Recipe for mental flexibility
Inspired by ACT and a psychology study on music exploration
To increase psychological flexibility:
Step 1:
Think of all the things you define yourself with, and make a list.
The food you reach for without thinking.
The music you play without thinking.
The activities you fill up your time with without thinking.
The books you read without thinking.
The media content you consume without thinking.
The celebrities you follow without thinking.
The people you hang out with without thinking.
Step 2:
Look at the list, and create a new list of everything that is either opposite to or wildly different from your first list. Use ChatGPT if you have to.
Step 3:
Commit to try at least one of these things, even if it feels strange.
Get the fuck out of your comfort zone.
This was inspired by (1) Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and (2) a psychology study that says that as people age they don’t explore new music as much as when they were young — explaining why so many people (myself included) are stuck in a music era in the nostalgic past, be it the 80s, 90s, or the early 2000s.