HOW TO CONQUER RISK AVERSION

Simple thought:

Once you no longer concern yourself with your own self-preservation or your own ego (notions of success or failure), then you can attempt all the epic risks (which interest you).

1. Meditate on the shortness of life

Life is short. Once you realize this, and realize that immortality is an impossibility (and not a desired thing), then–

How can you best leverage your short life in a personally meaningful way?

2. The upside of asceticism

Asceticism (training, askesis) means:

You are strong, muscular, solid … and imperturbable.

This means:

You know that even if bad things happen to you, you will just shrug it off.

For example, imagine you have a level 70 Paladin (DIABLO II) with all the epic equipment. Let us say you got 10,000 health. If a tiny monster attacks you, it will only do 5 damage. You will still feel it, and it will (very slightly) lower your health, but you practically don’t feel it. This is the ideal of stoicism.

Embrace living a more ‘poor’ lifestyle, then you realize —

All these luxurious things we got are a plus, but not essential.

3. Failure is the goal, or part of the game?

In street photography, the ‘10 no‘ challenge. You intentionally ask for permission for street portraits, and you gotta keep asking until you get 10 people to say ‘no’ and reject you.

This is insanely liberating. Why? You are no longer afraid of getting rejected and ‘failing’– it become part of the game!

ERIC

STOICISM 101

Become invincible:

The Stoic Masters

Marcus Aurelius

Learn from the master stoics:

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