Tim Ferriss On: Recovering From Anxiety and Compulsive Thinking, Rethinking Self-Optimization, and the Power of Saying "No."

This is the 10% happier podcast. I'm Dan Harris. Hello, everybody. How are we doing? Today I'm talking to my man Tim Ferris, who is these days leading in his words

a different life. As some of you may know, Tim has a long and difficult history with OCD, anxiety, depression, and trauma. Today you're going to hear him talk very candidly about what he's done to create this different life. You're also going to hear him talk about what he thinks about self-optimizing. He is, in many ways, kind of the grandfather of optimization, a notion with which many of you, and I would include myself in this category, have a tortured relationship.

maybe a love-hate relationship. Tim talks about the risks of optimizing and how he's become much more surgical about what he optimizes for. He's also going to talk about a book in progress on the immense power of saying no so that you can focus on the things that are actually important to you. This is also something that I struggle with immensely. In case you're new to Tim and his work, Tim Ferris is the author of five number one New York Times bestsellers, including the Four-Hour Workweek and Tools of Titans.

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