Although mindcoolness and mindfulness have many things in common, they are not the same. Both are states in which the mind is cool, calm, and collected (instead of heated, anxious, worrisome, twitchy, and agitated). Both are marked by grounded awareness, focused attention, and low cognitive noise. However, mindcoolness is broader; mindfulness is only an aspect of it. As I have already discussed in another article, we can be in a state of mindcoolness during three different types of … [Read more...]
489 Life Hacks that Make You More Confident
So this is where you've ended up now. On some Internet blog, hoping to read about 489 "life hacks" that promise to make you more confident. Do you feel good about yourself? Probably not. And you know what? I don't see it as my job to change that. In a sense, confidence is overrated. Sure, to other people, it matters a lot how confident you are. But if you truly don't give a fuck about what other people think, you also don't give a fuck about how confident you appear. And beneath the … [Read more...]
To Cool Your Mind, Think About Your Brain
Everything you think and feel and experience is a function of processes in your nervous system: You are tempted or anxious or furious? Well, this is just how your brain is reacting right now (e.g., hyperactivity in limbic regions that cortical executive areas fail to regulate). You are shy or antisocial? Well, this just how your brain is structured right now (e.g., high glutamate/creatine ratio and disrupted monoaminergic signaling). You have no motivation to do anything and your … [Read more...]
Flow, Control, and Relaxation: The Three Faces of Mindcoolness
On our journey as men, we seek to develop mindcoolness, based on the skill of bodymind dominance, mind liberation, and elimination of useless thoughts. As we take out our mental trash, we cool our minds. And depending on the challenges we face in life, our mind-cooling skills take on different shapes. 1. Flow Flow is the state in which you are highly focused, highly energized, and completely "in the zone." In a flow state, you reach peak performance with ease. Your hard work comes to … [Read more...]
7 Signs That You Think Too Much
Mindcoolness is bodymind dominance and the optimal balance between aggression and tranquility. It is a mental state that is willful, prideful, and present—unchained from frantic thoughts. But the chains come back when you think too much. Here are seven random signs that you do. 1. You pursue tough and painful activities. This is counterintuitive, but hear me out. Pain is reality. This is why I love strength training and martial arts. It brings me back into reality, back into life. (I talk, … [Read more...]