In this episode, we discuss the countercultural habits you should adopt to live a rich and meaningful life. Popular culture is, by its very nature, fleeting and temporary. As a result, it often promotes habits that have no enduring value and add little meaning to our lives. Fads and fashions are incapable of fostering the elevated modes of living we truly desire. Instead, we need to thoughtfully analyze the cultural habits we have—intentionally or unintentionally—adopted and practice on a daily basis, and remove those which do not add value. Ultimately, in order to live a elevated, meaningful, and cultured life, it is necessary to give up some popular cultural habits and replace them with those which add joy and meaning. 

Key quotes: 

"By looking back at the values and habits that shaped those who came before us, we can cultivate practices in our own lives that allow us to rise above the cultural morass in constant flux around  us and curate cultured lives that transcend pop culture itself. "

"The path to genuine transformation demands a departure from familiar routines and habits to make room for daily practices that give life, elevate, inspire, and enrich."

"The trouble with seeking happiness is simple: happiness is inherently transient. Like all emotions, it is a temporary state of feelings. And when we seek as permanent something that is by nature temporary, we are bound to be profoundly disappointed."

"We redefined life’s highest end as happiness, and we’ve lost ourselves in the process. "

Victor Frankl: “For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it.”

"Joy is a posture of the soul that emphasizes giving, rather than getting; creation, rather than consumption; and making life meaningful, rather than expecting life to make you happy. And the counterintuitive reality? That by focusing on cultivating joy rather than feeling happy, you will experience profound happiness as a result."

"Maintaining a private life is a profound act of respect—respect for yourself and for those in your life. It is an implicit acknowledgement that your private life is too precious to flaunt publicly."

"[Maintaining a private life] is a gift that you can give to yourself: the gift of space and freedom. Privacy is freedom from judgement. It is space to work at your own pace. It is freedom to act wisely and rightly without fearing external criticism. It is the space to pursue your own calling and passions without turning them into an exhibition."

"Consumption is easy. Creation is hard. It takes time. It saps energy. It demands attention and our effort. It’s an act of vulnerability. It’s emotionally, mentally, and physically taxing."

"There are few greater delights than to spend a day creating from thoughts, ideas, and raw materials something that did not exist when the sun rose in the morning—whether that’s a book, a loaf of bread, or a ceramic mug. There’s joy in both the created thing and the act of creation itself."

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