Phil Stutz is an acclaimed psychiatrist whose patients have ranged from Rikers Island inmates to Jonah Hill.
He’s famous for refusing to sit silent as his patients speak of their suffering.
He instead offers them ‘tools’ to use.
Here are the most powerful ones:
THE TOOLS
Phil Stutz’s ‘tools’ are actually mental models & visualizations.
They’re designed to change your state of mind on demand.
The goal is to remind yourself that bad times don’t last forever.
LIFE FORCE
A visual representation of your relationships to guide you when you’re lost.
Your life force is a pyramid built from the bottom up:
• Body
• People
• Yourself
The body forms the largest, base layer:
BODY
Taking care of your physical form is also good for your mental health
- Sleep
- Exercise
- Balanced diet
PEOPLE
The people in your life help pull you back into the present when lost.
You need to take the initiative to connect.
Even one interpersonal relationship can represent the whole human race symbolically.
YOURSELF
At the top of the pyramid is the relationship with your own unconscious.
Writing is the best way to foster this.
Putting words on paper forms a mirror image of your unconscious mind.
Ideas you weren’t aware of will bubble up to guide you.
PART X
This mental model is a representation of an intrinsic part of you. The judgmental, anti-social part.
Part X is an invisible force that inhibits change & growth.
It is the internal villain that needs to be overcome.
Part X is a necessary evil.
Just like a story falls flat without a villain, humans need negativity to conquer.
Otherwise, there’s no growth.
THE SNAPSHOT
This mental model is designed to bring us back to earth.
We often fantasize about the perfect.
This could be a life partner, income level or vacation.
Perfect doesn’t exist. It is a snapshot image in your mind.
The 3 ASPECTS OF REALITY are inescapable.
3 ASPECTS OF REALITY
These are the ‘sucky’ parts of life that need to exist:
- Pain
- Uncertainty
- Constant Work
Anytime you think of a reality in which any of these don’t exist, you’re kidding yourself.
STRING OF PEARLS
Each pearl added to the string represents one action.
You add a pearl each time you perform a habit you’re working on.
Each pearl has the same value, whether the action was a success or failure.
Don’t put focus on effort or outcome.
Just keep adding pearls.
THE SHADOW
This is the part of yourself that you’re ashamed of.
Find that part & create a visual of it.
Think of a time you felt inferior or rejected.
Listen to what that shadow has to say about you.
Then respond & have a conversation.
RADICAL ACCEPTANCE:
Everything is a learning experience.
You need a reflex to ‘squeeze the juice’ out of each setback.
Find something meaningful about the setback right away.
Don’t wait until later.
Giving meaning to the small, sucky things gives meaning to life overall.
THE GRATEFUL FLOW
This is the process of creating gratitude.
Think of 3 things you’re grateful for.
Think of them slowly & with intention.
Pinpoint the general feeling of gratitude & isolate it from any particular thing.
Let that feeling grow until you’re overcome by it.