“We have to create culture, don’t watch TV, don’t read magazines, don’t even listen to NPR. Create your own roadshow. The nexus of space and time where you are now is the most immediate sector of your universe, and if you’re worrying about Michael Jackson or Bill Clinton or somebody else, then you are disempowered, you’re giving it all away to icons, icons which are maintained by an electronic media so that you want to dress like X or have lips like Y. This is shit-brained, this kind of thinking. That is all cultural diversion, and what is real is you and your friends and your associations, your highs, your orgasms, your hopes, your plans, your fears. And we are told ‘no’, we’re unimportant, we’re peripheral. ‘Get a degree, get a job, get a this, get a that.’ And then you’re a player, you don’t want to even play in that game. You want to reclaim your mind and get it out of the hands of the cultural engineers who want to turn you into a half-baked moron consuming all this trash that’s being manufactured out of the bones of a dying world.” – Terrence McKenna
Create Your Own Culture
Jocko Willink says every day is Monday and I love that.
Why?
Because that’s the mindset of a purpose-driven high-performer.
I don’t follow the cycle of working Monday through Friday and then zoning out on the weekends. I don’t follow the cycle of going out every Friday and Saturday night in order to get wasted with friends and hopefully get laid.
My aim is to go to bed around the same time and wake up around the same time every day. Getting up at different times due to late night frolicking around just ain’t healthy. It ends up messing up your circadian rhythm. This disturbs the function of your neurotransmitters and hormones. Not to mention the effects of late night junk-food and alcohol. This mainstream cycle is one that leads you towards a low-performance body and mind.
The average American physique
Instead, I like to treat each day as a Monday. And what this attitude entails is this idea that you live on your own cycle. It also entails that every day is an opportunity to make progress on your mission.
I always counter-balance the above mindset by stating the fact that you will need rest and recovery and there’s nothing wrong with it as long as it’s done impeccably. Sometimes you need to get laid. Sometimes you need to sleep for a whole day. It happens. But don’t get into a rut with it. Every one needs periods of rest and there’s no shame in that.
It’s worth noting that the names Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc, all come from rituals, traditions, and cultures originating from the Greeks and Romans. These days and their names have been created over time in order to match cultural traditions and rituals such as Sabbath.
The point is that these days exist due to cultures and traditions that may not necessarily synch up with your own values and purpose. If you go back far enough these cultures actually had some very beautiful meanings behind the names and rituals associated with each day. But modern society has imposed its own own low-performance crap as mentioned above.
To sum up my message for today, just remember two things:
Number one: Every day is a Monday because every day is an opportunity to make progress on your mission. Just because it’s Friday, it doesn’t mean it’s time to slack off on discipline and become a slob.
Number two: Create your own culture. Don’t follow the cycles of modern society if they don’t align with your own. Have some respect for and adapt to them to whatever extent you need.
P.s. Liked this article and on the journey to becoming a high-performance man? Check out my store for some badass gear or book a coaching session with me!
Best,
Maximillian Giamarco
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