The Best of HighExistence: 5 Self-Help Articles You Must Study 😁💥

We looked through 500 articles to find these 5 gems. 97.1% of users agreed: "30 Challenges to Enlightenment is a life-changing set of tools." Stop self-sabotaging and start building healthy, meaningful habits [right now](. At HighExistence, we have a nuanced view of self-development. We try to weave philosophy, self-improvement, science, and biography to help our readers become more productive, happier, and wiser. We understand that “success” can be defined in innumerable ways depending on the values of the individual, but we also recognize that there are also meta principles that can help nearly everyone. For example, overcoming procrastination, finding more meaning in life, cultivating more concentration, and improving one’s overall work ethic cannot be a bad thing, regardless of your individual pursuits. Today I want to bring you a special post. We rarely do curated "best of" pieces on emails, but I wanted to throw this one out there. If you like it, reply to this email and let me know. Below, you'll find our best five articles on self-improvement to help you get the edge in all aspects of life: social, spiritual, financial, and physical. There is a lot of content here, and I recommend you just read the article that stands out to you most right now, but save the email somewhere so you can go back to it when you want to learn more. [1) How to Defeat the Procrastodragon Once and For All]( You can have all the creative ideas in the world, or a mind as sharp as Stephen Hawking’s, but if you keep procrastinating on your goals... You’re kinda useless. Nobody can rely on you. You can’t manifest results from thoughts. You might end up spending your entire life starting new things, never finishing them, dreaming up ideas, but failing to produce any tangible results. For those people who don’t defeat their procrastination habit, this pattern continues over and over and over again. Martijn Schirp, the co-founder of HighExistence, knew all too well what the trap of procrastination felt like. Being naturally intelligent and a good strategist, he was able to out-maneuver his low work ethic with brain power. Or so he thought. There were limits to this trickery. When he had to hand in his thesis for Interdisciplinary Science, he could no longer hide from the “Procratodragon” that had been following him for years. In this pivotal life moment, he either had to face and slay his procrastination head on, or he would get destroyed by it. [The article]( that he ended up writing about procrastination as a result of his inner transformation is one of the best articles HighExistence has ever published. If you actually follow the instructions in this piece, you will change your life. [2) Nietzsche’s Gymnastics of the Will: The Path From Hell to the Good Life]( In 2017, temptation is everywhere. Social media. TV. Alcohol. Drugs. Sex. Video games. Delicious shitty food. Consumer products. Porn. Sedentary lifestyles. From all angles, we’re bombarded with advertisements and signals urging us to give in to our lower impulses… In moderation, most of the things I listed aren’t bad for us. Hell, it’s healthy to make space in life for leisure time and a little Dionysian intoxication. But most of us aren’t good at moderating ourselves. We see the desolation of unfettered pleasure-seeking all around us, in the form of addictions. You think such people feel good about themselves at the end of the day? You think they go to bed fulfilled and excited about the wondrous possibilities they intend to explore in this world? Hell no. They’re lost, afraid, trapped, and on some level they know it. And it burns. Eats away at them, acid-like. Scalds the part of them that wanted something more. So why do they keep doing it? Because in the moment it feels good. Because they lack the strength and discipline to change. Because they’re suffering, running from something. From the fear of actually staring into their own souls and accepting what they find there. From the fear of gazing into the abyss of this life, seeing how little we truly know, seeing the immense suffering of this reality, and accepting it. Or better yet, affirming it. Saying “Yes!” to it and resolving to help improve this world. The task seems overwhelming. But there is a way out. [Read this article]( to discover advice laid down by the incredibly astute Friedrich Nietzsche on how to overcome addiction, escape overstimulation, and cultivate inner-strength. [3) 35 Principles from Jordan Peterson On Mastering Productivity at Work]( Dr. Jordan B. Peterson is a force to be reckoned with. Peterson is a Canadian clinical psychologist who burst into the forefront of the collective online consciousness within the last year or so when he started publishing a whole bunch of lectures and videos on YouTube. I can say in all honesty that his lectures, his messages, and his obvious passion are beyond inspiring. The man is an erudite genius who understands a tremendous amount about how to live a good life. Dr. Peterson's was asked on Quora for his best principles for getting the most out of your work life and increasing your productivity. He came up with 35 amazing maxims. These principles will come in incredibly useful for anyone who wants to be more productive in general or advance their careers. We have many people write to us at HighExistence who tell us they want to improve their financial situation so they can focus more on following their passions. [Jordan Peterson’s advice]( will most certainly help you to do this. [4) How to Practice Mindfulness to Gain Enlightenment: The Ultimate Illustrated Guide]( Mindfulness is one of—if not the most—powerful psychological interventions of all time. But how exactly do we practice it? Mindfulness is talked about a lot in self-help circles to the point that it now resembles a fad. But it is not a fad. Mindfulness was one of the cornerstones of the Buddha’s philosophy, which has been around for over 2,000 years. But for all the talking about mindfulness, there is very little doing. Even among people who meditate each day and walk the spiritual path, mindfulness is overlooked. Being mindful is difficult because when you're not being mindful, you don't realize that you're not mindful. Beyond this, telling someone to be more mindful in everyday life is crappy advice. It’s hard to pay attention and easy to forget pay attention. Mindfulness and distractedness are arguably our default states. So what's the solution? [This article](. At over 5,600 words, [this illustrated guide]( will explain exactly what mindfulness is and how you can use phone apps and manual strategies to make sure you never forget to pay attention throughout your day. If you follow the advice in this guide you will walk around with a feeling of moment-by-moment bliss. [5) Hunter S. Thompson’s Monumental Letter on How to Find Meaning and Purpose in Life]( In April of 1958, when asked by a friend for advice, 22-year-old Hunter S. Thompson penned a letter on how to find meaning and purpose in life. Despite his young age, Thompson’s words contain a certain earnestness, force, and clarity that make them particularly urgent and deeply moving. I’d go as far as to say that this is one of the most powerful distillations of a single man’s philosophy I’ve ever come across. What makes [this letter]( all the more uncanny and profound is that at the time, no one knew Thompson would go on to become one of the most ground-breaking, influential, and famous writers of the 20th century. He was essentially an unknown, spelling out the as-yet-unproven philosophy that would result in his becoming a cultural icon and literary anti-hero. In short, these are extraordinary words that deserve your careful attention. Read them slowly, striving to understand each sentence in its entirety. They might just alter the course of your life. Copyright © 2018 HighExistence, All rights reserved. You signed up to receive the top 5 top-voted posts daily from HE Our mailing address is: HighExistence 40 E. Main St. #1137Newark, DE 19711 [Add us to your address book](//highexistence.us9.list-manage.com/vcard?u=dd9bd4972680a66763ae32a9e&id=9298f81796) Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](