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Enjoy quick summaries of books that will help you lead a better life. These podcasts are AI generated with gentle, kind human guidance! These are part of the Healthspan360 collection, dedicated to enhancing wellness and longevity.
You ever get that feeling that dread when you're looking at something huge on your plate?
Speaker 2:Oh,
Speaker 1:yeah. Like a massive work project maybe or some big personal goal you've set? Or let's be real, sometimes just the laundry pile feels like that.
Speaker 2:Definitely feels like Everest sometimes.
Speaker 1:Exactly. It's like this crushing weight. Right. An intimidating task. We've all been there.
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:But what if there was, like, a guide? Someone who's both really wise, but also, you know, hilarious honest about it all.
Speaker 2:Okay. I'm listening.
Speaker 1:A guide that tells you how to handle not just that big project but life itself. One little piece at a time.
Speaker 2:Ah. Okay. I think I know where you're going with this.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Today we're doing a deep dive into Anne Lamott's book Bird by Bird, some instructions on writing and life. It's well, it's kinda legendary.
Speaker 2:It really is.
Speaker 1:And it's for anyone who's ever felt stuck or just totally overwhelmed, it's not really just about writing.
Speaker 2:No. Not at all. It's much broader.
Speaker 1:It's more like a philosophy for living, finding joy in the mess, you know, embracing it. It really unpacks that old saying, how do you eat an elephant?
Speaker 2:One bite at a time.
Speaker 1:One bite at a time. Or in this case, bird by bird. It applies that to our fears, the whole wild journey of being human.
Speaker 2:And what I think is so great about Lamont's whole approach is how she just, demystifies the creative process, takes away the magic wand idea.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:The book is basically this fantastic permission slip, permission to be imperfect.
Speaker 1:I like that. Permission slip.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And permission to find joy, real meaning in just doing the thing, making the stuff, not just chasing, you know, publication or awards or whatever, external validation.
Speaker 1:So the focus is on the process itself.
Speaker 2:Exactly. She really hammers that home. The reward is in the doing and showing up, not just the final shiny outcome.
Speaker 1:Okay. So if we zoom out a bit, what are the big themes she keeps coming back to?
Speaker 2:Well, there are a few key ones woven all the way through. Probably the most famous is embracing imperfection, letting go.
Speaker 1:The shitty first drafts thing.
Speaker 2:That's the one. She insists it's absolutely necessary. You have to let go of that perfectionist choke hold just to even start.
Speaker 1:Okay. What else?
Speaker 2:Then there's the power of small steps. That's the bird by bird idea itself, tackling the huge overwhelming thing by just breaking it down into tiny pieces.
Speaker 1:Makes sense.
Speaker 2:And she also talks a lot about paying attention, like really paying attention, seeing the world with a kind of reverence, using everything, the good, the bad, the mundane as material for writing, sure, but also just for living.
Speaker 1:Using it all.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And finding your own voice, trusting your own truth, even the messy parts, maybe especially the messy parts, authenticity. And finally, she really highlights community, connection, the support you get from, you know, fellow writers, readers, just fellow travelers.
Speaker 1:So it's not just a solitary struggle?
Speaker 2:No. Definitely not. She argues fundamentally that writing is this kind of spiritual practice. It helps us make sense of our lives, connect with other people. It's about showing up, making a mess, and trusting the process.
Speaker 1:Trusting the process.
Speaker 2:Yeah. The real satisfaction, she insists, comes from that daily effort, that wrestling match, way more than the finished book or article.
Speaker 1:It's those individual nuggets though, those specific insights that I think make it feel so relevant even if you literally never plan to write a single word.
Speaker 2:Totally agree. They hit home.
Speaker 1:Let's, let's dig into some of those.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:The most famous one, obviously, gives the book its title, Bird by Bird, Short Assignments.
Speaker 2:The origin story is great.
Speaker 1:It is. Her ten year old brother totally freaking out about this huge bird report due tomorrow. He'd had months, but, you know, kid.
Speaker 2:Procrastination starts early.
Speaker 1:Right. And his dad just puts an arm around him, sees the panic, and says, bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.
Speaker 2:Simple but profound.
Speaker 1:And Lamont just runs with that, applies it to everything. Don't try to write the whole novel, don't even try to write the whole chapter sometimes. Just focus on what she calls a one inch picture frame.
Speaker 2:And that's the genius of it, isn't it? Because it's not just about school reports, it's about dismantling the mental block for any huge task.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like that thing you keep putting off.
Speaker 2:Exactly. Learning an instrument, starting a business, even just clearing out the garage. The sheer size freezes us.
Speaker 1:Totally. Paralysis by analysis or just digness.
Speaker 2:Right. But Lamont says shrink your focus consciously. Focus on one tiny thing, one sentence, one character's first action like walking out the door. You kind of trick your brain into starting overwhelm. Precisely.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Don't try to scale the glacier. Just, you know, handle the next tiny foothold.
Speaker 1:And that flows so perfectly into her next big idea. The freedom of shitty first drafts.
Speaker 2:Yes. The SFD.
Speaker 1:Yeah. She famously says, the only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really shitty first drafts. It sounds shocking, but it's liberating.
Speaker 2:It really is. It's permission. She calls it the child's draft. You just let it all pour out. No judgment.
Speaker 2:No inner critic allowed. You know nobody else is gonna see this version.
Speaker 1:Permission to make a total mess.
Speaker 2:And what a relief that is. It's an invitation to be imperfect, not just in writing, but in anything creative, anything where you're learning.
Speaker 1:Because of that fear of not being good enough, it stops you cold, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Yeah. It's the biggest barrier for so many people. Lamont even breaks it down further, you know, the downdraft, just get it all down.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Then the updraft where you start cleaning it up, shaping it, and then finally the dental draft.
Speaker 1:Dental draft.
Speaker 2:Yeah, where you check every little detail like a dentist checking every single tooth, meticulous.
Speaker 1:So it reframes the whole thing, it's not a one shot deal.
Speaker 2:Not at all, it's a process and an iterative journey. Mhmm. Messy, then refined.
Speaker 1:And talking about perfection, that leads right into her next point, doesn't it? Perfectionism as the voice of the oppressor.
Speaker 2:Oof. Yeah. That one hits hard.
Speaker 1:She argues it's not really about striving for excellence. It's actually a crippling fear. Fear of failure, fear of judgment.
Speaker 2:And it paralyzes you. She says it cramps our psychic muscles. Yeah. Stops us from really living.
Speaker 1:And she thinks a little mess is actually good.
Speaker 2:Yeah. She sees mess and clutter as signs that life is happening, that you're engaged trying things, not just keeping everything sterile and untouched.
Speaker 1:Wow. That's a perspective shift.
Speaker 2:It really tackles that internal critic most of us have, you know, that voice telling you it's not good enough. Don't even try.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Perfectionism stops us from taking risks, pursuing goals, sometimes even just enjoying the moment. Lamont quotes Kurt Vonnegut saying writing felt like being an armless legless man with a crayon in his
Speaker 1:mouth. Vivid.
Speaker 2:And her response is basically, yeah, so what? Go ahead and make big scrawls and mistakes.
Speaker 1:Do it anyway.
Speaker 2:Yeah, actually. It's about self compassion, understanding that mistakes are how we learn, how we discover things. That's how you silence that oppressor voice.
Speaker 1:Okay. So moving on. She also talks about looking around, paying attention, actively observing.
Speaker 2:It sounds simple but she means it deeply. Yeah. Right? Like reverence.
Speaker 1:Yeah exactly. For her writing and living well requires this act of observation slowing down enough to really see the details even the boring stuff.
Speaker 2:And seeing the humanity in others.
Speaker 1:Yes. Recognizing that shared experience even in people you might normally just, you know, glance past or judge.
Speaker 2:It's a call for mindfulness, basically. Very much so. Cultivating presence. Lamont wants us to truly engage. She uses a Rumi poem beautifully about how God's joy moves from unmarked box to unmarked box.
Speaker 2:It hides within these till one day it cracks them open.
Speaker 1:Finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Speaker 2:Precisely. And she gives this very real example of trying to consciously see a police officer not just as a uniform but as a complex, maybe suffering human being. That kind of intentional looking, she argues, just enriches everything. Helps you find meaning everywhere.
Speaker 1:And to do that deep looking, you need to quiet the noise. Which brings us to listen to your broccoli.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sounds quirky, doesn't it?
Speaker 1:A little. What's the idea there?
Speaker 2:It's about intuition. When you're stuck, when you don't know what comes next in writing or maybe in a life decision, you need to get quiet and listen to that inner voice, your gut feeling.
Speaker 1:So trust your intuition.
Speaker 2:Right. She learns that our logical rational mind can sometimes be like a golden calf, something we worship that actually blocks deeper insight.
Speaker 1:Because we're often taught not to trust our gut, right?
Speaker 2:Exactly, we're conditioned to ignore it. And she talks about that constant internal radio station she calls it KFKD which stands for K Fed. Oh, okay. Yeah. That station broadcasting nonstop self doubt, grandiosity, anxiety, all that noise drowns out your actual wisdom.
Speaker 1:So how do you turn it off or down at least?
Speaker 2:She shares this great visualization from a hypnotist. Imagine each critical voice, the harsh reviewer, your judgmental aunt, whatever, as a tiny mouse. Take it up by the tail, drop it in a mason jar, screw the lid on tight, and then imagine turning a volume knob on the jar all the way down.
Speaker 1:Wow. That's, surprisingly practical.
Speaker 2:It is. It's a tangible metaphor for creating mental space. Letting your authentic intuition actually surface. Trusting your gut.
Speaker 1:Okay. And the last big insight, maybe the most, profound, writing as its own reward.
Speaker 2:Yes. This feels like the heart of it in many ways. Publication, fame, money, those are bonuses. Nice that they happen, but they aren't the point.
Speaker 1:The real gift is just doing it.
Speaker 2:The act itself. She says it makes you feel alive. It brings joy. It helps you see the world differently, it's a journey of discovery, connection even if nobody ever reads it.
Speaker 1:That takes the pressure off, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:Immensely. And it applies to so much more than writing. It's about finding that intrinsic motivation, you know, satisfaction in the effort, in the showing up, not just chasing external trophies.
Speaker 1:Exactly, the
Speaker 2:coach saying If you're not enough before the gold medal, you won't be enough with it. Lamont puts it simply, The act of writing turns out to be its own reward.
Speaker 1:It's about the peace you find in just dedicating yourself to something you care about.
Speaker 2:That's it. Showing up for it.
Speaker 1:So, okay. These are powerful ideas. What makes the book itself, bird by bird, work so well? Why do people love it so much? And, you know, if we were a book club, what might we argue about?
Speaker 2:Well, for me, a huge part of its magic is her honesty. Yeah. Just raw, unflinching vulnerability.
Speaker 1:She really puts it all out there.
Speaker 2:She does. Her own struggles with self doubt, feeling jealous of other writers, the weird family stuff, her dad's controversial writing, the article calling their accountant lousy, and the really tough stuff like losing her dad, losing close friends like Pammi and Bryce, it makes the advice feel so incredibly human and relatable. You feel like she gets it.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. You feel like she's right there with you and connected to that is her humor. Right? It's not just advice. It's funny.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Humor is essential. It's how she handles heavy topics without making them unbearable. It's self deprecating, witty.
Speaker 1:But like describing her childhood looks as proof rocks crab.
Speaker 2:Exactly. Or that poem about the analyst being in on it or saying she was hormonally challenged up the yang before publication. It just makes it all so much more enjoyable and accessible.
Speaker 1:Yeah. It leavens the serious stuff. And besides the emotional connection, it actually is practical too, isn't it?
Speaker 2:It is. Those core concepts, short assignments, shitty first drafts, using index cards, they're concrete things you can actually do when you feel stuck or overwhelmed. Mhmm. Even that little story about needing the right name for the wire thing on a champagne bottle, the wire hood or mueslet.
Speaker 1:Oh,
Speaker 2:yeah. And how she just called around until she found out. It's a great little lesson in the value of just digging for the right detail applies to so many things.
Speaker 1:Okay. So strengths, honesty, humor, practical advice. What about potential, let's say, points of discussion? Critiques might be too strong a word.
Speaker 2:Fair enough. Mhmm. Well, one thing some readers might notice is that because it's so deeply personal, filled with her specific life stories.
Speaker 1:Which is a strength, right?
Speaker 2:It's a huge strength. Yeah. But someone looking purely for say a technical manual on plot structure or grammar rules might find it more philosophical than technical.
Speaker 1:It's more about the why and how to cope than the how to structure chapter three.
Speaker 2:Exactly. It prioritizes the inner journey, the emotional landscape of creating over strict universal rules, which is why many love it, but it might not be exactly what everyone expects from a writing book.
Speaker 1:That makes sense. Anything else?
Speaker 2:Maybe just that her voice is so distinct. Her specific blend of irreverence, vulnerability, and her Christian faith background, it's uniquely Anne Lamont.
Speaker 1:And while that resonates deeply with many.
Speaker 2:It might not click with every single reader in the exact same way. Yeah. It's part of its specific charm and power, but it's very much her perspective, her journey.
Speaker 1:Gotcha. So it's deeply personal, focuses on the inner game, and has a very distinct voice. All things that make it great, but maybe not a universal fit for absolutely everyone's needs at every moment.
Speaker 2:Well put.
Speaker 1:Okay. Let's get practical then. We've talked about the ideas. Now what can people actually do? Let's offer a couple exercises inspired by book.
Speaker 2:Good idea.
Speaker 1:Practice number one, we're calling it the one inch picture frame daily focus. Okay. So the idea is, start your writing time, or honestly, any kind of problem solving time, by focusing on something incredibly small, like super zoomed in.
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Pick one tiny memory, one object in the room, one first movement a character makes, or even just a snippet of dialogue you overheard like Lamont talks about with school lunches or that lemonade story.
Speaker 2:Just one small thing.
Speaker 1:Exactly. And just describe only that. Only what's inside that one inch frame. The goal isn't brilliance. It's just getting something down, breaking the inertia.
Speaker 2:Takes the pressure off.
Speaker 1:Totally. We suggest trying it for maybe ten, fifteen minutes every morning for a week, maybe. Don't judge it. Just see what comes out. You might be surprised.
Speaker 2:Nice. Simple. Actionable.
Speaker 1:Okay. Practice number two. The Mason jar method for quieting the critics.
Speaker 2:The KFKD silencer.
Speaker 1:So when you feel that wave of self doubt washing over you or that internal radio station is just blaring negativity
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Close your eyes. Really visualize each critical voice. The imaginary reader lady sneering that emaciated German male critic she mentions, maybe your critical parents voice. Yeah. Picture them as tiny annoying mice.
Speaker 2:Little squeaky critics.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And then in your mind, pick each one up by its tail, plop it into a big glass mason jar and the lid on tight.
Speaker 2:Seal them in?
Speaker 1:Then imagine there's a volume knob on that jar, reach out and turn it all the way down. Silence.
Speaker 2:It's such a powerful visual.
Speaker 1:Isn't it? It's about creating that mental quiet space so your own voice, your intuition can actually be heard. Use it whenever that noise starts to derail you. Reclaim your head space.
Speaker 2:Love it. Very Lamott esque.
Speaker 1:So if people enjoyed this deep dive into Lamott's world, her whole vibe, is there another book you'd recommend? Like, if you like this, you'll love that.
Speaker 2:Oh, definitely. I'd suggest Writing Down the Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg.
Speaker 1:Ah, okay. Why that one?
Speaker 2:Well, Lamont actually mentions Goldberg in Bird by Bird. She credits Goldberg with that foundational Put your ass in the chair.
Speaker 1:Right. Just show up.
Speaker 2:Exactly. And both books really champion getting words down without censoring yourself too much upfront. Trusting the process, using writing as a way to become more present, more aware.
Speaker 1:Self discovery through writing.
Speaker 2:Yes. They both celebrate that raw, immediate act of creation over waiting for perfection. They feel like kindred spirits, those two books, great companions.
Speaker 1:Nice pairing. You know, thinking about all this Yeah. Small steps, the process. I tried to capture that feeling in, well, a haiku.
Speaker 2:Oh, let's hear it.
Speaker 1:Okay. Here it goes. Deep force winds call. Leaves fall in the path you sow. New blooms then appear.
Speaker 2:I like that. The sense of natural progression, things happening in their own time. Very fitting.
Speaker 1:Thanks. So bringing it all home then, what's the final takeaway from bird by bird for, you know, just living life?
Speaker 2:I think ultimately bird by bird teaches us that showing up, being vulnerable, embracing the mess. Those aren't just tips for writers. They're essential skills for navigating life. Period.
Speaker 1:It's about courage, isn't it? The courage to start.
Speaker 2:The everyday courage to face the blank page or the difficult conversation or the scary project and just begin bird by bird.
Speaker 1:And maybe the most provocative thought she leaves us with is that our best stories, our deepest growth doesn't come from hiding the hard stuff, the bleak unspeakable stuff as she calls it. No. No. It comes from daring to open that door inside ourselves, seeing what's there, having the courage to share it, warts and all.
Speaker 2:That act of honest expression. Yeah. Whether it's on paper or just how you live your life, that's where the real connection happens. Where liberation happens. It really makes you think, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:What parts of yourself, what truths are you ready to bring out into the open?
Speaker 1:Wow. That's a powerful thought to end on.
Speaker 2:That is.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you for joining us on this deep dive today. We hope you'll continue your own exploration, your own deep dive into the world around you. You know, one bird, one breath, one honest moment at a time.