E04 | Daily Meditation
Open your mind, then empty it.
NOTE: This is a past episode of The Betterment Experiment.
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In This Episode
Experiment Results
In the fourth podcast episode of The Betterment Experiment, Rocketbook co-founders Joe and Jake discuss their findings from performing daily meditation to relieve stress and explain how putting it into practice differed from their expectations.
“After just a few days, what you realize is you spend your days in this Netflix fast-forward, and so it gives you a little bit of empathy when you’re in a contentious argument or if someone’s walking too slow.” — Jake (6:26)
As a reminder, last episode Jake and Joe argued about which stress relief technique they should test out, and our audience voted for Daily Meditation.
By dedicating 30 minutes to meditation every day, they found themselves with less stress, more empathy and a surprising increase in productivity. Additionally, Joe found himself parenting differently and Jake used meditation to separate his home and work life. After sharing their experiences, they offer some tips for any listeners interested in trying out meditation for themselves.
Debate
This episode, Joe and Jake argue about the best way to strengthen a key ingredient to a healthy life: interpersonal relationships.
“You want to do something called ‘exposure therapy’ to strangers…you’re going to get the cops called on you!” — Jake (16:09)
Talking to Strangers
This strategy of improving your interpersonal relationship works like this: once a day, start a conversation with a stranger. While Jake tries to dismiss this idea as lunacy, talking to strangers has many benefits including reduced loneliness and an improved ability to express yourself. Joe adds that talking to strangers every day likely won’t result in new friends, but rather will develop the skill of making conversation in any situation. That way, at a networking event, you’ve already mastered the art of building a connection through spontaneous conversation.
Re-Connecting with Old Friends
This strategy of improving your interpersonal relationship works like this: once a day, reach out to an old friend or acquaintance. The immediate and more obvious benefits of this extreme life hack are that you’ll be reminded of wonderful memories and strengthen your social network. Additionally, reaching out to old friends will often reveal insightful information about yourself that you can use to better yourself going forward. Lastly, it will alleviate any guilt you have for not staying in touch with old friends by forcing you to do just that. Joe claims this method isn’t extreme enough for the Betterment Experiment, but Jake dismisses this by explaining that talking to some of his old friends will undoubtedly be painful.
Vote
Since this is a past episode, the voting has ended. You can vote on the most recent debate at podcast.getrocketbook.com. Then, listen in to the next episode where they’ll discuss their findings!
Related Links
Wherever You Go, There You Are — Book on Meditation by Jonn Kabat-Zinn
Headspace — Meditation Tutorials
Episode Breakdown
(00:19) — Intro
(00:41) — Recap last episode’s debate and winning experiment
(1:20) — Share Findings
(9:29) — Tips & modifications for Daily Meditation
(11:22) — Listener-submitted question
(12:20) — Break
(12:38) — Intro to Debate: Strengthen your interpersonal relationships
(12:55) — “Reach Out to Old Friends” Pitch
(14:32) — “Talk to Strangers” Pitch
(18:21) — Debate Wrap-Up
(19:39) — Vote at podcast.GetRocketbook.com
(19:55) — Subscribe, Rate, and Review
(20:45) — Outro
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