Locally Optimal

Home
Stories
All posts
Now

Human Alignment

Being Present is Not a Skill
Some meditation advice has a vibe like...
 • 
Chris Lakin
Just one more exposure bro
“Just expose yourself to more social situations!” — Ah yes, you felt anxious the first 100 times, but the 101st will be the breakthrough!
 • 
Chris Lakin
Locally optimal psychology
There’s no way that chronic depression, self-loathing, poor agency, or muscle tension could be optimal… right?
 • 
Chris Lakin
1
What if muscle tension is sometimes signal jamming?
Why do we often experience feelings as in the body? For example, why do I feel anxiety in my chest rather than just “knowing” I'm anxious?
 • 
Chris Lakin
2
Learning to do *real* empathy
I lay there, eyes closed, trying to recall a time when I really felt. The question that had been nagging at me for months hung in the air: “What bad…
 • 
Chris Lakin
1
Feeling part of a greater whole
Have you ever felt deeply connected to the world around you? Like your effortless existence makes a positive difference?
 • 
Chris Lakin
What is it like to be psychologically healthy? Podcast ft. Damon Sasi
Damon Sasi is a mentor of mine, and he is also a therapist who claims to be very psychologically healthy.
 • 
Chris Lakin
 and 
Damon P-Sasi
1:16:43
Eye contact is effortless without emotional blocks
So I wanted to run a fun party, “Make 100% eye contact or get sent to jail.” But I didn’t want eye contact to be forced, I wanted it to be genuinely…
 • 
Chris Lakin
Pay-on-results personal growth: first success
A few months ago I made the claim “Radically effective and rapid growth [motivationally / emotionally / socially] is possible with the right combination…
 • 
Chris Lakin
1
Feel Secure — Pay Only For Results
A man I met at a prediction market conference had lifelong social anxiety unresolved by 8 years of therapy. After working with me he became “excited…
 • 
Chris Lakin
what becoming more secure does to a mfer
After I quit my first job two years ago, I was conflict-avoidant to the point of depression. I did ~nothing for five months and moved in with my parents…
 • 
Chris Lakin
1
Exposure rarely rules out disasters.
Edit: see this post instead:
 • 
Chris Lakin
© 2024 Chris Lakin
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture