Oliver Burkeman on Stop Optimizing, Start Living What Matters | EP 640

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4.9 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 22 July 2025

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What if the real key to emotional wellness isn’t in doing more, achieving more, or finally “getting it all together”—but in letting go of the need to?

In this deeply grounding episode of Passion Struck, John R. Miles sits down with Oliver Burkeman, acclaimed author of Four Thousand Weeks and Meditations for Mortals, to explore why our obsession with control, productivity, and optimization may be the very things keeping us from peace.

Burkeman challenges the conventional approach to time management and self-improvement. Instead of mastering life by getting on top of everything, he proposes that freedom lies in embracing our limitations, finding meaning in the present moment, and choosing what really matters.

Visit this link for the full show notes.

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Transcript

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0:57.2	Coming up next on Passionstruck.
0:59.3	Imperfectionism is the stance that says,
1:03.6	the only thing that really counts is doing a bit of it today, this week.
1:06.8	Maybe badly, maybe too little by some standard.
1:10.6	Maybe with no confidence that you'll ever come back and do it again.
1:28.3	Maybe it's just a one-off. Maybe you're not about to develop a wonderfully virtuous habit of writing your novel every single day. But you'll be doing it. You'll be bringing it into concrete reality. It will no longer just be an idea in your head. It will be real. And I think the big problem with a lot of ways that people think about productivity, personal development, spirituality, all sorts of things, is that it actually reinforces this notion,
1:34.3	like, not yet.
1:36.3	Welcome to Passionstruck. Hi, I'm your host, John R. Miles, and on the show, we decipher the
1:41.3	secrets, tips, and guidance of the world's most inspiring people and turn their
1:46.3	wisdom into practical advice for you and those around you. Our mission is to help you unlock the
1:52.8	power of intentionality so that you can become the best version of yourself. If you're new to the
1:58.4	show, I offer advice and answer listener questions
2:01.8	on Fridays. We have long-form interviews the rest of the week with guests ranging from
	...

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