ERIC KIM

6 Tips to Boost Your Mood (if You’re Stuck All Day at Home)

Dear friend,

Times are really tough right now, but remember– you’re tougher.

Free motivation on ERIC KIM NEWS // see sample email here.

Here are just some very practical ways you can boost your mood if you’re feeling anxious, depressed, or low-mood at home:

  1. Share a meal with a friend or loved one via ZOOM, Google Hangouts, or FaceTime. Imagine like having a virtual dinner date with a friend, family member, or colleague. In Korean culture they call it ‘muk-bang’ (food room) in which a virtual person talks to you while you share a meal with them. But if we do this with our friends and family, it will boost your mood 10x (instead of eating alone at home). Virtual friendship is still better than being alone!
  2. Get on the floor and do max-rep pushups for 1 minute. Anyone can do this, regardless of how strong you are. If you cannot do a full pushup, start on your knees! Put your phone timer to 1 minute, then get on the ground and see how many pushups you can do. This instantly boosts my mood and increases my serotonin. Another variant– do max-rep squats for 1 minute!
  3. If you’re stuck at home and want to create artwork, a new idea– make 3D artwork. I’ve been using Adobe Dimension on my laptop and been having tons of fun making and creating in 3D! Here is an example creation I made.
  4. Turn on your speakers on your laptop or computer (full volume), or connect your speakers or bluetooth speakers or whatever. Put on your favorite song, and dance like a maniac for the entire duration of your song! There is something about dance which is phenomenal. And it is far more fun to dance with speakers than headphones! Don’t worry — your neighbors will forgive you (for the 3 minutes of craziness). I’ve been doing this a lot with Cindy (we have been dancing a lot to ‘LEMON’ by Rihanna, and it inspired us to make the NONFUTURE FILM).
  5. Drink another cup of black coffee, green tea, or buy some 100% cocoa nibs or 100% cocoa powder. The ‘hormetins’ of these bitter drinks actually improves our mood a lot!
  6. A hidden strange thing — watching zombie apocalypse films, vampire films, and end of the world boosts my mood. Why? When I watch these films (like I AM LEGEND with Will Smith), I feel better. Why? I think to myself: “Thank God my life isn’t THAT bad”. My theory is watching these horror films is a bit of “Schadenfreude” — joy from the misery of others in the film.

Things are tough, but remember– you’re tougher.

ERIC

Free Motivation for You

  1. This too will pass
  2. THE WILL TO POWER, OR THE WILL TO FEAR?
  3. THE WAR OF ART

How to thrive during uncertain times?

My thought:

The best way to thrive in uncertain times is to become a stoic.

Stoicism: knowing that whatever threatens to destroy you only makes you stronger.

ERIC

What I’m thinking and reading:

  1. Thinking about class battles and injustices (Snowpiercer, Elysium film).
  2. Reading On the Nature of Things by Lucretius. Thinking about poetry, science, and philosophy.
  3. The future of humanity: Will we just become like the people of WALL-E? And also, is humanity headed towards a MATRIX-esque future?

More turbo thoughts to come! ERIC

Recommended readings or films to watch:

  1. ‘Meditations’ by Marcus Aurelius. Contemplate the shortness of life, and living a braver life.
  2. 2001 space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick: On space exploration and great cinematography.
  3. The movie 300 (SPARTA!!!): To toughen us, and make us think more about living a great life. Delighting in pain and struggle.

REMAIN STRONG! ERIC