This is so good bro! You have expressed a lot of the ideas of current leading social theorists (especially Byung Chul Han) but in an accessible way and without having a ponytail or man bun.
You're rediscovered the ideas of nobility and being a gentleman. The nobility of old saw the unrestrained pruning of anything and especially wealth as crud and low class. You make your wealth, have your toys and fun. The truth mark of a gentleman is his social responsibilities to his community, family and statues in them.
I don’t use any social media and haven’t for 2 years. This one decision has improved my life in immeasurable ways because I no longer compare myself to others on a daily, if not hourly, basis. I’m in my own self-appreciative zone with just the people I care about, and I love it more than I can describe
I love it! I started 1 year ago, it immensely helped me live in the moment and be more appreciative of the little moments. I started to reach out to my friends and family more too because I wasn’t losing so much time and focus on socials. I wish more people would be more willing to try and stick with it.
Your “fitness” videos have always been a treat to watch over the years but the content you’ve been putting out lately outside of “fitness” stuff - your take on life, happiness, fulfilment - is gold. Always refreshing and a great watch. If there’s one thing a creator should take pride in it’s being able to make others feels this way and being as authentic as you! 👊 much love joey D
Appreciate the words. It's honestly only for 'selfish' reasons that I make videos outside of fitness, because I get bored and feel the need to be a bit more engaged with what I'm making. But if there's a positive consequence (I.e. others enjoying it), then that's even better and I'm glad about it.
@@barrywilliams4866he will get 1.5m subs. You decide what you want, striving for more is not a problem. Striving for more without appreciating what you have is
Took me 7 years of going to the gym on and off getting sidetracked with ‘optimising’ my gym routine due to videos, advice of friends etc. till I finally realised you need to stop thriving for perfect and just do. People have gone to the gym for years, pick a tried and tested plan and stick to it then unsubscribe from RU-vidrs who click bait saying something ‘kills your gains’ so you stop distracting yourself from the goal and then most importantly ENJOY THE PROCESS. Strong video by Delaney.. this is just the area of my life I’ve felt what he expressed the most
"It is the privilege of the gods to want nothing, and of godlike men to want little." To want nothing makes one invincible-because nothing lies outside your control.
This really hit home! I have been struggling with what is the most optimized program for hypertrophy. While one camp says this and another says that, it can be paralyzing to think about starting a workout program thinking you may be “wasting” your time. Also, regarding nutrition, it is hard not to see an article or RU-vid video that says eat this not that. Macros matter, calories matter, actually calories d not matter it is the quality of the calories that matter. I think at the end of the day just being consistent and showing up matters most. Lift 3 days a week and do exercises that feel good and you like to do. Eat an omnivorous diet and listen to your body and it’s nutrition needs. Walk sometime everyday. Spend time with loved ones and enjoy food with them, miss out on the gym for family events and family time. Thank you for posting this as I was feeling this way recently!
Holy shit, you put it into words. I've been trying to describe this exact feeling to friends and family for a while now, My parents have been asking leading questions like why don't you try for a better job with more money, you could get a better car, or bigger house etc. Is it so unimaginable that you can be fulfilled and satisfied with what you have? it's a concept they don't seem to understand, and i'll send them this video but they won't watch it or understand if they do watch it. It's not that i lack any ambition, it got me to where i am, i just don't see the point in wasting time chasing "more = better" when i can truly enjoy the present and right now i am the happiest i have ever been in life. I heard a quote that said something along the lines of "at 30, you will wish you were 20 again and at 40 you will wish you were 30 again" etc. Don't waste your time chasing goalposts that are always moving, just enjoy what you have right now or one day you will realize you watched you own life pass you by in the pursuit of more.
Honestly, if you wanted to go all tinfoil hat you could make a case for it being some psyop to get us all to work our fingers to the bone until we die 🤣
@@JoeDelaneyy Absolutely! throw in a very normalized and socially accepted drug (alcohol) and BOOM, you've created a system where the masses spend monday-friday working at least 9-5, spend their only free time out drinking, then spend monday to friday working again so they can pay to go out drinking again, and on and on it goes.
I fully agree with this man. If you want something right now you and then get it you will always want more. It’s about having gratitude and being appreciative of what you do have as we already have everything we will ever need and want by simply being our truest selves.
This was articulated so well Joe. I feel people spend so much time talking about wanting things that they forget to just live. To me if you treat the 'little things' as the biggest, it's like a loophole that allows you to enjoy life so much more
I've watched your videos for a few years now. Took inspiration from your cheap healthy Aldi meals back along and personally lost just over 60lbs in just shy of 2 years (not purely from that video, don't want to big you up too much like). Jokes aside, I've been enjoying these more mini-doc/psychological videos you've been creating recently. You manage to capture an idea, explore it and not fill the video with useless information as many other content creators do. It's also thoughts and conversations that aren't spoken about enough in todays world. Without going into it all, I've found myself with my own struggles in life as we all have, and I think the issues have stemmed from how we have to act, even the fact we have to act a certain way, so that we don't cross a new line in todays acceptance of what you can, can't say/joke about etc. A lot of that has to do with how over-connected we all are now. I was a lot happier when I cared less as a teenager, acted before thinking (not in a stupid way), but I've found myself caring way too much and over-thinking everything these days about stupid stuff that just isn't worth the time.
if everyday you feel like you aren't doing enough / aren't enough, that is not really getting the most out of life. if you take it a bit less seriously and still have ambition, but also feel things are pretty good, then your energy you carry is so much better
Really enjoyed this one Joe. Sometimes finding myself procrastinating myself into oblivion because I’m frozen by thoughts of constant ‘sub-optimal’ decisions. Thinking like that constantly makes you question all your thoughts and actions and compare yourself to others. Also makes it hard to take a step back and be grateful for what you have.
Thanks for this video, Joe. I love how your videos have changed over the years. I used to watch all of your gym and nutrition stuff as I found you insightful and relatable when I was getting into fitness. I love that you are pursuing your true passions on this channel. It takes a lot of inner strength to do that in the face of an insatiable, consumeristic society. I feel like you've really found your niche. I love how open you are to learning; it's refreshing and it's how I think more of us should be. Good job brother!
It’s the “bit of a different one” type videos are much appreciated. Anyways back to the video - resonates so very much. Your content is amazing. What I would say is - as I have aged the definition of “what is enough” has evolved. I have started to value time, family, wellness etc so much more as sad as it sounds. Life is short. Enjoy it. Ambition is important but answer isn’t always try harder. Sometimes harder comes across desperate. And leads to less optimal result.
Used to watch Joe years ago at the start of my fitness journey. Glad to see him still putting out awesome thought provoking thought streams and also great to see him still with the same bird! Top man 👍
It is a great video and really thoughtful, but it's important to consider at what stage a person is when they are taking in this information. If a lack of success exists, then this mindset could lead to complacency. But if already somewhat successful, then its a good message to enjoy what you have and not 'try too hard' to always be in a state of wanting more
One of my favorite vids of yours to date. This frame of mind is crucial in a time where “optimizing” everything seems to be the North Star for everyone.
I feel this so deeply. I've been struggling with my mental health for a while so have been obsessively into self improvement. Gym, meditating, studying, supplementation, optimising sleep and diet etc but it's just made me more neurotic and miserable!
Loved this. Deep, thought provoking, great edit 😄 It isn’t about wanting or having more, but appreciating what you have and being happy with that. We can lose ourselves in pursuing more and miss out on what we actually already have.
Probably the best piece of information in this day and age I’ve ever heard 🙏🏼 . This is me now, and I feel misunderstood by most I speak to about my outlook on life. Been trying to spread this message to friends and family for a long time, so glad to hear this!
I have loved your fitness posts for the past two years of my reinvention journey - losing 32kg and ten inches of waistline - but this one takes your work to another level. Absolutely golden. Really genuine advice from someone who is living what they are talking about. Well done mate.
I couldn't agree more. I've been trying to live on my own terms for several years now, and even though I'm currently a middle aged unemployed guy on benefits, I'm pursuing the goals that I've set for myself that may result in that just enough income to remove that one financial challenge in amongst many other challenges I'm also pursuing. I'll get there in my own time at my own pace, and I couldn't care less what others say. In fact I feel sorry for the people who are just following the default path, although we do absolutely need those people. I'm just not one of them. If I have to live how I'm currently living for the rest of my life, then so be it. I'd rather be poor and at peace, than richer and just a cog in someone else's machine.
Great video man. struggling hard with this mindset since starting medical school and trying to balance studying, gym and friends/family...the pressure is building up pretty hard. got some good reflection for myself watching this. cheers
Thank you! This video really resonates with me. Constantly overthinking makes things unnecessary complicated and steals the enjoyment. «The "wrong" choice without all that baggage beats the "right" choice laden with questions every time». So true.
I have to press pause during your video to tell you how inspiring that message is! I am a creator too and realized similar insights a couple of months ago - less is more! Thanks man!
I really like this video, just watching it made me relax a bit from that pressure to achieve more for the sake of it. So thank you for the reminder Joe
This is one of your best videos and speech my brother. You truly are free, i admire you as a fellow free brother myself and i'm truly grateful you're sharing this wisdom with all of us, to not forget what is freedom and what is true joy.
Saw a doc on minimalism a few years ago…couple things you said in this resonate. Definitely helped me with how I go about my day to day. Thanks for your content Joe.
My man Joey D spitting proper thought-out philosophical nuances. So good - you articulating this actually validates and therefore cleanses the anxiety a lot of us feel.
Couldn’t agree more! Always looking for a better thing is not worth it, do a good thing and fully commit. Love the style and production quality of this one too. Thanks internet Joe
Wow, this is more ...much more than I expected ... you've over delivered & I hope in all aspects of your life for yourself too.. You deserve the million man, btw congrats on the nipper I seen in other vid
Definitely resonate with this message. I think that the ‘optimisation paradox’ is in many ways actually a path of least resistance if you’re confused or scared about direction in life. It’s a daunting question to ask yourself “what do I truly want” and easier to instead, fulfill the recommended societal path. This was a really nice reminder to do my thing, cheers.
"A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at." - Bruce Li "I am an artist at living - my work of art is my life." - D.T Suzuki "The effect of life in society is to complicate and confuse our existence, making us forget who we really are by causing us to become obsessed with what we are not." - Zhuang Tzu These are just 3 quotes I keep in mind at all times to keep me grounded in all matters of life.
Excellent video, a realisation i came to a few years ago while studying yoga: BALANCE is the key, in everything you do, sports, consumption, party, diet, etc. Comsume only what you need, not more, not less.
Ive fallen for that trap most of my life. I always wanted more. I gave my life to getting more. But when I got or achieved more, it wasn't fulfilling. It wasn't worth what i gave or sacrificed for that more. Then I would just move on to the next goal or achievement. Always more! Only to be unfulfilled again... I have finally decided that a lot of things in life just aren't worth what you sacrifice or pay for them. I now just want to be thankful for what I have and have achieved. Not much. But its enough...
it's what it's doing to peoples mental health too, coincidence that since social media MH issues have soared...people aren't posting about what they aren't doing or what they haven't got, it's all front, but the comparison can be damaging....
You have helped me more than you can imagine, Joe, over the last few years. Inspirational. Your insight is incredible and I really love how your videos like this will often challenge mainstream beliefs and trends such as the current self-improvement obsession
Dude. High quality message. High quality video. Been watching for a while, and I love to see the progression. Gains are one thing. They come and go. But your character and personality have always been there, and I enjoy learning from you.
I have been getting caught up with the idea of things not feeling/being enough and always wanting more experience. This has definitely subtracted from my life rather than added. This video came at a great time, thank you.
I also found that approaching things in the way that works for me, which is not the best way possible, is the way that gives me my personal best results while staying relatively relaxed. I have spent a lot of time optimising things, but when I did not and just did other fun things, my results improved while spending less time achieving them. This applies for pretty much everything major. Education, sports, hobbies...
I appreciate that you still leave it to the person. In general, you like having fun, seem to be focused more on process itself rather than the achievement of the goal. Thus, the pursuit at your own pace and in your own way is much more preferable to you. I just figure for me, there’s so much that I want to do, have, achieve, AND experience, and maximizing myself and my life is the best way I’ll get to do that before I can finally just slow down to mess around and focus on the select few things that would matter more then. I figure I could just have more experiences in general if I maximize myself, my life, and everything. Plus, if you could be more, why not be more? For me, to enjoy the most amount of things as much as possible would require maximization and optimization. It’s not even necessarily about effort per se, either. That’s just a byproduct. I want to do more, be more, achieve more, accomplish more, and succeed in them all especially now since I have the opportunity to. I want to live maximally, I don’t want to merely coexist and let life happen to me; I want to actively engage with life and grab it by the balls, so to speak. Obviously life doesn’t always work out that way, but I want to do more because I KNOW I could, and I believe it necessary to living the life that I wish to have, to becoming who I want to be, and achieving what I want to the extent I want it. And God Knows best.
For sure, as I said, you decide by all means. And if you ever want to change your mind, if/when you're so far down the line and happen to reassess whether more is worth it, that's fine too :)
This is one of the concepts I learned from meditating called “Santosha”, simply meaning accepting and appreciating what we have and what we are already, and moving forwards from there.
absolutely love this video....and its no surprise a critic of optimisation has come from Joe....hes so real...and down to earth....love this messaging...good on you Joe. Hacking is so cringe...
Good on you Joe, thanks for sharing your story. Your story resonates with a lot of people considering the era we live in where there is this perception that everything in our life needs to be optimised. And in many ways, we can be grateful for the information that is available to us to improve our lives. But to your point, to what extend do we keep improving? Personally I'm not convinced that trying less is the answer based on your story. After explaining the optimisation paradox you share with us that you would like to have a million subscribers, get in better shape and make a sh*t load of money. Is trying less really something you are looking for in life? Instead of trying less, is there another way to overcome the optimisation paradox? Can we beat the optimisation paradox by, instead of setting goals for ourselves and trying to optimise every area of our life, we focus on improving the quality of our relationships with friends, family and partner? Can we beat the optimisation paradox by exploring our spirituality and as a result live meaningful lives? And don't get me wrong, I'm not in the business of fuming at RU-vid videos, I'm just another bloke trying to overcome the same challenges. Keep up the good work mate and I hope you can find true happiness and success along your journey.
I have been living in the mindset of optimisation for so long, I lost my feeling of self through it. I forgot how to enjoy things, forgot what I like even. I became a tool, at the cost of my happiness. These last few months, I've been trying to let that go. To enjoy more and stress less, before life passes me by. Your words have helped me a lot today.
The inclination to accept and follow the general consensus is probably some deep survival mechanism that helped us thousands or millions of years ago. Not so advantageous anymore, I think 😄
You're rediscovered the ideas of nobility and being a gentleman. The nobility of old saw the unrestrained pruning of anything and especially wealth as crud and low class. You make your wealth, have your toys and fun. The truth mark of a gentleman is his social responsibilities to his community, family and statues in them.
Awesome stuff. Listened to one of your vids at a point in time, was not expecting this. Me and my wife are engineers and have been over-optimizing and quantifying so much of our life, to a point where it becomes the primary goal, eather than just a means to an end. Enjoyed listening to you putting that experience into words. The most ridiculous thing I saw related to this is Andrew Hubermans vid on exercising a part of your brain that is activated during mental struggles. When practiced, it allows for greater grit and perserverence, making it so that you can struggle even longer. Taken to the extreme, your days are longer and full of self-imposed struggles. Warm regards from Novi Sad, Serbia
Sooo good! That's the monster of what is the world now. Keeping up with the Joneses, I need to buy the coming season of Prada bags, I must have perfect skin, etc. That is the fault of social media platforms! Good video.
I love when you post a new vid. This one was so good. What you are saying is how I try to live my life. You are going against the grain. Well done man.
Joe is that type of guy I listen and know he’s one of the realest guy in every aspect he goes into, I think he’s only influencer I watch and really think into it. Cheers mate ur one of the best we have!
I been telling people since I started. I'm not about "optimization", I don't care about that 3%... I care about getting 80% out of the 80% thing(s). Gets me the results I want and it's sustainable.
Appreciate your philosophical reasoning and love how self aware you are man. We're inundated with opportunity and possibilities both literally and hypothetically like you said. And not acting on it straight away feels like some weird loss or something... I can definitely relate... enter existential crisis... 🧘♂😂
Different strokes for different folks. I've dicluttered and detached myself from almost everything but the great success in .y personal and professional life has given me more hunger to learn develop and grow. Stay Uncommon!
boom! Very well put. I think a lot of people realise this only after they have gone to some sort of extreme - whether it is hedonistic, materialistic, workaholic, fitness freak etc. Social media has exacerbated comparison culture, we're all on our own path living our own life. You've got to find yourself, and then stop taking yourself so seriously
Joe the Bro with more wisdom. We are definitely overwhelmed! Eschew (addictive, consumeristic) technology, seek meaning, live in the moment. Seek truth and meaning. Find/make yourself!
Sleep and anxiety are good examples of what you're speaking about. Trying really hard to fall asleep or be calm often keeps you awake and makes you more anxious.
Great video man. I just turned 31 and have taken a step back from the gym, training 2 to 3 times a week maximum, making more time to play tennis, chill out and enjoy life. Same thing with work, I stopped trying too hard to impress and I'm just doing my best and try to enjoy what I'm doing and the people I'm working with. I takes a lot of pressure off and the results are just as good if not better.
This is verrryyyy good advice. I've really never thought about it that way before, of goals not being all that important to achieve, just fun to try... Thinking it about it that way, I feel motivated for the first time in ages to actually just post the TikToks I've been thinking about posting and apply to a couple agencies and send the pictures in and do a directing course. I think all this time I've just been terrified to fail or get it wrong or things not go the way I hope. I love your idea of it not really mattering that much
Damn bro.. First time seeing your vids in a long long time. I just wanna say how much I respect you brother. Your wit, intellect and gym content was and always has been top tier. I remember watching your videos back in 2015 when my mate and I would look to you and elder bro for gym advice. You, Chris Lavado, Matt Ogus, Greg Plitt. Cheers from NZ
Love the format Joe. Keep the great content up. A lot of social media glorifies working relentlessly and comparing ourselves to others. When really, we should focus on our own goals and improving ourselves a little bit each day.
Another great, thought provoking vid complete with humorous moments. In German, there's an expression to be "wünschlos glücklick" roughly translated 'wishless happy'. Basically, one form of happiness can just be saying, yeah, I'm good right now, don't need to change anything. This is enough, I'm conscious of what I have, thankful for it and going to invest my energy in maintaining and cherishing it instead of instantly forgetting it and craving the next big thing.
This is deep in my core personality. I reflexively respond in the opposing direction the moment I realize someone, or something is trying to get me to think in a certain way for a hidden agenda. So, advertisements, religions (any, including cult like atheism groups), political extremists (any side in any country) or any other ideology or belief system that resembles a tool for luring people into group thinking has this effect on me. It triggers something in brain and I put my distance to it without a second thought. My default answer is always no without thinking, before I give it a second to think about what I've been just asked then it might to into a yes if it is a genuine thing or a true benefit, or an ethical, positive thing that I've been asked to do.
Great take. Hit home with myself, as I've been contemplating moving to Australia but wondering if I'm just trying to chase the next best thing or the thought that my life will be immeasurably better, when actually when I think about it, my life is great now and maybe I should be content. But then I think "am I being to risk averse" " am I missing out on an amazing opportunity". Its a constant struggle but your video did help put things in perspective.
I love this viewpoint. Make habits make changes but don't worry about perfection. The modern world creates some misperceptions about what is achieveable.
Great video Joe! In most cases, I feel like less is more. It’s all about appreciating each and everyday - not getting lost in the rat race of constantly wanting more and more.
Took me very Long to realize, been into Lifting for 17 years now. And i switched from 5-6 times a week to 2-3 Times and what i can say, my workouts are more productive, i am looking Forward Motivated to every single workout, better Focus in Sets because you know now is your time to grow, It May be the only time this week you Hit that muscle group, Hitting more Weight every time, Recovery is in Point, social Life bettered a lot, reduced my generell pressure on myself. So more IS Not Always more. The Same goes with food. I dont earn my Money with my Body, so why shouldnt i live Life to the fullest but still stay in decent shape. I know IT May Sound hard for your Ego but Here and then we should Take a step Back and view a lot of Things through a different Perspective. Keep going Bros💪
Great video, Joe. I enjoyed the thought-provoking content. Nearly all of us have enough stuff already compared with large parts of the world. To appreciate this, you have to have experienced lean times.
