Avsnitt
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic pain—pain lasting at or beyond three months—affected over 20% of U.S. adults, or 51.6 million people, in 2021. Symptoms were severe enough to substantially restrict daily activity for 6.9% of Americans that same year. And with chronic pain comes soaring medical costs, pharmaceutical over-reliance, and addiction.
Mounting multidisciplinary research suggests that most chronic pain is not of structural origin. In other words, most chronic pain can not be directly attributed to injury or physical abnormality. Neuroplastic pain results from the brain misinterpreting signals from the body as if they were dangerous. We habituate to pain, creating behaviors that either avoid pain or alleviate symptoms.
Encouragingly, those undergoing a psychological treatment known as Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) are showing vast improvements in pain management without pharmaceutical or other medical interventions. One major study found that two-thirds of chronic back pain patients were pain-free or nearly pain-free after four weeks of PRT interventions. In addition, patients showed visible changes in the prefrontal brain regions associated with pain after therapy. While psychological treatments are effective in managing chronic pain, this does not imply that the pain is imaginary.
My guest today, Miriam Gauci Bongiovanni, suffered needlessly until she discovered the concept of neuroplastic pain. Today, now pain-free, she works from her home in Malta as a Certified MindBody Practitioner and Trauma-Informed Coach. But beyond her skills as a wonderful teacher and educator on chronic pain, I found her story of embracing a nontraditional career fascinating. Today we dive in on everything from how our personalities and fears inform our pain cycles to living a good life.
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Topics Discussed with Miriam Gauci BongiovanniMiriam’s history with debilitating pain and the methods she used to cure itWhat is neuroplastic pain?Cycles of worry that feed neuroplastic pain: How fear contributes to body tension and muscle spasmsWhy neuroplastic pain often develops from real injuriesWhy emotional experiences are creating real physical changes in the bodyThe role of personality on neuroplastic pain and who is most likely to sufferConditioning and pain triggersKey indicators of neuroplastic painHow neuroplastic pain can imprint on structural painThe nocebo effect, expectations of painWhy continuing to see practitioners (PT, etc) can contribute to neuroplastic painWhy exercises aimed at injury prevention may not be usefulSomatic tracking and learning to explore painful sensationsThe importance of play on pain mitigationMiriam’s personality and personal journey. How frustration at work resulted in painThe importance of accountability and individual agency in pain managementThe danger of hiding our stressLiving a nontraditional life and career: challenges and rewardsSo much more! -
If you haven’t noticed, the concept of achievement and even competitiveness has weighed heavily on my mind as of late. A gift of the nontraditional life is the opportunity to step back and see the world around us with a degree of unusual clarity, far from the treadmill. For years I valued athletic and professional progress in ways that weren’t making my life better, but I thought they were. I searched for and implemented solutions to the wrong problems. Meanwhile, what truly mattered—mainly my relationships—withered on the vine. The journey toward rectifying these tendencies continues today.
My guest today, Lincoln Stoller, is a former mountaineer who now specializes in psycho-, hypno-, and neurofeedback therapy, in tandem with numerous other counseling and coaching services. Lincoln holds a PhD in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics from UT Austin, including a post-doc assignment at UC Berkley. Lincoln eventually moved from quantum physics to create a management and automation software platform for businesses, learned to build Norwegian log homes, traveled and lived abroad in far-flung foreign lands, and is even a certified pilot. To say Lincoln lives well outside of the bounds of normalcy is probably a half-truth at best. As he says in the interview, we should “just keep doing out-of-the-box stuff. And if people aren't calling you a little crazy or a little nutty, then you probably aren’t exploring enough of the boundaries.”
Today’s conversation revolves around the high-risk potential of hard-charging performers and achievers, whether they exist in sports, business, or other areas of life. While these individuals hold our collective attention and admiration, Lincoln outlines how their psychological roots run shallow. They often struggle to stay satisfied with themselves or those around them. Lincoln might even say he holds an anti-hard-man philosophy. I think you’ll see why.
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Topics Discussed with Lincoln StollerQuantum physics to therapist/coachLincoln’s history in mountaineering amongst some of the legends of the sportWhy almost all climbers are “high-risk”“Resilience is not throwing yourself at a climb until you are torn and bloody, it’s exploring your limits and working them gracefully.”Why some people crave riskEmotions on the rock and exploration and mastering of triggersGetting past societal expectations of productivityCan satisfied people be high performers?How dissatisfaction can lead to pathology: “If you’re not satisfied with yourself, you won’t be satisfied with anyone else, either.”Is competition healthy?Is personal growth selfish?What is productive suffering and why is it important?Taking ownership: the dysfunctional mental model that experts can solve our problemsHow high performers can assess mental health concerns that might not be apparentRelationships with parents and why these are often commonly fraught“You can’t change people directly. You can only change people indirectly by changing yourself.”The importance of doing out-of-the-box stuff and why it’s okay to be considered differentHigh achievement and the difficulty with love and long-term relationships -
Saknas det avsnitt?
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The concept of play conjures the image of my three-year-old (and blonder) self, plastic shovel in hand, amorphous stains down the front of my pants. And certainly slobber. Lots of slobber. That three-year-old was certainly not concerned with social hierarchy or status, lacking a whiff of ambition to put the best version of himself forward. He played with a shovel in the sand because something needed to be dug and that was all that mattered.
As we age (and start to exhibit bladder control) the nature of play changes but is not altogether lost, at least not at first. Instead of digging in the sand, we might play a game of Twister, something I played as late as my college years. I challenge you to toss out that board on the floor—putting your head through someone else’s legs—and try and stay serious and stoic. It’s impossible. You’ll be giggling like a child. And that’s the point. We need more play.
Source of Inspiration: Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life (Bill Burnett, Dave Evans)
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For four years I’ve watched something slowly bloom. In my old life, the “before time” you might call it, I moved from task to task. If I wasn’t working, I unknowingly made a practice of turning recreational or hobbyist pursuits into something that, from an outsider’s perspective, looked an awful lot like work. Goals and accolades were everything, and the more quantifiable, the better. But the farther I’ve separated myself from this life in space and time, the more clarity I’ve gained.
Grasping for metaphors, I was tempted to explain this budding awareness as a slowly growing flower. But for perhaps all the wrong reasons, I hesitated to describe my growth and awareness as floral, preferring to drop the metaphor. But I can’t quite shake it, because I have watched something slowly grow. It’s not me that has bloomed–again, all the wrong imagery–but it is the world I could not see then. I could not see the flawed logic buried in the cold and wet earth because I identified with it. It was my life, so I could not reject what protected me. And four years later I’ve watched something slowly take root.
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When we make important decisions, we are often not as rational or objective as we’d like to believe. The base rate fallacy is the tendency to misjudge the probability of a situation by not accounting for all relevant information. This cognitive bias affects everything from first impressions to voting preferences to broad market behavior.
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If you follow economic news at all, you’ve taken note of the changing conditions of the American housing economy in the last few years. First, high demand, low supply, and cheap debt fueled an extraordinary (and unhealthy) price surge. In response, the Federal Reserve ratcheted up interest rates to cool an overheated economy in the wake of pandemic-related disruptions
In years prior, economic conditions supported a vast proliferation of real estate investment. Individual investors to multinational corporations scooped up properties across the country for cheap. The returns were fantastic. But in my mind, those days were decidedly over.
When my guest today, Michael Farnsworth, discussed his novel concept of real estate investment, I was all ears. Do many of the real estate investment rules-of-thumb still function in a world of 7%+ mortgage rates and all-time high prices? Is now really the time to start a real estate investment portfolio? Is this even the time to buy a personal residence? And when it comes to short-term rentals, what are the ethical considerations to local economies and community fabric? We cover all this and more in today’s episode.
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Topics Discussed with Michael FarnsworthThe “Triangle of Death:” Michael’s unique form of House Hacking2024 climbing goals: 100th first-try 5.12 and V10Stock market vs real estate investingMichael’s struggle with remote work and feeling groundedThe characteristics of a real estate investorThe viability of real estate investing in a high-interest and low-supply (e.g., expensive) marketMichael’s ongoing landlord nightmare scenarioDecision to leave his traditional career to pursue property management full-timeIntellectual stimulation without a traditional jobFinancial metrics and characteristics of the ideal rental propertyUnderstanding costs and the importance of detailed accountingWhen and how much to raise rentsNontraditional means of mortgage fundingConsiderations on property managersEthical considerations of short-term rentals (Airbnb, etc)Michael’s ideal lifestyleSuffering from lupus and two kidney transplantsSo much more! -
We’re back to the digital mailbag to answer your questions!
For this week:
An update on markets and our personal finance situationThe role of dividends in growth and withdrawal assumptionsExpectations vs reality on a life of financial independenceOur experience with health insurance without employer-sponsored plansReal estate investing: an update on our experiences and economics as remote landlordsHealth insurance considerations for long-term travelShort- to medium-term savings goals (like a house) versus saving for retirementLoss of purpose without a traditional jobSo much more!Support this project: Buy Me a Coffee
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Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com
Q1: What’s the latest on markets and your financial situation since you left your corporate career? (00:02:38)Q2: Expectations versus experiences on the financially independent life (00:16:33)Q3: Could you provide an update on your experiences and costs with ACA (Obamacare) insurance? (00:27:42)Q4: I’d like to hear any details you’re willing to share on your remote landlord experience (00:39:36)Q5: My partner and I are taking a sabbatical! What should we do about insurance? (00:50:30)Q6: How do I prioritize retirement savings against saving for short- to medium-term savings goals, like buying a house? (00:56:20)Q7: Why are we so concerned about the loss of purpose when we stop working a traditional job? (01:04:31) -
When I left my corporate career in early 2020, I didn’t fully understand the ways that I would, in later years, slowly become decoupled and desynchronized from a society that values hustle, status, and self-worth generated to a large degree around our career titles. You’ll read the same thing repeatedly on the internet: Ignore the haters, do your thing.
But when I actually sit down and talk with those who are living similar lives, regardless of their financial position, I find that the tidy internet talking points leave many of us dissatisfied. After all, humans are one of the most social species on the planet. We shouldn’t be surprised by the difficulty in overriding instinct, to go against the grain of what the herd values most. My thinking has evolved dramatically on this subject in recent years, so let’s dig in.
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By popular demand, I’ve decided to extend a travel series centered around the topic of building community or maintaining our need for social interactions when away from home. Community building is especially complicated when abroad, where cultures and languages vary considerably from our own. My guests today, veteran travelers with considerable expat experiences, are perfectly suited to discuss this topic.
Meghan Walker, a previous guest who writes at awaytofi.com, spent many of her formative years living abroad in Kenya and New Zealand. Her husband, Callan Cooper, is an expat living in the United States from New Zealand, where they met. Meghan and Callan joined me in my home in Colorado for a rare in-person interview, where we discussed in detail the beauty and challenges of international extended travel, careers, evolving travel philosophies, and financial tactics that can have you living a similar life much sooner than you think.
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I’m a little unsure of the best way to frame this introduction. In some ways, this is a story of embracing climbing for all the right reasons. Pursuit of technical mastery and love for the outdoors over the gamification of grades and emphasis on physical training. On the other hand, this is also the story of early adulthood in the modern era. The narrative to pursue something like climbing full-time is strong in the outdoor world. But most I encounter eventually find that climbing alone leaves us yearning for meaning and purpose. My guest today, Tyler Karow, spent nearly three years on the road pursuing climbing. Today he balances considerable climbing achievements with a secondary passion for building and a desire to be a part of the solution to America’s affordable housing crisis.
Karow is a 29-year-old climber known for his big wall accomplishments in Yosemite, Patagonia, and around the globe. His resume includes a ground-up free ascent of Golden Gate (5.13a) on El Cap, and Yosemite’s Triple Crown in under 24 hours, only the eighth time this feat has been achieved. Notably, Karow climbed the Triple while working a full-time (plus) job. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Southern California and is a licensed civil engineer and general contractor. With this background in engineering and construction, he envisions a career helping to build prefabricated tiny home communities. This emerging approach to construction helps to reduce the cost of new housing and more efficiently add supply to a stressed housing market.
This episode is an Oreo of sorts, with a focused discussion of Tyler’s climbing achievements and work/life balance in the beginning and end. The middle of this discussion takes a deep dive into the affordable housing crisis, the complex nature of new construction, and Tyler’s vision for the future of American affordable housing.
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In October I published a mini episode on my thought processes on the pros and cons of extended travel abroad. Many of you left comments or emailed me your thoughts, and I’m so thankful for your input. You’ve all given me plenty to consider. One of the most insightful emails came from Jeff of awaytofi.com, a previous guest on this podcast (Episode 44).
Jeff has been living abroad for over fifteen months with his wife, Rose, and as such is well-versed in discussing the impacts of extended travel, particularly on our social lives. This week’s episode is an in-depth exploration of extended travel, especially as it relates to our human need for a sense of place and community. Travel takes us away from our tribe, so how do we create new ones? Do we even need to? You can probably expect more content like this with upcoming guests and articles.
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Uncertainty is a fact of life, yet we yearn for known outcomes. Every day we make decisions. Some decisions are small and inconsequential, while others are profound and life-altering. Sometimes events happen regardless of our decisions. And above it all and looming like a nervous wind is uncertainty. Uncertainty is forever.
But those who learn to sit with and embrace uncertainty are resilient and innovative. Those who try to fight uncertainty spend more money and live with less contentment.
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James McHaffie needs no introduction, at least in the United Kingdom. His approach to bold onsight climbing, particularly free solos, is unparalleled. He’s repeated the hardest sport climb in Wales, Big Bang (9a), sent Britain’s hardest sea cliff, Dave MacLeod’s The Longhope Direct (E10 7a), and made the first ascent of The Meltdown, a 9a slab in the slate quarries of his home in North Wales. And now he’s written a book. But unlike many books released by elite climbers, this is not an autobiographical account of hard climbs in the face of relative adversity. Caff, as he prefers to be called, has written a fictional account of Eleri, a young woman amongst the slate quarries of North Wales who in the aftermath of a family suicide takes aim at British politicians who pushed for austerity and the conditions that led to such suffering.
This conversation was such a gift. I can see even through all that rage that James is brimming with humanity, a trait sometimes in short supply. I hope you’ll enjoy this one as much as I did.
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Topics Discussed with James McHaffieDiscovering the Welsh rave scene after a midlife crisisLife and climbing in WalesClimbing origin story and why James gravitated toward soloingThe pressure to be boldWhy James isn’t as well known in the USA near-death experience on the Masters Wall and how that affected his confidenceThe concept of modesty and how it has evolved in recent years: “Social media has been a shotgun to the head of modesty”The infamous Rab blog and why he wants to separate himself from his “Dark Lord” reputationBalancing financial security with elite climbingThe best job James ever had and why it is important for him to work with the underservedDealing with depression and dark times through his workThe events that inspired a novelA brief political debate and the role of public policy in shaping the lives of the poorDetails about the novel and his drive to write itHis 9-month experience writing the bookWhat financial security means to James and how he would live with financial freedomWhat James would change to make his life more meaningful in the futureSo much more! -
Years ago, we decided to one day try living abroad for at least a year. We always loved traveling and also always felt that we never had enough time to truly experience a place beyond the superficial. I wanted to stay for a while, learn the language, and slowly morph into a new life mode. But now I’m starting to question the wisdom of this decision. Is living abroad a bad idea?
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It’s often said that happiness equals what you have minus (or sometimes divided by) what you want. When our wants are many, what we have is of little consequence. That is why there are hordes of unhappy millionaires and high achievers who quietly suffer (yes, suffer) under the weight of lofty and insatiable desires and ambitions.
Western ideals place great importance on the “haves.” And despite an anecdotal feeling that my greater social circle is less materialistic, I’m less certain that we’ve diminished our appetite for having things. The things look and feel different. Less like fancy watches or cars or gaudy showings of riches and more like spreadsheets full of countries and crags unvisited, food not tasted, status not yet achieved, or routes not sent.
We believe subconsciously or otherwise that by checking items off our bucket list we will arrive at some sense of blissful satisfaction. But biology and evolution suggest otherwise.
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Jim Dahle is the founder of the White Coat Investor, a widely consumed personal finance and investing blog and podcast specifically designed for physicians and other high-income careers. What Jim created in 2011 as a simple blog has grown into a multi-media empire that now employs fifteen people and hosts content from a range of columnists.
Jim has cut back from his full-time (plus) emergency physician career and White Coat Investor responsibilities to focus on what makes life worth living, and that’s where I wanted to pick up this conversation. Jim is a climber, husband, and father of four. Today we discuss how he’s managed to step away, at least slightly, from his hard-charging career and blogging days to what he’s now describing as his ideal life.
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Topics Discussed with Jim DahleHow his life evolved from his early career and his adventures from the summer of 2023The Venn diagram of ideal life vs. actual life and why he feels he is living his ideal lifeJim’s motivation to monetize White Coat Investor (WCI) and how that led to unexpected lifestyle changesThoughts on keeping WCI sustainableThe importance of the servant mentalityThe events that led to Jim cutting to part-time emergency room physicianHow much career capital is necessary to ask for part-time hours in your career?Why Jim passed on several multi-million dollar deals to sell WCIThoughts on early retirement for those who are young ( -
In America, student loan debt has exploded over the last twenty years, with the average inflation-adjusted federal loan debt per student rising from under $29,000 in 2011 to nearly $40,000 in 2020. Students and their parents are paying an increasingly costly price for college education, outpacing growth in expected starting salaries.
After more than three years, loan payments are coming due again after the expiration of a Covid-era forbearance program put in place under President Trump and extended under President Biden. My guest today, Emma Crawford, is intimately familiar with student loans as both a borrower as well as a former university aid advisor, and now as a financial planner.
Emma Crawford is the former Director of Financial Wellness and Financial Aid Advising for the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. She holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation and is a fee-only financial planner for Perk Planning, based out of Madison, Wisconsin. Emma joins me on the show today to discuss the evolving and complicated world of student loans for the first two-thirds of the show. The final third of the interview is dedicated to discussing the equally convoluted world of financial planners and advisors. We discuss the nature of fee-only advising and who may find this type of service appropriate.
Topics Discussed with Emma CrawfordWhen student loan payments are due after the expiration of Covid-era forbearanceWhere to find information about your loans and loan servicersHow Emma used the loan forbearance period to improve her financial situation and lifestyleThe importance of automatic payments and how utilizing automation can save you moneyWhat is Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and who is it for?Other repayment optionsInvestigating typical interest rates on student loans and weighing debt paydown against other investing opportunitiesFederal vs private student loansCan loan forgiveness policies be reversed or overturned in the future?Why has student loan debt become so politically fraught?Balancing the cost of education with expected career choices and payConsidering costs of education beyond tuitionHow to avoid loan default and what happens to those who defaultHow Emma pays off student loans and other debt while investing for retirement at the same timeWho needs a financial advisor and how to choose oneThe importance of understanding how financial advisors get paid and the fiduciary dutyThe problem with mixing life insurance and investingHow Emma’s background in psychology helps her as a financial plannerEmma’s thoughts on the FIRE movementSo much more!Support this project: Buy Me a Coffee
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We’re back to the digital mailbag to answer your questions!
For this week:
How has my lifestyle evolved since achieving financial independence and how do I spend my time?Updated thoughts on money and marketsAre we putting too much faith in institutions like Vanguard?Can and should life insurance policies be used for retirement savings?Tax avoidance versus accepting higher tax ratesWhat is a Simple IRA and how does it differ from a 401(k)? Can I still do Roth conversions?Savings rates are great! Should I pay less on my loans to maximize my savings?Big picture: Where do I start on getting my financial life together?Outreach and presentationsSo much more!Support this project: Buy Me a Coffee
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Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com
Q1: How has my lifestyle evolved since achieving financial independence and how do I spend my time? (00:02:49)Q2: Updated thoughts on money and markets (00:05:01)Q3: What if Vanguard failed?! (00:07:53)Q4: Can and should life insurance policies be used for retirement savings? (00:11:56)Q5: When do I stop trying to optimize my tax bracket and just let go? (00:15:30)Q6: What is a Simple IRA and how does it differ from a 401(k)? Can I still do Roth conversions? (00:18:56)Q7: Savings rates are great right now! Should I pay less on my loans to maximize my savings? (00:22:39)Q8: Big picture: Where do I start on getting my financial life together?(00:26:26)Q9: How was your presentation at the climbing gym? Can you record it? (00:34:51)Q10: Can you supply podcast transcripts? (00:40:27) -
Dave Rosen is a climber and ophthalmologist in his final year of residency. And Dave grew up like so many of us: broadly exposed to the importance of money and taught a thing or two about saving, but investing was a foreign concept and his lack of knowledge was a source of shame.
While Dave skimmed over it, he’s no slouch as a climber. He has bagged a pile of double-digit boulder problems up to V12, sent 5.13c, and developed numerous boulder problems, particularly in the South Mountain area near Phoenix where he and his wife lived for medical school for four years. He is hard-working, analytical, and pragmatic in his career and life approach.
In this conversation, we discuss how Dave found climbing from the world of canyoneering, his early exposure to money and how that has markedly changed in recent years, the constant pull of greener grass, working backward from an ideal lifestyle, and the ethical and moral dilemmas of early retirement.
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Frugality is an endearing element of saving money and living the good life. But interestingly, the recent discourse in personal finance circles has seemingly shifted to embrace spending over saving. What is going on, how did this happen, and why should we care?
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- Visa fler
