Music Is Worse Than You Thought

I’m done with going to raves.

Done with actively listening to music.

Sure it’s nice to hear some hardstyle bangers every now and then, but I don’t need it in my life.

Here’s why…

Is Music Actually Helpful?

Most people use music to cope with boredom, difficult emotions, and doing hard things.

It can boost your energy levels for when you need that extra motivation, help you get a deadlift PR, and make the work more enjoyable.

Good music enhances workouts.

But what about during focused work?

• Does music enhance your work or distract you from reaching your fullest potential?

I sometimes use ‘functional music’ from brain.fm to increase my focus.

Sometimes it just distracts me or I find myself switching tracks.

I find that I’m perfectly fine without it.

If you use music…

• Do you need music all the time?

• Will you not get to work if you forget your headphones?

You can do better than that…

Forget the earbuds, leave the phone in the car.

You’ll be much more focused when you:

• Stop changing songs

• Stop looking at your phone

• Stop scrolling between sets

Your work/workouts will be:

• Done quicker

• More effective

• More enjoyable

Here’s why…

The Flow-State

When you focus on one thing at a time, you enter a ‘flow-state.’

You get “in the zone.”

Thoughts disappear, and instinct takes over.

Though challenging, it feels effortless.

• Like when you’re so immersed in a game, that you don’t even know how you shot that guy.

• Like how Kobe scored 81 points in one game.

• Like how you did ‘X’ in such a short period of time.

To enter a flow-state, you must:

• Focus on one challenging task

• Put 100% of your attention on it

• Not switch your attention to something else

The moment your attention turns to something else, you start losing your flow-state.

Your effortless focus is lost.

Stay focused.

Music Causes Earworms

Have you ever gotten a song stuck in your head for 4 weeks straight?

4 f*cking weeks…

It’s called “earworms.”

I couldn’t stay present, I wasn’t in the moment.

When you’re AFK (away from keyboard) in real life and someone speaks to you and notices you’re not even listening.

How do you think you make them feel?

I felt like half my brain was switched off because it was.

My subconscious was occupied by this one song!

They say to get rid of earworms, you should chew gum or listen to the song fully.

I made up this song, remixing it in my own head, so there was no “full song.”

I couldn’t get rid of it, so I left it alone.

Sometimes it goes away, but another one will take its place.

What’s your experience with earworms?

Let me know if you have a solution.

Stay present at all times.

Silence Allows For Stillness

Music is nice and all, but can’t we have a moment of silence?

Most people can’t deal with silence.

They’re afraid of it.

They want to fill in the gap of silence as soon as possible.

This happens in conversation, during commutes, and while working and training.

Some of the happiest people on Earth live in poor places.

They don’t mind when conversation ends.

Within the silence, there’s stillness.

Stillness allows for:

• Focus

• Reflection

• Emotional processing

• Thinking (deliberately)

• The subconscious to find new ideas and solutions

Ever had those shower thoughts or good ideas popping up randomly?

These moments are valuable.

Embrace the silence.

— Henry