Reality

by TED WILD

“3 Minutes To Live 1% Happier”

Reality: Totally Loose For One Time

2023.10.3 | #30

Happy Reality Day! Here is your weekly dose of reality to help you live 1% happier↓


1 Insight From Me

During the National Day holiday two years ago, I did something I had always wanted to do but never let myself do: I loosed myself completely.

On the first day of the holiday, I told myself: I won’t do anything productive during this holiday, but just follow my feelings. I will play when I want, eat when I want, sleep when I want, and watch TV series when I want, even if I watch them all day long, it’s totally fine. The most important thing is that no matter how much time is “wasted”, you can’t blame yourself.

Then I lived a magical holiday.

Every day I go to KFC downstairs to buy snow-topped coffee, and when I come back, I drink it while watching the 11th season of Shameless which I have put down for a long time. Whiskey, coffee, black tea, green tea, milk tea, whatever, let’s drink ’em all! Pour them all together, stir a bit, and pour it down my fucking throat! I went to the cinema to watch a movie, and the girl next to me looked at my crying face with disdain. I went to the trampoline hall to jump on the trampoline, and became good friends with two elementary school students. They jumped up and down with me and insisted on buying me a Coke before I left. Playing music and dancing around the house, even look like an idiot.

Because I had always been tense before and thought that all “playing” was a sin. I wanted to relax, but at the same time I told myself that it was a waste of time, so I kept whipping myself. As a result, I was always exhausted and didn’t achieve much neither.

Until this holiday, I thought to myself, “Fuck it, I’ll just lie down and see if it’s the fucking end of the world.”

As a result, this vacation turned out to be my most productive period of time in many years. I tried new meditation methods, made several major mental breakthroughs, compiled two life-planning books, and clarified many of my future directions. And these are not the kind of things that you tell yourself “I must complete this holiday” before the vacation begins, but are done naturally without setting goals.

Be kind to yourself and let yourself relax completely for once.

The last sentence of the show “Shameless” is said by Frank, who seems wasted his whole life:

“Except, time is precious, don’t fucking waste it. ”

He is qualified to say this, because in those “wasted” time, he followed his heart and lived out his true self.

No fucks given.


1 Insight From Others

No matter how much meditation they do…. All Hindus will think about when dying is “I should have tried steak”

― Frank Gallagher, 《Shameless》


1 Small Step To Take

“Totally relaxing”

This holiday, take some time to really, totally relax. Just follow your heart, do whatever you want (except hurting other people).

PS: What does “mentally strong” mean?


Do you find this issue of Reality helpful? Leave a reply to this email, I check every reply in my inbox.

Until next week,

Ted Wild


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