4182: [Part 1] The Meaning of Life is a Ham Sandwich by Mark Manson on Motivation

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[00:00:55] [SPEAKER_00] This is Optimal Living Daily. The meaning of life is a ham sandwich. Part one by Mark Manson of markmanson.net. And I'm Justin Malik. Happy Thursday. Welcome to one of the only podcasts in the world where blogs are narrated to you for free. Sometimes longer posts that I like to split up into two parts. That's the case today. I'll read the first half today, then finish the rest for you tomorrow. So with that, let's get right to part one and start optimizing your life.

[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_00] The meaning of life is a ham sandwich. Part one by Mark Manson of markmanson.net. You know the question. It's the ultimate question. The question that you and I and everyone have lain awake at night thinking about. The question that brings equal parts wonder and terror to our feeble minds. Why are we here? What is the point of it all? What is the meaning of life?

[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_00] Well, fortunately, I figured it out while I was at the gym this morning. I'm pretty sure it's a ham sandwich. And no, I'm not saying that just because I'm hungry. There's an explanation here. I'm going to explain it, clickbait titles and all, in, oh, the next eight minutes or so. First off, before we can even appropriately ask what is the meaning of life, we must first settle something more subtle and something more important. Namely, what is meaning?

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_00] What is meaning may strike you as terribly navel-gazy and ultra-philosophical. And if that's the case, I invite you to think about ham sandwiches for a moment. And just stick with me for a minute because it's important. What does it mean for something to mean something? As humans, we have a constant need to attach meaning to everything that happens in our lives. My mom hugs me. That must mean that she loves me. My boss complimented me. That must mean I do good work.

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_00] It's going to be sunny tomorrow. That must mean I can wear my super cool SpongeBob tank top to school. Meaning is the association that we draw between two experiences or events in our minds. X happens. Then Y happens. So we assume that means X causes Y. Z happens and we get really bummed out and feel awful. Therefore, we assume that Z sucks. Our brains invent meaning the way dogs poop.

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_00] They do it gleefully and not even realizing that they're ruining the carpet. Our brains invent meaning as a way to explain all the crazy shit that is going on in the world around us. This is important as it helps us predict and control our lives. But let's be real. Meaning is an arbitrary mental construct. 50 people can watch the exact same event and draw 50 different meanings from said event. That's why there's so much arguing in politics.

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_00] That's why eyewitnesses are so unreliable in court. That's why your friends are sometimes the biggest f-holes because that meaning you just shared to them meant something completely different. Types of meaning in life. Our brains slap together two different types of meaning. Cause and effect meaning. You kick the ball, the ball moves. You tell your friend his hair is ugly. Your friend slaps you in the face. You do X and with reliable certainty, Y will result.

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_00] We all need cause and effect meaning to survive. It helps us predict the future and learn from the past. Cause and effect meaning primarily involves the logical parts of our brain. Science, for instance, is the constant search of more and more cause and effect meaning. And better or worse meaning. Eating is better than starving. Making money is better than being broke. Sharing is better than stealing. Better or worse meaning has to do with the nature

[00:04:53] [SPEAKER_00] of our values, what we perceive to be most important and useful in our lives. Better and worse meaning relies mostly on the emotional parts of our brains. Generally, what makes us feel good is what we immediately assume to be good or better. Both forms of meaning evolved in our brains to help us survive. For thousands of years, humans needed to remember where certain food could be found, how various animals would respond when hunted, how weather patterns changed,

[00:05:23] [SPEAKER_00] and how to read the terrain. They also needed to know what would gain them acceptance within their tribe, what would curry favor from friends and earn approval from that sexy guy or gal on the loincloth over yonder. So in that sense, meaning is nature's tool for motivation. It's how evolution made sure we got done. Meaning drives all of our actions. When there's great meaning attached to something, like our child is sick and starving, we will go to insane lengths to make things right.

[00:05:53] [SPEAKER_00] People will often even go as far as giving up their lives for some grand sense of meaning. See, religion and every war ever. Meaning is that effective at moving people. Conversely, when we feel we lack meaning in our lives, when it just doesn't seem to matter, when there's no clarity on how or why things happen to us, we do nothing. We sit on the couch and twiddle our thumbs and watch lame reruns

[00:06:20] [SPEAKER_00] while complaining on the internet about lame reruns. But here's the kicker, and I swear I'm gonna get to the ham sandwich. Meaning is a resource that we must cultivate in our lives. To be continued. You just listened to part one of the post titled, The Meaning of Life is a Ham Sandwich by Mark Manson of markmanson.net. And I'll be right back with my commentary. The hot weather lately has been a reminder

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[00:07:50] [SPEAKER_01] New and exclusive holiday decor just launched online at the Home Depot. Check out the viral Grand Duchess collection with smart holiday lights you can control from your phone. Easily customize the twinkle across trees, wreaths, and garlands to match your holiday vibe. Create stunning light effects, then switch it up with the tap of your fingers. Even the man in red will be impressed. Shop the holiday decor you want online only at homedepot.com.

[00:08:20] [SPEAKER_00] Thank you to Mark. I'll finish the rest of the post for you in tomorrow's episode. Something we know to be true, yet for some reason we forget or ignore, is this idea he brought up that 50 people can watch the exact same event and yet draw 50 different meanings from that event. We're all different. And something I've said before is that it's like we're all the same in a way, but we're all wearing lenses.

[00:08:47] [SPEAKER_00] The stories and experiences we each go through make the lens. It crafts it, but also changes its color, changes its size and thickness, its opaqueness. So while yours and my lenses might be similar in color or shape or size, they're not the same. Or they're wildly different because we grew up in completely different circumstances. In either case, it's something we forget or ignore. And then we're somehow shocked

[00:09:16] [SPEAKER_00] when people don't believe the same thing we believe. It's something to watch out for. And I'm not saying that we should tolerate certain things in life that are wildly against what we firmly believe to be good and decent. But maybe remembering this about people, we can learn to better communicate our perspective instead of just yelling on the internet. But I suspect as a listener of this show, you're probably not in that bucket. So maybe I'm preaching to the choir. Anyway, we're gonna continue this one from Mark tomorrow. So I'll leave it there for today.

[00:09:46] [SPEAKER_00] Thank you for being here and listening every day. And as I said, I'll be back tomorrow to finish up this post. So I'll see you there where your optimal life awaits. Let's see you there.