This episode explores how peer pressure shapes lives from childhood through old age — from classroom rankings and parental comparisons to the social expectations of adulthood. The host shares personal experiences of feeling pressured, how self-awareness developed around age 20, and why knowing what you truly want helps dissolve comparison-driven anxiety.

The episode encourages listeners to discover their genuine passions early, resist following the crowd, and make choices based on personal values rather than external expectations. Practical reflections include how family support (or lack thereof) affects exploration, and why internal pressure from one’s former self can be especially damaging.

If in the future, all food—even gourmet meals—were free and instantly available, wouldn’t we all end up overweight?

Well, that future has already arrived—just not with food, but with information.

Our minds feel bloated, our brains have gotten lazy. We consume constantly, but rarely digest.

Imagination fades. Creativity stalls.

We just repeat the “right” things others have said, and our thoughts lose the freedom to be wrong in our own way.

Short videos are the fast food.

Classics are the five-star meals.

Breaking news has the shelf life of milk.

Reality shows? They’re like chips—endless, salty, and hard to stop munching on.

But if it all leads to mental obesity…

does it even matter what we’re consuming?

• [00:00:06] – The Core Idea: Spiritual Overweight
• [00:00:17] – The Analogy: Food Consumption
• [00:03:29] – Information Overload
• [00:05:00] – The Consequences: Mental Bloat
• [00:06:51] – The Solution: A Mental Diet
• [00:08:40] – Actionable Task

Personal Blog: https://xing-j.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrYQCB9OBbW43V170uw-VTQ

Patreon: https://patreon.com/xingj

Hey friends, in this episode I talked about something that’s been on my mind a lot lately—desire. Why do we always want more? Whether it’s craving knowledge, chasing trends, obsessing over food, or just wanting to feel seen and loved, these desires shape so much of who we are. I also explored how influencers, money, even love, all reflect the things we long for deep down. It’s a bit of rambling, a bit of thinking out loud—but all from the heart. Hope it resonates with you somehow.

00:00:00 The Pleasure of Destruction: Symbolic Violence in Online Debates

00:03:30 Desire Adapts: From Primal Urges to Social Conformity

00:05:29 Violence as Entertainment: A Legacy of Human Nature

00:08:00 The Craving to Be Seen: Attention and the Digital Age

00:15:28 Influencers as Mirrors of Collective Desire

00:21:30 Love and Money: The Ultimate Bundles of Human Longing

Personal Blog: https://xing-j.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrYQCB9OBbW43V170uw-VTQ

Patreon: https://patreon.com/xingj

Hey everyone! Ever wonder what truly makes a friendship last? After a recent holiday binge-watch of "Billions," I found myself deep in thought, not about high finance, but about the bonds between people. In this episode, I'm sharing my personal reflections on why shared hardships, more than just happy times, might be the secret ingredient to building truly deep and resilient connections, not just with friends, but with family and loved ones too. Join me as I explore why embracing challenges together can forge the most meaningful relationships and how I'm trying to disconnect from the digital world to find more authentic connections in my own life.

00:00:00 Intro & Holiday Break

00:01:36 My "Billions" Experience

00:03:13 The Real Takeaway: Friendship

00:04:38 Rethinking Friendship

00:06:55 My Fading Connection

00:10:30 A New Approach to Friendship

00:13:06 The Risks and Rewards of Shared Hardship

00:14:02 The Need for Deeper Connections

00:15:55 Reflections on Marriage and Modern Life

00:17:24 What l've Learned About Friendship

00:20:27 The Role of Colleagues in Friendship

00:23:10 My Ideal Friend: Smart and Kind

00:29:31 The Elusive Nature of Friendship

00:34:33 A Slower Pace

00:37:12 Wrapping Up and Looking Ahead

Personal Blog: https://xing-j.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrYQCB9OBbW43V170uw-VTQ

Patreon: https://patreon.com/xingj

这期轻松一点。

这是半个月之前在韩国江陵市的海边边走边录的一期。看到什么、想到什么就随口说了。希望我们都轻松一点生活吧。

这可能是我做播客以来自己比较满意的一期，讲了回国的一些观察和感受，关于自然、人物、购物等，希望你能喜欢。

00:00 Intro

1:30 爸妈接机

6:28 外面吃饭的一些观察

11:11 观察国企

14:37 公交车上的一些观察

21:55 北京街道的秋天不见了

24:39 和朋友见面

26:59 被网购折磨

30:40 一些小人物的呐喊（付航、新裤子、长安的荔枝、我在北京送快递）

方大同《回留》

我已经工作了两年多了。工作也如这世界上的很多东西一样，只有在你真正拥有后才有可能真正了解到它是怎么一回事。如果你还没有工作，你正在深陷困扰吗？如果你已经工作了，你对你的工作有着怎样的情感呢？你如何看待你当前的工作的呢？

0:00 Intro：最近公司小组裁员

1:44：公司招人更看重的是性价比而非能力

5:59：目前所有人的性价比都在降低，不必自我否定

10:26：新人的唯一优势在于性价比高，这很关键

12:26：评估自己的性价比，主动议价或控制自己的产出

16:19：找工作是劳资双方平等的谈判，没有高低

18:52：我定义的有效人生：没有疾病、可供自己支配

21:10：我们工作花费的时间是“有效人生的百分比”

28:52：找到热爱才能真正破局