Make Your Damn Bed

Doing nothing doesn't mean turning your back on the world. Instead, we must "stand apart" and view things from a new perspective without withdrawing completely.

You can't isolate yourself into an improved world. You can only improve things when you're actively witnessing them. Learn new ways to participate and start there.

"The decision to refuse (not once, not twice, but perpetually until things have changed) means the development of and adherence to individual and collective commitments from which our actions proceed." - Jenny Odell

BUY JENNY ODELL'S BOOK HERE: https...

Rather than fleeing society completely, the idea of "doing nothing" means disengaging from the toxic demands of continuous capitalist productivity, social media optimization, and personal branding. It's about "standing apart" not "standing without". Finding resistance in refusal.

Odell notes that our enemy isn't the physical world itself, but rather the commercial digital channels and algorithms through which we are forced to experience it every day. By reclaiming our attention from screens, we can redirect it toward our immediate physical environments, local ecosystems, and community history.

BUY JENNY ODELL'S BOOK HERE: https://www.penguinrandomhouse...

This is real. You are real. You reading this is real. Extend the time you have by paying attention to what is real. Even when it's uncomfortable. This is how you reclaim your attention + do "nothing" so you can be more effective at the somethings that are required of you.

BUY JENNY ODELL'S BOOK HERE: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/600671/how-to-do-nothing-by-jenny-odell/

https://www.valpo.edu/christ-college/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/05/How-to-Do-Nothing.pdf

Support the BDS movement.

organize clothing swaps with your friends.

Get free resources from Annas...

Capitalism has shaped our economies, our politics, and our emotional psychology. A society that puts profits > people will trickle down into our own personal value systems. We will never feel worthy in a culture that only focuses on profit motives. It's time we reshape our social values and the way that we think.

TODAY'S RESOURCE:

https://madinsouthasia.org/profit-competition-and-ownership-capitalism/

Support the BDS movement.

organize clothing swaps with your friends.

Get free resources from Annas Archive.

Join your local DSA

Become a READING PARTNER<...

Capitalism has turned the natural, balancing, grounding act of creation into just another way to make money. It’s turned every feeling into a hostile takeover of our money making potential.

And capitalism exploits our emotions in so many ways to keep us from resisting it. It demands our isolation. We drive in our personal little boxes to our personal little boxes at work where we spend every hour of daylight working on a little box, before coming home to our little box and eating from a little box before laying on a little box to re...

We have been conditioned to believe emotions are irrational, feminine, and something to be suppressed. But rationality and emotionality are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they are intertwined. Without emotions, we would not have any motivation towards rationality.

Our assumption that emotions are irrational tends to refer to our reactions to the emotion, rather than the emotion itself.

Rationality is not emotionless. Emotions are not completely irrational.

SOURCES:

Rights are social agreements. If they can be taken away by the "higher power" at any time, they are not "rights" they are privileges. What constitutes a right changes over time. So, we must fight for and defend the rights of EVERYONE, ALL THE TIME.

THEY ARE ONLY MEANINGFUL BECAUSE WE GIVE THEM MEANING.

Support the BDS movement.

organize clothing swaps with your friends.

How we display our emotions vary based on where we were born. There are consequences to our cultural influences.

Support the BDS movement.

organize clothing swaps with your friends.

Get free resources from Annas Archive.

Join your local DSA

Become a READING PARTNER

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

Support JULIE (and the show!)

...

The expression of our emotions, the value we put on them, and how we're affected by them is dependent on how we're socialized. The importance we put on certain emotions varies across cultures.

Support the BDS movement.

organize clothing swaps with your friends.

Get free resources from Annas Archive.

Join your local DSA

Become a READING PARTNER

Read Julie's Medium...

Emotions feel so internally important, but they are actually impacted by so much more than my personal experience. Our society manipulates our emotions and exploits us through them.

Support the BDS movement.

organize clothing swaps with your friends.

Get free resources from Annas Archive.

Join your local DSA

Become a READING PARTNER

Read Julie's...

Our emotional states are heavily influenced by the stories we hear, but we tend to forget the narrative and only remember the "feelings". This means we can be influenced by stories that are completely made up. So, we can easily adopt feelings that aren't rooted in reality, but feel so real to us (the feeler), that we start to believe these feelings are facts.

Emotions are movable. They connect us to "this and that". They move us, connect us, attach us, and transform us.

We have the feelings, but erase the history of...

We should be paying attention to what emotions DO rather than what they ARE.

We assign emotional values to things because of the way we're taught in our culture. Our emotions orient us towards or away from certain bodies. It allows us to justify biases against entire groups of people because it becomes the cultural norm.

Unfortunately, there are very bad people who take advantage of this cultural shaping through emotions. They weaponize hatred by co-opting language and making themselves the victims so that we can't help the TRUE victims.

<...

Emotions circulate and accumulate value across our society through repetition. We must pay attention to what these emotions DO rather than what they ARE.

We assign emotional values to things because of the way we're taught in our culture. Our emotions orient us towards or away from certain bodies. It allows us to justify biases against entire groups of people because it becomes the cultural norm.

Unfortunately, there are very bad people who take advantage of this cultural shaping through emotions. They weaponize hatred by co-opting language and making themselves the victims so...

Love should not be harsh or tough. Empathy isn't a sin. It's a crucial aspect to our humanity. If you hear that empathy is a sin, that's a way to avoid the cognitive dissonance necessary to act out of alignment with your morals.

Empathy is a central feature in our humanity. You can become more objective and reasonable about your empathy, without abandoning it completely.

If your conscience is screaming that something isn't right, listen.

Sure, we can be blinded by our subjective relationship to empathy, but we shouldn't be...

We must incorporate moral reasoning, altruism, and compassion into our empathy. Otherwise, we may end up blinded by biases we can't even see.

THE SOURCES:

Support the BDS movement.

organize clothing swaps with your friends.

Get free resources from Annas Archive.

Join your local DSA

Become a READING PARTNER

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

Support JULIE (and the show!)

Support + get some bonus stuff over...

Too much empathy is not always a good thing. Human empathy is highly selective, which means it's not always "fair" or objective. Fortunately, there are ways to be empathetic, more fairly.

Support the BDS movement.

organize clothing swaps with your friends.

Get free resources from Annas Archive.

Join your local DSA

Become a READING PARTNER

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

When things become familiar, we ignore their magic. Defamiliarization is a way to reclaim that magic. It's a way to renew our perception and reclaim meaning.

Defamiliarization is a literary technique coined by Viktor Shklovsky in 1917, that makes familiar objects or experiences seem strange so readers see them in a new way. It works by d...

Your thoughts aren't real until you make them real with your reactions. Don't let them snowball into something worse by giving them more credit than they are due.

Learning to detach your attention is a very effective way to reclaim your brain from intrusive thoughts.

THE SOURCES:

Support the BDS movement.

organize clothing swaps with your friends.

Get free resources from Annas Archive.

Join your local DSA

...

Anxiety yells, intuition whispers. Thoughts are not reality until you allow them to become it. Use discernment and don't act from a place of fear.

THE SOURCES:

Support the BDS movement.

organize clothing swaps with your friends.

Get free resources from Annas Archive.

Join your local DSA

Become a READING PARTNER

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

Support JULIE (and the show!)

Support + get some bonus stuff over on...

The three broad categories of neurotic needs essentially describe how people can cope with their social experiences. This leads to different personality types that tend to fit into three categories:

THE SOURCES:

Support the BDS movement.

organize clothing swaps with your friends.

Get free resources from Annas Archive.

Join your local DSA

Become a READING PARTNER<...

We exist on a spectrum of neuroticism. Naturally, the more self-aware you are, the more anxiety you will experience about you existence. That said, neuroticism is manageable with some intentional redirection. You can learn problem solving skills and practice mindfulness to learn how to cope with discomfort without disconnecting from ourselves completely.

THE SOURCES:

Support the BDS movement.

organize clothing swaps with your friends.

We've been conditioned to betray ourselves at every turn, so much so that many of us don't have a clue on what we actually want or who we actually are. We have been taught to self-abandon at every angle, so we can accommodate everyone and everything around us. This self-betrayal is a false security. It's not how the world improves, but it's what we've been taught is necessary for a better world.

But when we're scared to put in our two cents, we often end up two cents short.

OTHER RESOURCES:

...

It's not a problem that you didn't know, it becomes a problem if you're not willing to update your understanding based on evidence.

Ask for clarification, evidence, and be willing to challenge your assumptions to better understand your ideas. Update your ideas based on alternative viewpoints and the evidence that applies.

Don't take it personally if you were previously ignorant (that's a natural part of being a human) but be willing to open your mind to new information when presented with it.

You have to be willing to challenge your...

Core beliefs are our most deeply held assumptions about ourselves and the world around us. They shape our behaviors and our reality. Some need to be challenged and some just need to be ignored.

Consider your automatic negative core beliefs as the "fake news" of the psyche. Fact check and challenge them when needed, and ignore what isn't worth being challenged.

THE SOURCE:

https://positivepsychology.com/core-beliefs-worksheets/

Support the BDS movement.

organize clothing swaps with your friends.

Get free resources from Annas Archive.

cognitive dissonance is unavoidable and sometimes even helpful, but we have to be willing to consciously address the ways we're not aligning with our values so we can be a part of creating the world we want to live in.

THE SOURCES:

https://positivepsychology.com/cognitive-dissonance-theory/

Support the BDS movement.

organize clothing swaps with your friends.

Get free resources from Annas Archive.

Join your local DSA 

Become a READING PARTNER 

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

Support JULIE (and the sh...

cognitive dissonance is unavoidable and sometimes even helpful, but we have to be willing to consciously address the ways we're not aligning with our values so we can be a part of creating the world we want to live in.

THE SOURCE: https://positivepsychology.com/cognitive-dissonance-theory/

Support the BDS movement.

organize clothing swaps with your friends.

Get free resources from Annas Archive.

Join your local DSA 

Become a READING PARTNER 

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

Support JULIE (and the show!)

...

A lot of us are forced to make decisions daily that don’t align with our values. Many of us continue working for or otherwise supporting the evil corporation we wish to divest from, or we continue eating factory farmed meat despite wanting to lean into more plant based options, or we spend all day scrolling for companies we don’t want to have our data. I check social media despite knowing it will worsen my mood and overall health. I have stayed in relationships I knew were unhealthy because it felt easier than starting over. I’ve bought Temu c...

"We produce machines that are like men and men who are like machines."

"Why is man so prone to obey and why is it so difficult for him to disobey? As long as I am obedient to the power of the State, the Church, or public opinion, I feel safe and protected. In fact it makes little difference what power it is that I am obedient to." Erich Fromm: On Disobedience

Follow the BDS movement.

How to organize clothing swaps with your friends.

Ride share option: Choose Empower over...

Practicing disobedience is not an all or nothing strategy. Do what you can when you can how you can. Anything is better than nothing. Reclaim your time where you can, especially at work. Cancel your amazon. Stop buying fast fashion. Learn to mend and sew. Do a clothing swap. Support the BDS movement. Shop local when you can. But don't be hard on yourself if you can't make these changes. Becoming more conscious is a process. It takes time.

THE SOURCE: https://caitcamelia.substack.com/p/disobey-or-die

Access Cait Camelia’s full guide to...

Reject the surveillance state. Trash your Alexa. Drown your ring camera. Reject all unnecessary permissions. Turn off any added access where possible. Stop using google for everyday searches. Poison the "AI" well with false information. Stop relying on algorithms so much.

THE SOURCES:

https://caitcamelia.substack.com/p/disobey-or-die

https://caitcamelia.substack.com/p/violence-might-be-the-answer

https://caitcamelia.substack.com/p/a-short-guide-to-practicing-disobedience

BDS movement.

organize clothing swaps with your friends.

Empower over uber

Annas Archive.

DSA 

READING PARTNERS 

Disobedience requires courage - not only the courage to break a rule but the courage to stand alone in doing so.

Some rules are created for the protection and best interest of everyone following them. They are implemented to keep people following the same procedures and processes so that things can be done effectively, efficiently, or enjoyably. A teacher implements rules because they want to create an environment where the students can learn. The goal is to benefit the students, so the rules are in place to achieve the same goal as the person following the...

Jung had some interesting takes on personality and archetypes, many of which don't hold up today. That said, they are interesting and insightful in other ways.

THE SOURCES:

https://appliedjung.com/blog/four-steps-to-transformation-in-jungian-psychology-and-gnostic-alchemy

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-are-jungs-4-major-archetypes-2795439

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

Support JULIE (and the show!)

Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.

Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

Tune in on INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBE or TIKTOK.

Info on War...

You are not only what you consciously intend. You are also what you habitually avoid, deny, and disown. The shadow is not your enemy, and it is not your identity. It is the place where refused life accumulates, waiting to be integrated into a conscious relationship.

Shadow work can support personal growth because it reduces the need for denial and projection. It can also soften the intensity of emotional reactions, not by erasing emotion, but by making emotion more intelligible. It can support better relationships, in part because you become less driven to assign your unwanted q...

You're not broken, you're human. And being human is often difficult and contradictory work.

Shadow work is grounded in deep internal reflection, not self-optimization.

"Jung describes the shadow as containing not only rejected or socially unacceptable impulses, but also normal instincts and creative capacities that have been disowned in the process of adaptation. The problem is not that these impulses exist. The problem is whether they remain unconscious and therefore act autonomously.

Integrating the shadow does not mean indulging it or acting it out. It means recognizing that certain impulses...

Confidence, drive, boundary setting, focus, and self-led intention are considered "bad traits" in a patriarchal society, but they aren't.

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

Support JULIE (and the show!)

Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.

Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

Tune in on INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBE or TIKTOK.

Info on War Tax Resistance.

Donate to the Palestinian Children's...

One thing I appreciate about the villain archetype is the confidence it implies. Darth Vader isn’t gonna procrastinate because he is too tired or lacks the confidence to start. Bad guys don’t tend to second guess themselves constantly or question whether or not they deserve it. They always deserve it. They don’t give a fuck about anyone else’s approval. 

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

Support JULIE (and the show!)

Support +...

We all love the idea of a redemption arc. We love the idea of hitting rock bottom and bouncing up and transforming into a confident, powerful badass permanently. As humans, we tend to see things in black and white, before and after, cut and dry. But it’s important to remember that no timeline or journey or arc is linear. 

Unfortunately life, and healing, is a messy process. Unfortunately it is not something you can win or lose, but instead relies on a perspective shift that allows compassion and integration to be able to react better, not per...

Part of me wants to beat a bitch's ass and part of me wants to shut down completely. This conflict makes us feel bad for feeling bad. We have to learn how to integrate these conflicting feelings. Mental housekeeping is a crucial part of the process.

"We all go through the healing cycle many times in our lives. It is inevitable that we may be disappointed by others' or by our own behavior at times. The forgiveness process offers a method of doing "emotional and mental housecleaning", of cleaning up the residues left by this. At...

The healing journey is not linear and it exists in many forms. The healing journey outlined by the Buddhist Library is:

SOURCES:

Note: When I speak of women vs. men in this context I don’t do it to reinforce the binary. I don’t believe in the binary, but because we grew up and now exist in a society that reinforces the binary at every turn, I am speaking in regards to how we tend to be raised on gender lines. I hope this will apply to individuals regardless of gender, but when I speak about specific genders being affected, it is always in regards to our socialization. The societal expectations that were pushed upon us. NOT some feminine or mascu...