3159: The Art of Being Easily Fascinated by Joel Zaslofsky with Becoming Minimalist on Gratitude

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Living Daily, Episode 3159, The Art of Being Easily Fascinated by Joel

[00:00:07] Zaslawski with BecomingMinimalist.com and I'm Justin Malik.

[00:00:12] Happy Friday!

[00:00:13] This is the award-winning podcast where I read blogs to you, hopefully adding a little bit

[00:00:17] of inspiration, motivation or happiness to your day.

[00:00:21] This is all with permission from the websites by the way.

[00:00:24] And I'll keep this intro nice and short so let's get right to it as we optimize

[00:00:29] your life.

[00:00:34] The Art of Being Easily Fascinated by Joel Zaslawski with BecomingMinimalist.com

[00:00:40] Quote, The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.

[00:00:49] Ralph Waldo Emerson Who comes to mind when you think of someone

[00:00:53] who's easily amused?

[00:00:56] For me, it's Stu, a good friend I met in college and still admire.

[00:01:01] Just about anything you say can be worth a genuine chuckle or hearty belly laugh to him.

[00:01:07] As you might imagine, people love Stu.

[00:01:09] He constantly exudes self-confidence and he can explain some mysteries of the universe.

[00:01:15] He's a physicist after all.

[00:01:17] Now, who's the first person you think about that's easily frustrated?

[00:01:22] I'm imagining another friend of mine will call him Gary.

[00:01:26] Gary has a different approach to life than Stu.

[00:01:29] Gary quickly gets frustrated when things don't work out the way he wants them to, at work,

[00:01:34] in sports, more in relationships.

[00:01:37] I still think Gary's a great guy, there are just some things that really get him

[00:01:41] fuming.

[00:01:42] And here's one more question.

[00:01:44] Between Stu and Gary, who would you rather spend time with?

[00:01:49] Probably Stu, right?

[00:01:51] People who seem to constantly find joy in us and the world around us are almost always more

[00:01:57] enjoyable to be with.

[00:01:59] For that reason, early in my life I made a conscious decision to live easily fascinated.

[00:02:06] Over the years I've seen this decision pay out countless dividends in my life and the

[00:02:10] people around me.

[00:02:12] Just as Stu makes others feel self-confident, I've tried to do the same.

[00:02:17] And personally, because of that decision, I'm more generous, more grateful, and more

[00:02:22] valuable to others.

[00:02:24] If you're like most people, you've never even heard the term easily fascinated much

[00:02:29] less ever considered how the approach to life might benefit you.

[00:02:34] Fascinated with life.

[00:02:36] Many folks I know are like me, deeply and regularly grateful for their lives.

[00:02:41] But have you ever wondered where that bubbling spring of gratitude comes from?

[00:02:46] It often springs from noticing the miraculous all around us.

[00:02:51] For starters, consider your existence.

[00:02:54] According to a fascinating infographic, the odds that you were uniquely born to your parents

[00:03:00] at this time given everything we know about human interaction and reproduction are basically

[00:03:05] one in four hundred quadrillion.

[00:03:09] Talk about all the stars lining just right.

[00:03:12] The series of events that had to unfold for you to even exist are the very definition

[00:03:18] of a miracle.

[00:03:19] I mean, isn't that fascinating?

[00:03:21] And that's just the beginning.

[00:03:23] What about the light switch on the wall next to you?

[00:03:26] How amazing is it that you can touch a tiny button and the entire room instantly

[00:03:30] fills with light?

[00:03:32] Or clean water flows from your faucet every time you turn it on?

[00:03:37] Or planes filled with people are flying over your head right now?

[00:03:41] I mean, think about it.

[00:03:43] For just a moment, how amazing is the world around us?

[00:03:47] And that's just man-made stuff.

[00:03:49] What about giant trees that grow from seeds?

[00:03:53] Humongous balls of gas or rock floating in place in the universe?

[00:03:57] Or the wonderful refreshing flavor of a strawberry?

[00:04:00] It's almost too much to behold when you think about it.

[00:04:04] Isn't it too bad that so often we don't?

[00:04:08] Of course, the opportunity of being easily fascinated extends far beyond the material

[00:04:12] things around us.

[00:04:14] This all-too-rare attribute can quickly spread to better appreciate the people around us

[00:04:20] too.

[00:04:21] Because practically speaking, fascination represents a desire to connect, a willingness

[00:04:27] to embrace discomfort, and the motivation to learn how things like relationships or

[00:04:33] physics work.

[00:04:35] We can more meaningfully connect with people when we become absorbed in who they are, why

[00:04:40] they do what they do, and how they go about their lives.

[00:04:44] When we get fascinated with others, we become generous with our time, our attentiveness,

[00:04:50] and become intensely intrigued with how we can help others.

[00:04:54] We display our fascination in both conversation and learning.

[00:04:59] Being easily fascinated is an important key to increase generosity and embrace

[00:05:03] your authentic self.

[00:05:05] But how do we begin to embrace it?

[00:05:09] Four steps to brighten life's luster.

[00:05:12] These steps aren't sequential or in order of importance, so just experiment with one

[00:05:17] first and move on to another if you get curious.

[00:05:21] Number one, be fully present in conversation.

[00:05:26] The first rule of fascination is that it only happens when you pay attention.

[00:05:31] So put your active listening ears on and ignore the digital or social buzz around you.

[00:05:37] I can almost guarantee the person or people you're talking to are more likely to be

[00:05:42] all worthy than the internet in your pocket or those other people over there.

[00:05:48] Number two, embrace your inner, multi-potential light.

[00:05:53] Owning my identity as a multi-potential light, someone with a diversity of interests,

[00:05:58] passions, and skills gives me permission to let curiosity blossom into fascination.

[00:06:06] For example, I allow myself to marvel at and then experiment with all the various ways

[00:06:11] to run my podcasting workflow.

[00:06:14] Emily Wopnick explains more about this concept in her popular TED Talk that's been my

[00:06:19] opening for millions of people.

[00:06:22] Number three, practice saying how does that work?

[00:06:25] And tell me more.

[00:06:28] This is a rather simple trick.

[00:06:30] All you do after someone is done talking is either say, how does that work?

[00:06:34] Or tell me more.

[00:06:36] And then let the person keep talking.

[00:06:38] Your job is to grab on to something intriguing until your series of questions lead to fascination.

[00:06:45] And number four, experience an idea like it's the first time.

[00:06:50] For example, remember your school days when you learned that our bodies are made up

[00:06:55] of these things called molecules and that those molecules had these things called protons,

[00:07:00] neutrons, or electrons in them?

[00:07:02] And that there are quadrillions of these things in and around you at any given moment?

[00:07:07] Holy smokes.

[00:07:09] Wait a minute.

[00:07:10] How does that work?

[00:07:12] It's your turn.

[00:07:14] It only takes a moment to decide to be present.

[00:07:17] It costs nothing to embrace fascination.

[00:07:20] And yet it means everything to a friend or a loved one to hear.

[00:07:24] Tell me more about that.

[00:07:26] We'd all benefit from a little more wonder.

[00:07:34] You just listened to the post titled The Art of Being Easily Fascinated by Joel Zoslowski

[00:07:39] with BecomingMinimalist.com and I'll be right back with my commentary.

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[00:08:44] These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

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[00:08:53] Think of Joel a guest writer on Joshua Becker's site becoming minimalist?

[00:08:58] You can visit Joel online at joelsesflofski.com where he helps you have simplicity your way.

[00:09:05] It's funny how we're standing on a gigantic sphere moving through space

[00:09:10] and in our day-to-day lives we don't realize how crazy all of this is.

[00:09:15] So easy to get sucked into tiny little things in the grand scheme of things and forget how fascinating

[00:09:22] the world is. This article was a nice reminder of that for me, hopefully for you too.

[00:09:28] One thing I mentioned in my weekly newsletter a while back is

[00:09:32] a sort of form of walking meditation that I noticed brings up a bit more wonder in our day-to-day

[00:09:39] lives. Basically all you do is go for a walk and instead of noticing objects, notice their shadows

[00:09:48] instead. I found it does have this effect of bringing a bit more curiosity and maybe fascination

[00:09:55] into my day. Oh and if you do do this be careful of your surroundings of course I wouldn't do it

[00:10:01] near cars, water or steps and go slow. If you do that you might get a little peek into experiencing

[00:10:10] something again for the first time. Let me know if you try it and how it goes. Thank you for being

[00:10:16] here with me every day and for telling others about this show that is the greatest thing you

[00:10:20] could do to help out. Means a lot. So thank you again and I'll be back tomorrow as usual

[00:10:26] where your optimal life awaits.