Yesterday morning I listened to this episode of the podcast Hidden Brain. In it, researcher Ming Kuo discusses the findings that show how we benefit socially, psychologically, and physically from spending time in nature. Green spaces reduce social conflict, increase mental health, lower blood pressure, and improve immunity.
This was not news to me: I already knew about the many benefits of spending time in nature, both from personal experience and from reading other research. The point isn’t that I learned something new – I didn’t. The point is that being reminded of something I already knew changed my behavior.
You see, I had been planning to ride my exercise bike – that was my intended workout for the day – but hearing this podcast inspired me to take my actual bike for a ride in the park. So instead of pedaling away indoors, I got outside, caught a bit of sunlight, enjoyed some fresh air, filled my vision with plant life, gazed at distant mountains, heard birds chirping, took in the smells of the forest, and said hello to a few strangers. I did not regret it.
The key takeaway here is that I probably wouldn’t have gone outside if I hadn’t listened to that podcast. The thought of riding outside probably would not have occurred to me. I already knew about the benefits of spending time in nature, but I needed help remembering what I knew. And if the thought had occurred, my bias toward convenience would have made me less likely to choose outdoor biking since it is much less of a hassle to ride the exercise bike that’s eight feet away from my computer than it is to get my bike out of the storage locker in the parking garage. Being reminded of the benefits of nature helped me overcome this bias.
The Value of Repetition
One reason to consume daily wisdom is to learn new ideas and new ways of thinking, which is certainly important. But if you engage in this practice for long enough, you’ll quickly run into repeated ideas. Many of humanity’s greatest thinkers have said the same things across the ages. And you’ll often find that self-help authors, pop-psychologists, philosophers, and research scientists echo one another. But my example shows that this repetition is not pointless.
Spaced repetition is critical to memory formation and the development of mastery. Good ideas that you hear once are quickly forgotten, but good ideas heard repeatedly over weeks, months, and years become deeply ingrained. The more often you’re exposed to wisdom, the more likely you are to put it to use in your daily life.
You might, for example, hear a compelling case to keep your eyes on the process rather than on the prize and be temporarily moved to do so. But then, a week later, you’re fretting over the outcomes you want and ignoring the steps you need to take to get there. If so, you need a reminder – a video, or a blog post, or a calendar chain – something to keep that good idea fresh in your mind so you’ll remember to put it into action.
If I want a reminder to be less self-centered, more open-minded, and more compassionate, I could rewatch David Foster Wallace’s “This is Water.”
If I need inspiration to practice vulnerability, I’ll rewatch Brené Brown’s famous TED Talk.
Or if I find myself lacking in gratitude and generally in a funk (usually these things go hand-in-hand), I like to rewatch Louis Schwartzberg’s “Nature, Beauty, Gratitude,” which always puts a smile on my face.
Most days, though, I don’t know what sort of wisdom I need, so I watch or listen to something from Brian Johnson. I began starting my days with his Philosopher’s Notes about 43 months ago, and I’ve been clean and sober for about 42 months. This is not a coincidence. If just one month of daily wisdom was enough to push a ten-year addict onto the path of recovery, imagine what a year or five years could do. How much wiser would you become? How much further down the path of becoming better would you go?
For all these reasons, consuming some piece of wisdom each morning is an integral part of my self-care routine. This steady stream of good ideas has helped me become healthier, happier, and more productive. I’m sure it will do the same for you.