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A podcast about what we do, why we do it, and what we think. Explore the interesting and unique ways people create their lives, from artists and entrepreneurs to fishermen and wild salmon counters. Discover what they've learned along the way, both in their work and in their lives. Hosted by Iso Rabins
iso: Hey, this is and you're
listening to the first episode
in my reminder, post series.
So what this is is years ago, I started a
practice where I put reminders in my phone
of things that I don't want to forget.
This is something I thought about
not doing, cause it's a little bit
embarrassing and super personal that I
have these reminders in my phone, but I
actually think that it's something that
other people would get some use out of.
So.
I'm trying to overcome that
feeling and put it out there.
I spend a lot of time reading
and thinking about how to be
better or how to be kinder.
You know, to myself or other people,
Try to be better in my work
or my personal relationships.
And, you know, I spend, honestly, in,
in ordinant amount of time on this, but.
It works for me.
It's been working hopefully
at least a little bit.
And one of my practices to try to
remember the things that I learn.
So I'll, I'll be reading
something or talking to someone.
And have this moment.
It's kind of moment of clarity where I
realize like, oh man, this is something
that I really want to remember.
So I write it down.
So I write it down on my phone.
And I put it as a reminder first
it's every day of the week.
And then I start to
change it to once a week.
And then once a month.
So I kind of have this rotating cast of
different things that I'm being reminded
of all the time and then over time,
they start to become more internalized.
So I don't have to be
reminded every day of them.
I can every week or every month.
It's a personal thing that I do.
That's a teeny bit embarrassing
to introduce to the world, but
it's actually been really helpful.
It really works
' cause I think like a lot of us, I figure
out these things that I want to do
or these ways I want to be different.
And then they just disappear.
You know, there's just all these.
There's so many things to think about.
And then you focused on your work,
your day, your relationship, and.
You just forget these things.
So I really do feel like these little
reminders I have each day to ping me
to just remember that these are ways I
want to be are actually super helpful,
so this is the first post in that series.
And I thought it would be cool to start
with the actual first reminder I ever
put in my phone, which is enjoy it.
So that's all it says.
It just says enjoy it.
And now maybe once a month that comes
up, maybe not even once a month now,
because this is really something
that I have thought a lot about and
really actually have internalized,
So the idea of this reminder
is something that's super
simple, but very easy to forget.
And it's basically just to enjoy the life.
You have enjoy the things you're doing.
, it just feels like no matter where
we are in life, even if we have
everything we've ever dreamed of
the partner in the house and the car
and the career and the friends and.
We live in the most amazing
place we can ever imagine.
Our mind doesn't focus on those things.
Our mind.
Seize those things and is excited
about it for a little while.
And then starts focusing on all
of the little problems that we
have, the argument we got into
with someone or the relationship at
work that doesn't feel quite right.
It's really hard as humans
to sit in a place of feeling
satisfied with what we have.
When I started this reminder,
I had a pretty good situation.
Was in a great relationship with
a beautiful, successful woman.
I was running my underground
supper club, the wild kitchen.
I ran an event called the
underground market, which had
just got on the New York times.
I had total creative freedom
to do anything I wanted to do.
Any kind of project.
It was a great situation.
It's a dream it's just like so amazing.
And all I could do was complain.
All I could do was talk about how
I had to make this menu, or I had
to go forage that seaweed on the
most beautiful coast in the world.
Or I had to write a blog post about
a recipe that I really enjoy making.
It was just, it, it just,
it doesn't make any sense.
Any of these things, if you had
told me when I was waiting tables
that this would be my work, I
would have just been overjoyed.
I would've thought to myself, that's
the best possible outcome I can imagine.
I mean San Francisco.
I'm getting to do what I want to do.
People are excited about what I'm doing.
They're excited about my ideas
and they are supportive of,
of my thoughts and I get to.
Organize my time, exactly
how I want to organize it.
It's really, really,
exactly what I wanted.
And all I could see was the
things that weren't right.
Or , all I could think was.
That I had to do these things.
I wasn't living in the excitement of
the fact that I got to do these things.
And the moment that really precipitated
me coming up with this, enjoy it.
Idea is something that really stuck
with me is at the time my partner, I
was complaining again about how I had
to write some blog posts for my website.
And she just said to me, Ugh.
Humans are never satisfied.
And it really stuck with
me because it's true.
There's nothing that could
have been better at that point.
There was nothing I wanted more
than what I had at that moment.
And I think what I really realize is
that if I'm not paying attention to
this moment that's happening right
now, or I have this great situation.
I'm really going to
regret it in the future.
You know, I'm going to look
back at this great time.
I had this amazing time in San Francisco,
where there was all this energy
and food, and I knew so many people
who are doing so many cool things.
Like it was a really amazing time.
,
And if I would look back at that
now, and remember that all I did
was complain about what I was doing.
It's just no way to live, right.
, we need to be in this moment that
we're in because otherwise we're
going to look back and be reviewed
just really upset with ourselves.
No matter what you do, you've
worked really hard to get there.
Whether you have a job that you've
been working really hard to get to
all through college, even planning
on this idea that you'd have this
amazing job, or you run your own
business, or you have your family.
We've all worked very, very hard
to get to the place that we're at.
And to just glide through life,
always wishing things were a little
bit different or not focusing on the
fact that the work you're doing is
really the work you want to be doing.
I think this is a tragedy.
And it's something that
happens to me at ton.
Like I am by no means perfect at this.
And this is why I have these reminders.
I think as humans, it's
basically impossible to sit in a.
State of satisfaction all the time.
It's just not the way our brains are made.
You know, I won't be one of
those guys that goes into the
evolutionary reasons for that,
but you've heard that all before.
The reality is that.
It's just really hard for us.
And that's why we just really need
to keep reminding ourselves, or I
personally need to keep reminding myself.
The goal of these reminders is not that
all a hundred percent of the time live
in the space of satisfaction and bless.
But it's an admission that.
I need some help.
I need a little bit of a push.
And I think that this reminder
specifically, if it can just
be something that you remember
for one minute, a day, Right.
4:00 PM every day, it
pops up on your phone.
It says, enjoy it.
Just think how that would make
you feel, just think about.
How even having that one
moment to zoom out and.
Be grateful for what you have and
be excited about what's to come.
Just think about how that would feel.
So, thank you so much for listening
to my first reminder post.
. So any feedback is of
course always welcome.
And if you end up actually using this
and putting this in your phone, Send me
an email or write a review or something
put it out into the world so other
people can see and thanks so much.