The Dual Imperative: Cultivating 'Go F*** Yourself' and 'Go F*** Myself' for Accelerated Growth

This podcast episode, titled "Go f*** myself how to accelerate your growth," delves into the two crucial attitudes required for significant personal achievement and self-development. Dr. Orion Taban introduces the concept of the "go f*** yourself" attitude, emphasizing the necessity of disregarding external criticism, lack of support, and active opposition from friends, family, and co-workers when pursuing one's dreams. He argues that if one allows others to talk them out of their goals, they deserve the unfulfilled outcome, highlighting that the cost of achieving dreams often includes foregoing the approval and understanding of those who do not share one's vision. This external resistance, he suggests, is a common test of one's commitment, even drawing parallels to Zen texts that advocate for challenging even the highest authorities on one's path.

The episode then pivots to what Dr. Taban considers an even more critical stance: the "go f*** myself" attitude. This internal imperative addresses self-imposed limitations and internal resistance. To explain this, he introduces an "irreducible dichotomy" of the human being: the "I" and the "Me." The "I" represents the seat of agency, will, and subjectivity, while the "Me" encompasses the body, ego, and self as an object, prone to laziness, weakness, doubt, and procrastination. He posits that the "I", as pure will, cannot be lazy or weak, and thus holds ultimate veto power over the "Me's" tendencies.

Practical insights revolve around the cultivation of willpower, which Dr. Taban likens to a muscle. He explains that just as a muscle strengthens with progressive exercise, the will becomes stronger by systematically overriding the "Me's" resistance through increasingly difficult decisions. The "I" must be able to confront and overcome its own internal obstacles, such as fear, doubt, and procrastination, by asserting its will and proceeding regardless of the "Me's" "tantrums." This continuous exercise of the will not only strengthens it but also gradually reduces the "Me's" inclination to resist, as it learns the futility of its opposition.

In broader implications, the podcast suggests that mastering both external and internal resistance is fundamental to realizing one's full potential and making genuine progress in life. Failure to cultivate these attitudes leads to prioritizing others' opinions or succumbing to internal liabilities, ultimately hindering personal growth and fulfillment. The core message is that all forms of resistance, whether external or internal, serve as tests of one's desire and commitment, and by consistently applying these two "go f***" attitudes, individuals can overcome nearly any obstacle to achieve their aspirations.

If you can be talked out of something, you deserve it.

If you really want something in life, your goal will almost certainly not be fully understood and supported and may even be criticized and actively opposed by the people around you...

To achieve your dreams, you have to be willing to say go [ __ ] yourself.

The willingness when appropriate to move past your parents, your teachers, your gurus, your idea of God himself will get you very far in life.

While it is very important to cultivate a go [ __ ] yourself attitude in order to get what you want in life, it might be even more important to cultivate a go [ __ ] myself attitude in order to realize your dreams.

The I is who I am... It is the seat of agency and subjectivity.

The me is what is used or acted upon both by the eye and the world at large. It is the body, the ego, the self as object.

The eye functionally needs to be able to say, "Go [ __ ] myself. [ __ ] my laziness. [ __ ] my weakness. [ __ ] my doubt. [ __ ] my procrastination. [ __ ] my fear. I'm doing it anyway."

It is my belief that the eye is the seat of authority in the human organism. The eye has veto power.

Will is sort of like a muscle... those with strong wills have chosen to systematically strengthen it by exercising it regularly with progressively more difficult decisions.

Let it scream and cry and pout and moan and do it anyway. That's how you cultivate a go [ __ ] myself attitude.

Remember, all resistance is merely a test to determine how bad you want it.