{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"322. Oliver Burkeman: Meditations for Mortals","description":" You know that phrase, \u201cWe compare our insides to other people\u2019s outsides\u201d? We\u2019re bombarded with others\u2019 achievements but see less of the steps \u2013 internal and external \u2013 it took to get there. These days, we feel an increased pressure to achieve, to pursue greatness. We reach for this mythical, impossible standard. Drawing from his book, Meditations for Mortals, Burkeman believes that if you accept the fact that you will never \u201cget there,\u201d you can actually start making good choices that lead to a meaningful life. Through this guiding philosophy, Burkeman calls \u201cimperfectionism,\u201d we can tackle challenges in our daily lives: our finite time, the lure of distraction, the impossibility of doing anything perfectly, the feeling that the world is spinning out of control. How can we embrace our limitations? Or make good decisions when there\u2019s always too much to do? How do we shed the illusion that life will really begin as soon as we can \u201cget on top of everything\u201d? Pulling from the fields of philosophy, religion, literature, psychology, and self-help, Burkeman explores a combination of practical tools and daily shifts in perspective. Burkeman offers a way to embrace our mortality, to in fact find solace and inspiration in it. In anxiety-inducing times, Burkeman believes that holding back in life is a guarantee for anguish, while living in just one moment at a time is the solution for getting to the things that matter most to you. Oliver Burkeman worked for many years at The Guardian, where he wrote a popular weekly column on psychology, \u201cThis Column Will Change Your Life.\u201d His books include the New York Times bestseller Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals and The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can\u2019t Stand Positive Thinking. Buy the Book Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts Elliott Bay Book Company ","author_name":"Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series","author_url":"http:\/\/artscultureths.libsyn.com\/website","html":"