S02 E01 – What is the purpose of Life, and how to find yours?
What you seek, is seeking you.
Rumi
One of the most fundamental questions every person asks at some point in their lives is – “What is the purpose of life?”. Not surprisingly at all, this is also one question that most of us learn to suppress very early on in our lives.
In this episode, the first of season two of the unlearning playground podcast, I dive into this question head on. I think that the modalities discussed here – of being & becoming, of life & Life, of priorities, of sacrifices and of our soul’s calling – are of utmost importance in truly grasping this ever-evasive question.
It is ok to feel lost sometimes, it happens to everyone. It is ok to feel stuck sometimes, it happens to everyone. It is ok to not know what to do next sometimes, it happens to everyone.
However, I have come to realise that we should not be ok with not doing anything about such feelings. Most of what needs to be done has more to do with the stance we approach them with.
As you will find it in this episode, this is not a direct invitation to change WHAT you do, in the sense of quitting your job and following your “passion”. Although there is something to be said about that being absolutely necessary at times.
Rather, this is an invitation firstly to change HOW you are going about your life – how you’re looking at your life, how you view your job, your relationships, your career, your purpose, your questions, your conversations and all the rest of Life.
This is an absolutely vital episode in the grand scope of all of my work at the unlearning playground I would say.
00:00
Introduction
02:50
Why talk about this at all? The crisis of meaning today’s age
Episode 42 – The end of season 1, and the start of something better
“Enough. These few words are enough. If not these words, this breath. If not this breath, this sitting here. This opening to life we have refused again and again, until now. Until now.”
David Whyte, Where Many Rivers Meet
Endings are hard indeed. But if we keep ourselves stuck in the same old same old, we hold ourselves back to what might be.
And therefore, like a snake must shed its old skin someday to allow a new layer to flourish, I end season 1 of The Unlearning Playground podcast today with this episode.
I talk about 2 major updates about the content you can expect from The Unlearning Playground in the months to come, with the first major announcement being the launch of my new series of content – Ask a human, not an AI.
Episode 41 – What should all parents & managers realise? (9 min)
In the end, we’re all walking each other home.
RAM DASS
As we grow up, we take up positions of power or at least aspire to do so at some point. That could mean becoming a parent, taking up a managerial position in your workplace, or any other relationship where you can have a substantial impact on the life of another person.
In all such relationships, I think there is something that is usually missing in the advices, suggestions and trainings all of us seek out and therefore, receive.
In this short episode, I discuss that one missing advice, and try to make a case for it. I think it’s fundamentally applicable to all our relationships, especially the kind I talked about above.
Check it out, and share with your friends & family to help it reach out to more people. It’ll be worth their time too, I promise. Until next time. Peace out.
Episode 40 – Powerful life lessons from the Jason Bourne movies (5 min)
BE HERE NOW.
There are some movies that sometimes, out of the blue, end up teaching you life lessons that stay with you forever. I understand it to be very unlikely that an action thriller movie franchise would make the cut to such a list, but it is what it is I guess.
What is Jason Bourne about? If you had asked me this question some years ago, my answer would have been very different than what I can say about it now.
Having recently revisited these brilliant movies, I can safely say that the perspective with which I watched Jason Bourne this time around really helped me catch the drift of the storyline much better than before. And one powerful life lesson came striking out at me, which is what this short video is all about.
I would really recommend everyone to watch all the movies again, and this time with the perspective I talk about in this episode.
So without further ado, let’s get into it. Let’s see what Jason Bourne has to teach us. And was he any good at it.
Episode 39 – What is equality & where is it going absolutely wrong in 2023 (19 min)
In terms of outcomes, nobody is equal to anybody. Even the same man is not equal to himself on different days.
THOMAS SOWELL
Equality is a topic that is central to any relationship, family, community and society.
And that makes it an extremely important subject to discuss, especially in today’s world where like anything else it is subject to a host of interpretations and biases and opinions.
In this episode, I delve into this topic in some detail.
I talk about what is equality, how we are measuring it, how we ought to think about it and (I can’t stress enough how important this is) where we are going wrong with it as of 2023.
I think this is one topic that must be properly understood by everyone, especially in 2023. And what’s more, if misunderstood, it can lead to the divisions we find so prevalent in our society even today.
Let’s see if I can do justice to the claims above. Only one way to find out. Dig right in. Until next time. Peace out.
Episode 38 – The courage to be disliked book summary : 4 powerful life lessons (14 min)
“Your unhappiness cannot be blamed on your past or your environment. And it isn’t that you lack competence. You just lack courage. One might say you are lacking in the courage to be happy.”
I do not say the above statement lightly. As someone who has spent a good few years reading, devouring & digesting multiple non fiction books, of the self help kind, of the philosophy kind, of the psychology kind etc, I have a certain level of discernment now when it comes to recommending books.
This book is, in fact, the most recent addition to my list of favourite books.
In this episode of the unlearning playground podcast, I wanted to get into a brief summary of what the courage to be disliked is all about and why I recommend it (and in fact also gift it) to almost everyone looking for some must read books.
I also share 4 key unlearnings (read life lessons) I think everyone should gather from this book, so even if I am not able to encourage you enough to pick this book for yourself, at least spend 14 minutes with me on this episode so that you get a glimpse of the nectar it has to offer.
If I’m able to encourage you enough, you know what to do with the button below.
Episode 37 – Apple vision pro launch | The good, the bad and the ugly (12 min)
There’s no wifi in the forest, but I promise you’ll find a better connection.
Just this last week (early-June 2023), Apple released a video introducing The Apple Vision Pro.
It is a first-generation AR/VR headset, and Apple claims that with this device, the era of spatial computing is here. They claim this to be a life-changing technology.
In this episode of The Unlearning Playground podcast, I decided to record my first impressions about this new device, which is a part of a booming field in technology now – Augmented reality and Virtual reality. My thoughts are divided into three broad categories – the good, the bad & the ugly.
I think what you are about to consume in this episode would serve to be a contrarian viewpoint, when compared to most other videos out there on the internet about the apple vision pro.
Also, consider it to be a genuine request from my side, I want you to stay with me till the ugly part of this episode. That is where the real nectar lies. Trust me.
Episode 36 – Sleep tips from a sleep expert | Why we sleep by Matthew Walker book review (15 min)
“The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep.”
E. Joseph Cossman
Why we sleep is an internationally bestselling book by Matthew Walker, an English scientist and professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is someone who’s widely regarded as one of the foremost sleep experts in the world.
In this episode, I talk about everything I learnt, and unlearnt, via this brilliant book. I can safely say that it is one of the best non fiction book recommendations of 2023 from me.
The amount of information he covers in this book is simply mind blowing. In close to 400 pages, he condenses close to twenty years of cutting-edge research on sleep and what every person should understand about it.
He talks about HOW MUCH one should sleep. He talks about HOW one should sleep. And he talks about WHEN one should sleep.
And of course, he touches upon various different aspects of these three massive areas – the role that caffeine plays in our sleep, the adverse effects of alcohol & smoking on a good night’s sleep, the positive effects of watching sunlight directly at sunrise & sunset, etc.
And what’s more – he also gives a bunch of real-life tips that you can directly apply to your everyday life as we speak. For instance, he talks in great detail about how to fix your sleep cycle in case it is messed up.
I think overall this is a brilliant book, and if you are one of those people who think they’ll never really get to reading it, you should check out this summary episode of mine where I cover 9 key tips that I learnt, or unlearnt, via it.
Episode 35 – The fundamental attribution error & how to avoid it (4 min)
“He who blames others has a long way to go on his journey. He who blames himself is halfway there. He who blames no one has arrived.”
ZEN PROVERB
Most people wish to become better at handling and resolving conflicts, but out of the dozen or so things that get in the way, one of the main blockers is thefundamental attribution error.
It sounds like a bit of a mouthful, but it is actually one of the easiest cognitive biases to understand. Of course the precursor being that you actually want to understand better rather than seek validation for what you think is already right.
In this episode of The Unlearning Playground Podcast, I delve into this topic in an easy-to-understand and simple manner. I talk about what this cognitive bias, the fundamental attribution error, really is, how to spot it in your everyday life and I also suggest 3 ways to help overcome it in situations where we most need to.
I think, once you get to seeing things from the perspective I try to build in this video, you would be well on your way to managing conflicts in a much more responsible and mature manner. This should enable you to be better at people skills which, as any adult in the room would tell you, is eventually what most of life is about.
I’ll see you in the playground. Hope you bring an open mind and an honest heart. Until next time. Peace out.
Episode 34 – 3 essential learnings the education system misses out (6 min)
“The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.”
Rabindranath Tagore
What is wrong with our education system?
This is one topic that every adult has strong opinions on. And I think most of those opinions come from a place of genuine concern and good intention.
Growing up, the issues we faced – we do not want our children to bear the same burden, or rather, to be more aware of the burdens they are about to bear.
To improve the education system, while an endless process, is still one of the most critical pieces to solve for us as a community. In this episode of The Unlearning Playground Podcast, I am talking about 3 things that every education system should teach to everyone.
The points I cover here are not limited to any age. I definitely think all adults should know, understand and internalise these concepts, but I also think that everyone in today’s age should be aware of what I talk about here. Let me put it this way – everyone, whether they are gen z, millennials, gen x or boomers, all of them would benefit in one way or the other by internalising the 3 points that I cover here.
Additionally, I would love to hear from you on this topic. Hit me up in the comments section on YouTube and let me know what all do you think the education system, in your country or in general, must teach to everyone. Or should at least try to.
I’ll see you in the playground. Until next time. Peace out.
