We have over 600 muscles that make up between 1/3 and 1/2 of our body weight. They bind us together along with connective tissue and help us move.  Muscles need constant attention. The way you treat them on a daily basis will determine if they will wither or grow.

Muscles need attention to grow

When you expose your body to stress, such as pushing something heavy, your muscles experience microscopic damage. In response, the injured cells release inflammatory molecules called cytokines that activate the immune system to repair the injury. This is when muscle-building happens. The greater the damage to the muscle tissue, the more your body needs to repair itself. The cycle of damage and repair makes muscles bigger and stronger to adapt to greater demands.

Muscles stress

When your body has adapted to an activity, it won't produce enough stress to stimulate new muscle growth.  <ul><li>Hypertrophy, an increase in muscular size through exercise, is possible by exposing your cells to higher workloads than they are used to. </li><li>If you don't continuously expose your muscles to some resistance, they will shrink, known as muscular atrophy.</li><li>Exposing the muscle to a high degree of tension while the muscle is lengthening is called an eccentric contraction.</li></ul>

Hypertrophy, muscular atrophy and eccentric contraction

Without proper nutrition, hormones, and rest, your body will not be able to repair damaged muscle fibres.<ul><li>Protein in our diet preserves muscle mass. It provides the building blocks for new tissue in the form of amino acids.</li><li>Hormones such as insulin-like growth factors and testosterone shift the body into repair and growth.</li><li>However, this repair mainly happens when we're sleeping.</li></ul>

Muscles need proper nutrition and sleep

View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-makes-muscles-grow-jeffrey-siegel We have over 600 muscles in our bodies that help bind us together, hold us up, and help us move. Your muscles also need your constant attention, because the way you treat them on a daily basis determines whether they will wither or grow. Jeffrey Siegel illustrates how a good mix of sleep, nutrition and exercise keep your muscles as big and strong as possible. Lesson by Jeffrey Siegel, animation by Brett Underhill.

Stashed ideas

What makes muscles grow? - Jeffrey Siegel

Calories are a way of keeping track of the body's energy budget. A healthy balance is when we put in a similar amount of energy as we burn. If we consistently put more energy into our bodies than we use, the excess will gradually be stored in our cells as fat. That is when we'll gain weight. However, if we burn more energy than we put in, we'll lose weight. A calorie is a measurement we use to count the energy we consume.

Understanding calories

One large calorie is defined as the amount of energy it would take to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius.  Everything we consume has a calorie count - a measure of how much energy the item stores in its chemical bonds. For example, an apple has about 52 calories, and the average slice of pizza has 272 calories.

How to measure a calorie

Energy is released during digestion and stored in other molecules. It is then broken down to provide fuel to the body when needed. Energy is used in three ways:<ul><li>Roughly 10% enables digestion</li><li>About 20% fuels physical activity</li><li>Around 70% support the basic functions of our organs and tissues. </li></ul>

How a body's energy is used 

BMR is the number of calories you would need to survive.  The official guidelines for how many calories the average person requires each day are based on only the body's most basic functions. The MBR for women are 2000 calories and for men 2500 calories.  It is based on average weight, physical activity and muscle mass.  If you are doing activities such as cycling the Tour de France, your body could use up to 9000 calories per day.  Pregnancy requires only slightly more calories than usual, and elderly people need fewer calories as they typically burn energy more gradually.

Basal metabolic rate (BMR)

<ul><li>The calorie counts on nutrition labels measure how much energy the food contains, not how much energy you can actually get out of it.</li><li>Fibrous foods like whole-wheat take more energy to digest, meaning you'll get less energy from eating a 100 calorie serving than a 100 calorie serving of potato chips. </li><li>Different people might not get the same number of calories from eating the exact same food. It can vary based on enzyme levels, gut bacteria and intestine length.</li></ul>

Before you start counting calories

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-a-calorie-emma-bryce We hear about calories all the time: How many calories are in this cookie? How many are burned by doing 100 jumping jacks, or long-distance running, or fidgeting? But what is a calorie, really? And how many of them do we actually need? Emma Bryce explains how a few different factors should go into determining the recommended amount for each person. Lesson by Emma Bryce, animation by Qa'ed Mai.

What is a calorie? - Emma Bryce

Yet, as important as conformity is, we are not very good at estimating group consensus. We assume the majority in a group are those with the loudest voices that are repeated the most often. Unfortunately, this can lead us to adopt beliefs that the majority never really held, resulting in collective illusions that become a reality.

We're hardwired to prefer to be with our group

When we deviate from the group, our brains trigger an 'error signal' that short circuits everything else to let you know something is fundamentally wrong, and you should pay attention. Public shaming is an example of punishing people who deviate from the group. However, group consensus is not a guarantee that it is a fact. It may be a collective illusion.  The group may not believe something, but you are willing to conform because you think the group agrees.

Conformity bias

History is full of examples of groups deviating in huge ways, and there's an enormous social cost. For example, in the 60s, most whites in the South no longer approved of segregation but were convinced that most white Southerners still favoured segregation.  Nobody was willing to challenge the belonging to their group, which allowed segregation to continue for many years. We have to create a space that allows respectful disagreement in productive ways.

Groups can err in huge ways

Thinking as a group and going along with the loudest voices can feel easy and even natural. But to make real positive change in our world, it’s important to hear all voices and question the perceived majority. Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/c/bigthink Up Next ► Why Americans don’t trust each other https://youtu.be/E4erHIZpnyQ Humans are hardwired to conform to the group. And that’s why it feels seamless to go along with what you perceive as the majority’s view. But as a leader and a changemaker, it’s critical to recognize that just because it feels like most people agree on an issue, that doesn’t mean they actually do. When you find yourself in a situation where a group of people is pushing forward on something you’re not so sure about, pause and question it. Are all voices being heard? Or are the loudest voices simply altering the group’s perception? If you want to make real change in your community, organization, or even your personal life, be sure to hear all voices and think critically outside of the group. Collective Illusions is a 9-part series brought to you by Stand Together: a community of changemakers tackling our biggest challenges. Learn more here: https://standtogether.org/ Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/collective-illusions/conformity/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Todd Rose: Todd Rose is the co-founder and president of Populace, a think tank committed to ensuring that all people have the opportunity to pursue fulfilling lives in a thriving society. Prior to Populace, he was a faculty member at Harvard University where he founded the Laboratory for the Science of Individuality and directed the Mind, Brain, and Education program. Todd is the best selling author of Collective Illusions, Dark Horse, and The End of Average. He lives in Burlington, Massachusetts. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Read more of our stories on group conformity: The power of conformity: How good people do evil things ► https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/conformity-2/ Following the scientific consensus is the ‘least wrong’ line of thought ►https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/following-the-scientific-consensus-is-the-least-wrong-line-of-thought/ Why large groups of people often come to the same conclusions ► https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/groupthink/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Big Think | Smarter Faster™ ► Big Think The leading source of expert-driven, educational content. With thousands of videos, featuring experts ranging from Bill Clinton to Bill Nye, Big Think helps you get smarter, faster by exploring the big ideas and core skills that define knowledge in the 21st century. ► Big Think+ Make your business smarter, faster: https://bigthink.com/plus/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Want more Big Think? ► Daily editorial features: https://bigthink.com/popular/ ► Get the best of Big Think right to your inbox: https://bigthink.com/st/newsletter ► Facebook: https://bigth.ink/facebook ► Instagram: https://bigth.ink/Instagram ► Twitter: https://bigth.ink/twitter

How resisting conformity can lead to real world progress | Todd Rose for Big Think

We're all going to get lumps, and we're all going to get bumps. None of us can predict the future, but we do know one thing about it and that's that it ain't gonna go according to plan. We will all have high highs and big days and proud moments of smiles, but between those high highs, we may also have some lumps and some bumps too.Having a great attitude is about choosing, no matter how difficult it is, no matter what pain hits you, to move forward and move on and take baby steps into the future.

Attitude

Try hanging out with three-year-olds and observe how they see the world because they're seeing the world for the first time. Having a sense of awareness is just about embracing your inner three-year-old. Because you all used to be three years old. That three-year-old is still part of you. And being aware is just about remembering that you saw everything you've seen for the first time once, too.

Awareness

This is just about being you and being cool with that. When you're authentic, you end up following your heart, and you put yourself in places and situations and in conversations that you love and that you enjoy. You meet people that you like talking to. You go places you've dreamt about. And you end up following your heart and feeling very fulfilled.

Authenticity

We are the only species on the only life-giving rock in the entire universe that we've ever seen, capable of experiencing so many of these things (airplanes, highway lanes, interior design, magazines, concerts, movies, architecture, horoscope signs. We've got fashion magazines, house party scenes, books, buffets, weddings, rollercoasters, bakeries, naps etc.)We've got all that, but we've only got 100 years to enjoy it. And that's the sad part. Life is so great that we only get such a short time to experience and enjoy all those tiny little moments that make it so sweet.

There Are Many Things To Be Happy About

And that's why I believe that if you live your life with a great attitude, choosing to move forward and move on whenever life deals you a blow, living with a sense of awareness of the world around you, embracing your inner three-year-old and seeing the tiny joys that make life so sweet and being authentic to yourself, being you and being cool with that, letting your heart lead you and putting yourself in experiences that satisfy you, then I think you'll live a life that is rich and is satisfying, and I think you'll live a life that is truly awesome.

Neil Pasricha reveals the 3 secrets (all starting with A) to leading a life that's truly awesome

http://www.ted.com Neil Pasricha's blog 1000 Awesome Things savors life's simple pleasures, from free refills to clean sheets. In this heartfelt talk from TEDxToronto, he reveals the 3 secrets (all starting with A) to leading a life that's truly awesome. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate. Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

Neil Pasricha: The 3 A's of awesome

<ol><li>Leave the root on the onion.</li><li>Cut the onion so you slice through the roots. </li><li>Have 1 finger in front and 2 fingers behind as you set your hand on the cutting board. The knuckle of the front finger will guide the knife as you cut the onion. </li><li>Cut slices of the onion with the tip of the knife toward the root. Make long strokes. </li><li>Make a horizontal cut toward the top of the onion slices. Go all the way to the other end of the onion. </li><li>Holding the onion in place, begin to cut vertically. Keep the slices as close together as possible. This is what produces the diced pieces you want.</li><li>Chop the onion aroun<warningtag>d the small piece of root. </warningtag></li></ol>

How To Finely Chop An Onion

<ol><li>Measure 400 grams of rice.</li><li>Rinse off the dust and starch with cold water. Always use cold water.</li><li>Put your rice into the pan. Infuse it with cardamom pods, star anise, salt, and pepper.</li><li>One part rice to one and half part water. Use cold water.</li><li> Put the lid on, bring it up to a boil, turn it down, and let me steam for 8 to 10 minutes.</li><li>Do not lift the lid up. The secret to a great rice is to allow it to steam as it is cooking.</li><li>Take pods and star anise out, take a fork and run it through the rice to break it apart a bit and make it fluffly.</li></ol>

How To Cook Rice Perfectly

<ol><li>Use a long, flexible knife to de-skin the fillet. </li><li>Start at the tail end of the fillet with a small cut to get your knife positioned almost horizontally to the skin and fillet so it can slide in between the two. </li><li>Use the skin to pull the fillet towards your knife as you move the blade along the bottom of the fillet.</li><li>Check to see if you’re cutting too much fish away along with the skin and adjust.</li><li>Wrap the fish skin around your fingers to increase your grip and pull the skin out and towards the knife as you cut.</li><li>With your knife raise the heads of the bones still in the fillet. Use tweezers to pluck<warningtag> the pin bones from the fillet.</warningtag></li></ol>

How To Skin And Debone A Fish

The weight of the knife should cut food, not your weight. Dull knives are more dangerous than sharp ones.

Sharpen Your Knife Every Time You Cook

<ol><li>Start off by seasoning cold water with salt and olive oil and bring to a rolling boil. A nice large pan is essential to ensure it all has sufficient room to cook evenly. The olive oil is to stop the pasta from sticking together.</li><li>Add pasta and turn once it begins to "melt."</li><li>Taste the pasta. It's done once it's tender, but still firm when bitten (AKA al dente).</li><li>Drain your pasta and season it with one tablespoon of olive oil, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper.</li></ol>

How To Cook Perfect Pasta: The Untraditional Way 

We've compiled five previous videos into one, helping you to master your basic skills in the kitchen. Cooking rice, chopping an onion, sharpening a knife, deboning a fish and cooking pasta. From Gordon's Ultimate Cookery Course. Order Ramsay in 10 Now to get the Full Recipe: http://hyperurl.co/Ramsayin10 Made with Hexclad - Get Cookin' with HexClad today: http://www.hexclad.com Follow Gordon: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gordonramsayo... Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/gordongram Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gordonramsay Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GordonRamsay #GordonRamsay #Food #Cooking

How To Master 5 Basic Cooking Skills | Gordon Ramsay

One reader asked Tim Ferris how he incorporates the different facets into his life:<ul><li>being creative, </li><li>getting stuff done, and </li><li>finding time for self-reflection and contemplation,</li></ul> considering that we all only have 24 hours in a day, and each endeavour can take your full attention. Tim answers that you will never find balance. You have to create balance. You have to schedule it in your calendar in advance to cover these bases in your daily, weekly, or monthly life.

Finding balance in your life

You have to put what you want to do on the calendar. If you don't, it's not real and you are not going to find balance. You have to fight every lesser tendency by putting it into the calendar. This is the only way to integrate various parts into your life. If they are not in your calendar, it's not going to work. You will neglect important areas and pay the consequences in the long run.

Integrate various parts into your life

The cost of daily switching between activities is extremely high and may not work very well. <ul><li>Instead, block out a day where you batch the productive things such as recording videos or phone calls with your team. Then try and cover the artistic and self-reflection on other days.</li><li>On a quarterly basis, you can also block off a week for creative endeavours.  </li><li>Prebook a time off where you get to unplug.</li></ul> Whichever way you do it, stay consistent.

Block time off in your calendar

How to balance being creative, getting stuff done, and finding time for self-reflection and contemplation. | Sign up for Tim's free "5-Bullet Friday" newsletter: https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/1dSzTkW About Tim Ferriss: Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 400 million downloads and been selected for “Best of iTunes” three years running. Connect with Tim Ferriss: Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-1/ Visit the Tim Ferriss PODCAST: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss BLOG: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/

How to Live a Full Life: Integrating Productivity + Creativity + Self-Reflection | Tim Ferriss

When you're afraid of something, such as flying, that will limit your ability to travel or visit friends. Likewise, if you're fearful of public speaking, fear will restrict your ability to express yourself and share your ideas. If you're scared of talking to your boss or asking for a raise, that will impact how much money you make.

Fear is limiting

Fear is exactly the same as excitement. Your heart races, you might sweat a little, and you might feel a tightening in your chest. Your body goes into a hyper-aware state. The only difference between fear and excitement is what your brain is doing. Your mind is either working for you or against you. <ul><li>If you're excited, you think, "Oh, wow! This is going to be so cool to ride this roller coaster!"</li><li>If you're afraid, your brain is going through, "No way! There's no way I'm doing that!"</li></ul>

Fear is a physical state in your body

A strategy to beat fear in a high-stress situation is to use the five-second rule in combination with an anchor thought.  <ul><li>The five-second rule helps you to switch gears in your mind. Count 5-4-3-2-1. </li><li>The anchor thought is reframing how you feel. For example, instead of feeling afraid to deliver a presentation, frame it as exciting. Or, if you need to have a conversation with your boss, focus on how you will feel after the conversation. </li></ul> Before you do something that really makes you nervous or afraid, count 5-4-3-2-1, then insert the anchor thought you've already come up with.

The five-second rule to beat 

Download a FREE e-book from Mel Robbins about the 5 most powerful simple habits to change your life: https://bit.ly/3v6Dhsm ---- Learn the secret to stopping fear, anxiety, and panic attacks. I'd tried tons of strategies to stop fear and none of them actually worked. I decided to create a new technique, combining the research-backed 5 Second Rule and the latest findings on the topics of fear and anxiety. When nothing else worked for me, this technique did. It allowed me to beat fear, anxiety, panic attacks, and negative thoughts–and as I shared it with others, it worked for them too. For the first time, I'm explaining it here. Try it out and let me know how it works: hello@melrobbins.com You can learn even more about this simple yet highly effective 3-step strategy for stopping fear and anxiety in my new book, The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence With Everyday Courage. To order the book, click here: http://amzn.to/2dGcSfN

The Secret to Stopping Fear and Anxiety (That Actually Works) | Mel Robbins

Not every emotion we carry is fully acknowledged, understood or felt. Some feelings are 'unprocessed' from within. For example, many of our uninterpreted worries may show up as powerful directionless anxiety. Someone may have abused our trust or violated our self-esteem. We may feel compelled to remain busy, fear spending time on our own or do activities that ensure we don't meet what scares us head-on. These activities can include internet pornography, tracking the news or exercising compulsively.

We don't understand our emotions

Our minds may grow unoriginal. We grow depressed about everything because we are sad about something.  We can no longer sleep because we omitted to process all the thoughts of the day.   We avoid processing emotions because what we feel is opposite to our self-image and threatening to our society's ideas of normality. However, we need compassion for ourselves.

We pay dearly for failing to process our feelings

We fail to know ourselves simply because it hurts a lot. Processing emotions requires good friends, therapists and ritual moments like meditation, where we can drop our defences.  When we process our emotions, we always feel elevated in our overall mood. But first, we must go through a period of mourning where we acknowledge that life is sadder than we want it to be.

Why we fail to know ourselves

In order to be calm and at ease with ourselves, we need regular periods where we do something rather strange-sounding: process our emotions. Here is a guide to this essential psychological move. If you like our films, take a look at our shop (we ship worldwide): https://goo.gl/GTunD2 Join our mailing list: http://bit.ly/2e0TQNJ Or visit us in person at our London HQ https://goo.gl/qMLe4B FURTHER READING “It is a quirk of our minds that not every emotion we carry is fully acknowledged, understood or even truly felt. There are feelings that exist in an ‘unprocessed’ form within us. A great many worries may, for example, remain disavowed and uninterpreted and manifest themselves as powerful directionless anxiety. Under their sway, we may feel a compulsive need to remain busy, fear spending any time on our own or cling to activities that ensure we don’t meet what scares us head on (these might include internet pornography, tracking the news or exercising compulsively). A similar kind of disavowal can go on around hurt. Someone may have abused our trust, made us doubt their kindness or violated our self-esteem but we are driven to flee a frank recognition of an appalling degree of exposure and vulnerability. The hurt is somewhere inside, but on the surface, we adopt a brittle good cheer (jolliness being sadness that doesn’t know itself), we numb ourselves chemically or else adopt a carefully non-specific tone of cynicism, which masks the specific wound that has been inflicted on us…” You can read more on this and other subjects on our blog, here: https://goo.gl/FxY6e6 MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Our website has classes, articles and products to help you think and grow: https://goo.gl/jWiJE7 Watch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLself You can submit translations and transcripts on all of our videos here: https://www.youtube.com/timedtext_cs_panel?c=UC7IcJI8PUf5Z3zKxnZvTBog&tab=2 Find out how more here: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6054623?hl=en-GB SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Vale Productions http://www.valeproductions.co.uk/ #TheSchoolOfLife

How to Process Your Emotions

Early in a child's life, they will ask the world if they are doing OK. Do they deserve goodwill and sympathy? When a parent responds and is generous, warm, sympathetic and understanding of life's challenges, the child will develop an easy conscience and think of themselves as valuable. They won't continuously wonder if they have the right to exist. But the more punitive parent, whose approval is uncertain, will raise a child that is uncertain and in fear of being called arrogant.

Fear and self-doubt starts in childhood

Very few adults will still wonder what their parents think of them. Instead, they often take the question elsewhere, such as a harsh figure of authority: media and social media.  In this place that rewards sadism and malice, the self-doubting person will now direct their fears of unworthiness and desire for reassurance and ask, "Do I deserve to exist? Am I OK?" However, social media never gives a reliable yes.  If we want to find out who we are, we will have to go back to the baby and quiet the alarmed enquiries with ample doses of soothing and kindness.

Looking to social media for reassurance

Nowadays, in our more difficult moments, many of us turn to social media for reassurance. Unfortunately, we're more likely to encourage further self-hatred. Sign up to our new newsletter and get 10% off your first online order of a book, product or class: https://bit.ly/3HpVdSa For books and more from The School of Life, visit our online shop: https://bit.ly/3IkGDLl Our website has classes, articles and products to help you lead a more fulfilled life: https://bit.ly/3ihl7MI Join this channel to get access to exclusive members perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7IcJI8PUf5Z3zKxnZvTBog/join FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects on our blog, here: https://bit.ly/3MWP2rK MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLself SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Eunju Choi https://www.encountersdigital.com/artist-profiles/eunju-ara-choi Title animation produced in collaboration with Vale Productions https://www.valeproductions.co.uk/

Stop Taking Your Fears to Social Media

Lao Tzu, the author of Tao Te Ching, stated that the world governs itself. It doesn't need our intervention. Lao Tzu wrote: "When you arrive at non-action, nothing will be left undone."
The idea resembles the basic understanding of the paradoxical concept "we-wei." Wu-wei means "non-doing", "doing nothing", or "effortless action." It is about aligning our actions with nature and not forcing anything.

Wu-wei

The ancient art of "letting things happen" doesn't make us passive. Lao Tzu stated that using force, "forcing the flow of nature" always leads to unseen troubles. Nature has its course and is always working in the background to create and recreate the 10,000 things.

Wu-wei can enhance our relationship with the world

Today's society focuses on the importance of conscious human effort. We celebrate effort, despite its actual effectiveness, as we aim to always be busy for the sake of being busy.  Hard work is necessary and action is often reasonable, but on many occasions, it isn't. That is why we often experience that "forcing things" leads to ruin, and pushing our luck beyond nature's constraints often backfires. Conversely, situations often solve themselves when we don't intervene.

Human effort

Spending our lives fighting against nature is a waste of time, no matter how much people celebrate us for engaging in the effort. We are really better off accepting what is and navigate through it like water, flowing through a rocky surface.

Navigate through life like water

With effortless action, we are not so much doing, but rather going. We start on a river stream without considering where it leads us. We're setting sail into unchartered territory, without getting worried about the great unknown. We swim with the current, not against it, making our way smooth. For example, going on a date means you want to get to know the person. But many people overprepare, overanalyze, and rehearse causing them to become nervous and come across as staged.

Effortless action

We often focus too much on the results.  Zhuangzi talks about how different prospects can influence our actions and emotional states if we attach ourselves to them. In the context of a date, we want the other person to like us, and if we don't succeed, we feel miserable. Instead of just enjoying the evening out, it becomes a stressful event with lots of mental preparations. However, entering a date unprepared lets you act natural. You are present in the moment and most people love that.If we let go of the results, we can act more effortlessly and responsively.

Letting go of the result

Ego often distorts how we perceive reality. For example, when we converse with a spouse, the ego tends to fill the unknown gaps with prejudices, fantasies, and convictions. The larger the ego, the more it will dominate the situation and close us off from what's really going on. That's why Lao Tzu urges us to return to a more unprocessed state he calls "the uncarved block" where the person is unencumbered by intellectual baggage.

The ego

We need to be brave enough to let go of what we've learned and ignore our assumptions.  As Lao Tu puts it, "Renounce knowledge and your problems will end. What is the difference between yes and no? What is the difference between good and evil? Must you fear what others fear? Nonsense, look how far you have missed the mark!"

The need for courage

Confucius described "fasting of the heart" as a form of meditation, which leads to letting our preconceptions go and making room to receive.  Understanding wu-wei helps us to let go of the ego, so we can act with the situation at hand, as it is. We let things happen and act responsibly, unrestrained by our preconceived ideas.

"Fasting of the heart"

Wu Wei is the responsive way of action from a clear openness in yourself.

Despite humanity’s technological developments and will to progress, we’re still utterly dependent on nature. Human effort has its limitations and is always in conjunction with nature. We cannot grow a plant, for example, completely isolated from natural growth, even though we can influence and manipulate it. The reputed author of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu, stated that the world governs itself. It doesn’t need our intervention. As Lao Tzu wrote: “When you arrive at non-action, nothing will be left undone.” End quote. This idea resembles the basic understanding of the paradoxical concept “wu-wei.” But when we look for a definition of wu-wei, we quickly discover that there isn’t one fixed meaning. Some translate wu-wei as “non-action,” or “doing nothing,” others as “actionless action,” and others as “effortless action.” We find out that Taoism offers several layers, if you will, regarding how wu-wei can enhance our relationship with the world. And how this ancient art of “letting things happen” doesn’t necessarily make us passive, ignorant bystanders but can actually improve how we act, leading to better outcomes. This video (Wu-wei | The Art of Letting Things Happen) serves as a humble attempt to make the depth of this philosophical idea clear and practical. Support the channel: ✔️ PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/einzelgangerco ✔️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/einzelgangster ✔️ Bitcoin: 3HQnEz1LQ4G6dqN2LdZgzc7qoJjJCyWjTC (Donated BTC and want in the credits? Send me an email with the amount/address) 🎞️ Animations by Munkaa: https://www.youtube.com/user/jus7y Purchase Stoicism for Inner Peace (affiliate links): 📘 Paperback: https://amzn.to/3wB9iHb 💻 Ebook: https://amzn.to/2RdjbKV Purchase Unoffendable (affiliate links): 📘 Paperback: https://amzn.to/2RJYfti 💻 Ebook: https://amzn.to/35e23a5 Merchandise: 🛍️ Shop: teespring.com/stores/einzelgangerstore 🛍️ Merchandise design by Punksthetic Art: https://www.youtube.com/user/JRStoneart All music used is licensed and paid for. Creative Commons (attributions): Laozi (1): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ping_Sien_Si_-_016_Lao_zi_(16135526115).jpg Laozi (2): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Statue_of_Lao_Tzu_in_Quanzhou.jpg Laozi (3): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Netsuke,_elderly_man_(51370482573).jpg Confucius (1): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Confucian_Figures_-_Painting_of_Kongzi_by_Kan%C5%8D_Sansetsu.jpg China painting: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MS-SchwarzlacktablettGoldeneLackmalereiLushan1595-03.JPG Zhuangzi: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wang_Jianzhang_-_Solitary_Colors_of_the_Autumn_Woods_-_1972.68_-_Cleveland_Museum_of_Art.tif #TAOISM #WUWEI #LAOTZU 00:00 - Intro 02:05 - Wrestling with nature 05:19 - Acting for the act itself 07:57 - The uncarved block

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Carson
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Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

Carson @carson_

What makes muscles grow? - Jeffrey Siegel

What is a calorie? - Emma Bryce

How resisting conformity can lead to real world progress | Todd Rose for Big Think

Neil Pasricha: The 3 A's of awesome

How To Master 5 Basic Cooking Skills | Gordon Ramsay

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Carson
@carson_