Summary
My guest today is Dr Toni Lindsay.
Toni is a clinical psychologist who works primarily with people who are at the end of their life or have a severe illness (usually young people!).
In her own words: “My work has shaped how I think about all this FIRE stuff!”.
Toni is also the author of multiple books but the one which probably has the most application with FIRE would be “The Certainty Myth: How to be resilient when the world keeps changing”.
Some of the topics we cover in today’s episode are:
- What does Toni actually do in the field of clinical psychology? (00:04:02)
- What motivated Toni to write “The Certainty Myth”? (00:15:54)
- How Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can help with the journey to FI (20:19:00)
- The relationship between uncertainty and anxiety and how we can better manage this (00:55:54)
- Cognitive flexibility – how flexibility can be an antidote to uncertainty (01:01:43)
- How FIRE plays a role in resiliency (01:10:54)
- How Toni’s experience with mortality has shaped her FIRE journey (01:21:50)
Links
- Website – www.tonilindsay.com.au
- Book – The Certainty Myth
Thanks for the free psych session. We can all do with a reminder to focus on what’s important in life. Even after having cancer 10 years ago and me being the same age as my father was when died of cancer at age 56, I still fall into the old traps discussed in the podcast, anxiety ridden, pouring over my spreadsheets so to see if I have ‘enough’ despite my financial advisor telling me we do have enough, but still working like a slave because that is what expected of me from my husband, society and being a loyal employee in shortstaffed workplace.
Thanks, Matt. Super thought-provoking conversation. Loved hearing about the way Toni’s thinking applies to FIRE
(That book with smiley face on the cover you were reaching for, I think is The Happiness Trap, by Dr Russ Harris. https://exislepublishing.com/product/happiness-trap-2nd-edition/)
Great Pod, I liked the point about automating everything to take our brain out of the equation. It sounds great to simplify everything, but easier isn’t always better.
BTW, I consciously don’t look at my phone at doctor’s surgeries, or when I’m in an elevator or waiting for something. It’s nice to look around and see what is happening around me. Being bored or having that white-noise space is great for your mind to wander a bit. I’m even looking at buying a dumb phone to go next level! Thanks Matt & Toni!
Cheers
MM
Thanks MM.
I look forward to the day smart watches become powerful enough that I don’t need my phone. I think we’re getting pretty close!
Thank you for this amazing podcast Matt. This was exactly what I needed to hear right now as we are currently going through a tough time. I will be buying Toni’s book for sure.
I’m glad you enjoyed it M 🙂
Sorry, but it’s hard to take notes while driving 😅
What’s the book about resilience that he asked her opinion about, can anyone please let me know? Thanks 🙂
As a suggestion, it would be nice to add names/links to all books, etc. mentioned during the episodes.
The Resilience Project by Hugh van Cuylenburg.
I’ve added a link to the show notes mate 👍