Curious Humans: Mental Resilience, Cognitive Canaries & High-Stakes Decision Making
"There are no adverse conditions, just opportunities to differentiate yourself through proper training, mindset, and preparation. All personal development is a Trojan horse to contemplate the existential." – Chris Sparks
Jonny Miller of Curious Humans and Chris Sparks recorded a masterclass in mindset for staying calm and making good decisions in a high-stress environment.
Their conversation ranged from talking about tools Chris used to stay calm or shift his state during high-stakes poker games to how he eliminated mental distractions in critical moments. Chris shared some meta-principles that he learned through poker that apply to life more broadly—as well as how his approach and philosophy around productivity have shifted over the years.
Audio recording and resources mentioned below.
Highlights:
“Are you going to keep doing this as a hobby and shooting yourself in the foot, or are you willing to do what it takes to become one of the best?”
Evaluate potential collaborators by the tightness of their feedback loops. This is the best indication of future trajectory.
Interruptions occur at inconvenient times because you haven’t set aside a better time. 80% of life’s hassles can be traced back to poor scheduling.
Be sensitive to your inner narrative. One alluring narrative is that everything is playing out just as expected. This is a great way to miss obvious signals from reality.
Preparation transforms volatility from a threat into an opportunity.