Listening transcript · Episode 23

Read the complete episode transcript

Read at your own pace with optional language support. To listen and read together, open the integrated transcript on the episode page.

B1–B2ListeningAbout 19 min + dynamic ads5 PDF versions available

Listen with this transcript Read here without audio Choose a PDF language

A short study session

Read here, or listen on the episode page

This reader does not play audio. The link above opens the episode with this support selected; press Play or Resume when you are ready.

Listen first. Play the opening minute without reading and notice the main idea.
Read with support. Replay it with the transcript and add one support language only where needed.
Listen again. Close the text and check which phrases you now recognise.

Readable web version

Episode transcript

Reading support

English only. Choose one support language if you need it.

Your reading position will be saved on this browser.

Welcome to your English toolbox, the podcast where we train your ears and your mind step by step.

I am Peter,

and today we are going to do

something very powerful.

We are going to practice shadowing with 100 sentences of wisdom from Mark Manson.

I recommend you to listen to our previous episode where we deeply explain the content of this interesting book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck.

After being aware of the content, today's episode is a good way to practice shadowing English, improving your listening and understanding, and at the same time going back to the powerful teachings of the book.

I will read 100 sentences divided into five blocks.

Your job is to listen

and then repeat exactly what I say during the silence.

Take a deep breath, relax your shoulders and let's begin.

Block one: The feedback loop and suffering.

The desire for more positive experience is itself a negative experience.

Paradoxically, the acceptance of one's negative experience is itself a positive experience.

We have become too comfortable, and that is making us weak.

To not give a fuck is to stare down life's most terrifying and difficult challenges.

You must care about something far more important than your adversity.

If you don't find a meaningful problem, your mind will invent meaningless ones.

Everything worthwhile in life is won through surmounting the associated negative experience.

Avoiding suffering is a form of suffering.

The avoidance of struggle is a struggle.

The denial of failure is a failure.

Hiding what is shameful is itself a form of shame.

Pain is an inextricable thread in the fabric of life.

To try to pull the thread of pain out is to unravel everything else with it.

Happiness is not a solvable equation.

Happiness comes from solving problems.

True happiness occurs only when you find the problems you enjoy having.

Don't ask yourself what you want to enjoy;

ask yourself

what pain you want to sustain.

Who you are is defined by what you are willing to struggle for.

This is the most simple and basic component of life.

Reflection one: That was the first block.

We learned that avoiding pain only creates more pain.

Real happiness is found in choosing the struggles that matter to us.

Let's move deeper into how we see ourselves.

Block two: Values and being average.

The vast majority of your life will be boring and not noteworthy.

That is okay.

If you feel like you must be special to be worthy, you will always feel like a failure.

The ticket to emotional health involves accepting the bland and mundane truths of life.

Once you accept your life as mundane, you are free to accomplish what you truly wish.

Self-awareness is like an onion.

There are multiple layers to it, and the more you peel them back, the more you cry.

Values are the fundamental component of our psychological makeup.

If you have shitty values, you will have a shitty life.Pleasure is a false god.

Pleasure is the most superficial form of life satisfaction, and therefore the easiest to obtain.

Material success is also a poor metric for self-worth.

Once you are able to provide for your basic physical needs, the correlation between happiness and money is zero.

Always being right is another terrible value.

It prevents you from learning from your mistakes.

Staying positive all the time is a form of avoidance.

Denying negative emotions leads to deeper and more prolonged negative emotions.

Good values are reality-based, socially constructive, and immediate.

Honesty is a good value because it is something you have complete control over.

Popularity is a bad value because it is out of your control.

Reflection three.

In this block, we confronted the idea of being special.

Accepting that we are average at most things liberates us from the pressure to be perfect.

We also learn to choose values that we can control, like honesty and humility.

let's talk about responsibility.

Block three, radical responsibility.

We are responsible for experiences that aren't our fault all the time.

Fault is past tense.

Responsibility is present tense.

Fault results from choices that have already been made.

Responsibility results from the choices you are currently making.

Nobody else is ever responsible for your situation but you.

Many people

may be to blame for your unhappiness...

But nobody is ever responsible for your unhappiness but you.

Taking responsibility for your problems is the first step to solving them.

The more we choose to accept responsibility in our lives, the more power we will exercise over our lives.

We do not go from wrong to right...

We go from wrong to slightly less wrong.

Uncertainty is the root of all progress and all growth.

The more you try to be certain about something, the more uncertain and insecure you will feel.

You should never say, "I know who I am." You should ask, "What if I am wrong?"

The more something threatens your identity, the more you will avoid it.

Let go of who you think you are...

This allows you to become who you might be.

Doubt is the beginning of wisdom.

Reflection

three.

That was a heavy section.

The distinction between fault and responsibility is crucial.

Even if life deals you a bad hand, it is your responsibility to play it well We must be willing to doubt ourselves.

Block four, failure and action.

Failure is an arbitrary concept.

If your metric for success is to learn, then failure is impossible.

We can be truly successful only at something we're willing to fail at.

If you are unwilling to fail, then you are unwilling to succeed.

Pain is part of the processJust as physical pain strengthens bone and muscle, emotional pain strengthens your mind.

Life is about not knowing, and then doing something anyway.

Do not just sit there;

do something.

Action isn't just the effect of motivation, it's also the cause of it.

Motivation is an endless loop.

Action leads to inspiration, which leads to motivation.

If you lack the motivation to make an important change in your life, do something.

Anything.

Then harness the reaction to that action as a way to begin motivating yourself.

The "do something" principle

creates its own momentum.

You are your own source of inspiration.

You do not need to wait for permission to act.

Small actions snowball into large changes.

Progress is born from the willingness to act without guarantees.

Reflection garden.

That block was about movement.

We often wait for motivation, but action actually creates motivation.

Don't fear failure; use it as a tool to move forward.

We are almost there.

Let's finish with the final block.

Block five, rejection, love, and death.

Freedom is not the absence of commitment;

freedom is the ability to choose what to commit to.

You cannot value everything.

To value something, you must reject what is not that thing.

Rejection is an inherent and necessary part of maintaining our values.

Honesty is a natural human craving,

but you cannot have honesty without the possibility of rejection.

Entitlement is the belief that you deserve a different set of rules than everyone else.

Healthy love is based on two people with their own values and their own responsibilities.

Unhealthy love is based on two people trying to escape their problems through their emotions for each other.

Commitment gives you freedom because you're no longer distracted by the unimportant.

Breadth of experience is necessary when you're young,

but depth is where the gold is buried.

Death is the light by which the shadow of all of life's meaning is measured.

Without death, everything would feel inconsequential.

You are going to die, and that is a good thing.

It creates a sense of urgency to get your priorities straight.

Our projects are our way of feeling immortal,

but you are not the center of the universe.

Once you become comfortable with the fact of your own death, you are finally free to live.

Reflection five.

We have completed the 100 sentences.

We ended with the reminder that commitment gives us depth and death gives us focus.

By rejecting the trivial, we make space for the essential.

Conclusion.

Thank you for joining me in this intense shadowing session.

Repeating these sentences helps your brain internalize the grammar, the rhythm, and the philosophy of English.

Now, I have an important request for you.

If you enjoyed this episode, please write a small comment before you go.

Your comments show the platforms that our community is real, active, and growing.

This support is crucial for us to continue creating new episodes every week.

Tell me which sentence

resonated with you the most.

Do you want to be part of our Slow English community?

We need your comments because your voice is more important than mine.

Your voice and comments will show us the right path.

Thank you for listening.

I am Peter,

and I will see you in the next episode.

Print or study offline

Choose a PDF version

Each button names the available language, format and file size. No email or account is required.

EnglishPDF · 29 KB EspañolPDF · 52 KB DeutschPDF · 54 KB فارسیPDF · 73 KB FrançaisPDF · 53 KB

If a PDF does not open, use the complete web reader above and try the download again later. The episode audio remains available on its own page.

Put it back into context

Now listen for what you studied

The resource is support; the listening is the lesson. Return to the same episode and continue from your saved position.

Open episode 23 →