very freeing to write. Dumping out your inner thoughts and secrets is liberating, and you might end up finding out more than you even knew about yourself. Sharing them online is scary; I’m admitting things I don’t like about myself or past self, and posting them online for anyone to see. But it’s still removed from face to face human interaction. That’s a whole different ballgame, and one we experimented with during our ‘porch sessions’.

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Take a Hike! The Healing Power of Nature

Here’s an excellent essay by Rebecca Lawton on the Healing Power of Nature, both in the spiritual sense, and  in the scientific evidence based sense.

As you may know, the Post Bros love nature: hiking, climbing, mountains, rivers, trees, fresh air. Anytime I’m able to be out in nature, surrounded by it, even if only for a few hours, I feel better. I feel restored. This essay explains, through personal experiences and science, the very real healing power nature has, from Iraq war veterans and river guides, to the Japanese government in the 1980’s, and even Russian scientists in the 1920’s. I love when what I feel to be true is backed up and explained by science. And there’s a whole lot of that here, with evidence showing that time spent in nature can:

reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol, prevent and reduce depression and anxiety, reduce blood pressure, reduce inflammation, reduce cardiovascular disease, reduce migraines, boost immune function, enhance autonomic control of heart rate and blood pressure, help us recover from heightened stress, help maintain a healthy microbiome of essential skin and gut bacteria, protect against heart disease, obesity and diabetes, along with anti-cancer and anti-viral effects.

Y’know, just to name a few. So go take a hike (or ‘forest bath’) sometime soon. I’ll be trying to get out there as much as I can before winter really sets in, so reach out if you’re interested in a little day hike. 
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In Praise of the Cartoon

Four of my favorite TV shows currently running are “silly cartoons”. But behind their apparent silliness is some of the deepest, most complex, emotionally, philosophically powerful art I’ve seen on television, up there with any prestige drama you could name.

The first two both feature alcoholic, narcissistic anti-heroes struggling to fix their lives, or at worst, reveling in their own filth. And it’s not Don Draper sexy-filthy either. One’s a reckless, constantly belching, grandfather mad-scientist who’s known as the smartest being in the multiverse. The other is a washed up actor who also happens to be a horse. I’m speaking of Rick and Morty and BoJack Horseman of course. Rick and Morty has a cult like following and is given heaps of praise, deservedly so, but I’m honestly not sure if many people watch BoJack, probably because it’s an even harder sell. Both shows are hilarious and billed as animated comedies. But both shows also routinely remind us of the meaningless of life and the existential dread that seeps into our everyday lives and actions. Rick and Morty is certainly nihilistic, while BoJack painfully depicts what it is to be human (or horseman), struggling to try to fix ourselves when we’re already so far gone. BoJack’s most recent fourth season featured one of the most harrowing psychodramas I’ve seen in just 30 minutes, as we watch BoJack try to right his life while cutting back to the absolute horror-show of his mother’s upbringing, threading the trauma through the generations. Our trauma may be our parent’s fault, but we’re reminded that they were also traumatized as children, in even more brutal a fashion than we may have been. In the most recent episode of Rick and Morty, Rick once again espouses the meaningless of life to his daughter Beth, as she comes to realize how alike she is to her monster of a father. These seemingly silly cartoons actually grapple with the darkness we all live through, in even more creative, poignant ways than some of the best cable dramas of the last 15 years.

While those two shows are absolutely aimed at and are primarily made for adults, the next two are absolutely not, which makes them even more impressive and profound.

I’m speaking of Adventure Time and Steven Universe. Each show follows a young boy as he comes of age, trying to be the best person they can be, defending their homes from evil, facing off against aliens and cosmic entities right alongside the constant challenges adolescence throws at us. Both air on Cartoon Network (not Adult Swim) and both certainly started out as just kids’ cartoons, and can still definitely be enjoyed by kids. But as they’ve progressed, they’ve both managed to confront similar themes: the struggles of growing up, recognizing how trauma shapes us and can morph into evil, and the forces we can use to fight it, including empathy, compassion and sometimes force.

I’m lucky enough to have had my brother Sean basically force me to watch these. While I’d heard of both, and thought they looked cool and interesting, I doubt I would have ever really invested the time to give them a proper viewing. There are usually anywhere from 30 to 50 episodes in a season, but episodes of both shows are only 11 minutes long. The emotional power, the depth of narrative, the laughs that are packed into just 11 minutes is truly astounding and I still have trouble wrapping my head around how they pull it off. I could write whole essays on each of these shows, but I’ll try to just pitch what I find so enthralling about each.

Adventure Time has one of the deepest mythologies and world building I’ve ever seen in any form of storytelling. It’s set on Earth, roughly a thousand years after a nuclear explosion wiped out (almost) all of humanity. Now all sorts of messed up creatures, including slime princesses, candy people, and an evil entity named the Lich roam the Earth. And Finn the Human does his best to answer the call of adventure and protect his community from harm, and when he’s not busy doing that, he’s playing around with his best-friend/dog/shape-shifter Jake and trying to find love. It’s hilarious and heartbreaking and has some of the weirdest, off-beat little moments of strange beauty and melancholy sprinkled throughout each episode.

Steven Universe, as Sean pitches is it, can be described as “3 lesbian aliens raising a half- human, half-alien boy”. Steven Universe was created by Rebecca Sugar, formerly a writer on Adventure Time, and the composer of the best songs done on that show. She brings her gift for music (and more) to Steven Universe. The way she ties songs into the emotional arc of the story is sublime. This show primarily focuses on the power, transcendence and toxicity relationships can bring into our lives. What also makes this show so beautiful to me is how Steven deals with people (and aliens), whether they’re friend or foe. Apparent threats, who state their malicious intent, are usually turned by Steven into allies. Not through manipulation or force, but with empathy and kindness. He asks them questions and his charm and compassion shines through. This is another show that deals deeply with trauma and how that trauma infects our entire worldview. Yet grand speeches, demands, and threats are never how you actually change a person. You change them by your own example, by asking questions, and listening with an open mind to the answers.

I’ve teared up more times than I can count while watching episodes of Adventure Time and Steven Universe, and I wonder how they are able to get to me in such deep ways, in such short amounts of time. I know it’s because of the strong emotional depth they explore with each character and the long standing narrative arcs they continue to return to. But why are they so god damn affecting? Pixar movies certainly deserve a mention here, as they’re the prime example of complex animated storytelling pulling at your heartstrings. I still remember seeing Toy Story in theaters, absolutely crushed when Woody and Buzz just miss getting on the moving van. Or, of course, the first 15 minutes of Up. For some reason, I think it’s easier for us to let our guard down and empathize when we’re watching animation. Whether it’s a child, an alcoholic grandpa, or a narcissistic horseman, as we watch them struggle, overcome, and struggle again, through joy and pain, victory and defeat, the story is removed just enough from reality that we allow ourselves to become fully absorbed by it. As we grow older we may scoff at the idea of sitting down to watch a cartoon to be moved, but it may be the best thing we could do to maintain that relationship with our inner-child, to maintain a sense of awe and curiosity towards the world. And it only takes 11 to 22 minutes an episode to get that shot of wonder, joy, and catharsis we so rarely get elsewhere.

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X Marks the Spot

If you want to create, change, or eliminate a habit, do this:

Identify your goal. What do you want to do differently each day? Make this a simple yes or no question. Did I eat junk food today? Did I write 500 words today? Did I go for a walk today?

Now get a monthly calendar that you can mark X’s on. Hang it up where you can see it regularly each day.

Each day you accomplish your goal, mark a big fat X on that day. If you don’t do what you’ve set out to do, you leave that day blank. Eventually, those X’s create a chain, and it makes you feel good. You want to keep the chain growing. When you can’t write an X and the chain is broken, you feel bad, and motivated not to slip again.

This is one tool I used to cut out bad habits and create new ones. This is what my friend used to quit smoking cigarettes. This is what Jerry Seinfeld used to make sure he was working on new jokes every day. He’s the one who ‘created’ this system. This simple advice has been recommended on probably thousands of blogs by now, by writers such as Warren Ellis, Austin Kleon, and Ryan Holiday.

So I thought I’d pass it along here. Because it works.

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Recommended: Life Itself and My Favorite Thing is Monsters

Today I’m recommending two different pieces of art born from Chicago.

Life Itself

By the time this documentary of Roger Ebert is made, he is in his last year on Earth and struggling to stay. By the time it’s released, he is gone.

Cancer in his jaw necessitates its removal. He’s robbed of his ability to speak. He can’t eat or drink. He types out what he wants to say and a robotic voice speaks. And he is still hilarious, and warm and open. He is courageous in the face of failing health and then death.

After losing his voice he turns his attention to writing on his blog and sharing his regrets, passions, and memories from his long, fascinating life.

But this documentary isn’t just about his fight at the end, or just about his movie criticism. It is a portrait of his entire life and all that he learned and shared. His struggles and joy. It’s a beautiful movie and it’s available on Netflix.

“We all are born with a certain package. We are who we are: where we were born, who we were born as, how we were raised. We’re kind of stuck inside that person, and the purpose of civilization and growth is to be able to reach out and empathize a little bit with other people. And for me, the movies are like a machine that generates empathy. It lets you understand a little bit more about different hopes, aspirations, dreams and fears. It helps us to identify with the people who are sharing this journey with us.”  – Roger Ebert

My Favorite Thing is Monsters

This a gorgeous, gripping, emotional graphic novel like I’ve never read before. Taking place in Chicago at the end of the 1960’s, My Favorite Thing is Monsters is 10-year-old Karen Reyes’ graphic diary. Every page is drawn as if it was in a notebook, yet it’s done in exquisite detail, with beautiful drawings of monsters, classical paintings, and human beings. Karen is obsessed with B-movie monsters, her struggling family, and figuring out who murdered her upstairs neighbor, Holocaust survivor Anka. I was floored by this book not just because of the story, but because I found myself lost looking at one page at a time, absorbed in all the details. Emil Ferris wrote and illustrated the entire book. It is a tremendous piece of art.

Click through to check out some sample pages.

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