Every smart person and stable person I know both walks and meditates. The app Headspace is a fun way to start. Try and do it every day. But I suggest not doing it while you are walking … for now.
Jimmy Fallon is an Emmy Award- and Grammy Award-winning comedian. He is known for his work as a cast member of Saturday Night Live and as the host of the late-night talk show The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He is the author of several books, including Your Baby’s First Word Will Be DADA, and his latest, Everything Is Mama. Jimmy lives in New York City with his wife, Nancy, and their two daughters, Winnie and Franny. If you’d like to see him flying on top of my feet (seriously), check out tim.blog/jimmy.
What is the book (or books) you’ve given most as a gift, and why? Or what are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?
If I gave one to an adult, it would be Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. I read it while spending ten days in the ICU of Bellevue hospital trying to reattach my finger from a ring avulsion accident in my kitchen. It talks about the meaning of life, and I believe you come out a better person from reading it. The lines I took from it are: “There is no exact answer to the question ‘what is the meaning of life.’ It’s like asking a chess master ‘what is the best move in the world?’ It all depends on what situation you are in.” It also reinforced the belief, that which does not kill me makes me stronger. If you read it, you’ll get more from it.
The books I give most now are children’s books, since I’m going to more and more parties for kids (I have a two-and-a-half- and a four-year-old). I think of the ones I loved as a kid—ones that stuck in my head. One is The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone.
I remember laughing at Grover, who is the narrator, freaking out about turning the pages because there is a monster at the end—but I kept turning the pages—and he freaked out more: “YOU TURNED THE PAGE!!?!???? STOP TURNING PAGES!!!!??” And I’m not sure if I was trying to be brave for him or I just knew everything was going to be okay, but I kept turning the pages and reading this book until the last page where it’s revealed—HE is the monster at the end of the book! Lovable furry old Grover! I think that book taught me that there is nothing to be afraid of.
In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your life?
The best new behaviors I’ve adopted in the last five years have to be walking and meditating (separately). My friend Lorne Michaels loves to walk, and anytime we hang out, we walk and talk, and we don’t even really have a purpose for walking—it’s just fun. One time in London, we walked almost eight miles without even thinking about it. My wife and kids love to walk, and I feel like it’s something I can do forever. I’m kind of bummed that it took me so long to realize how great it makes me feel. Meditation? That is a tougher nut to crack, but if you can train your brain to do it (like learning anything—playing the guitar, doing impressions, driving stick shift) it’s a great skill to have. It just takes practice. Every smart person and stable person I know both walks and meditates. The app Headspace is a fun way to start. Try and do it every day. But I suggest not doing it while you are walking … for now.
* Source: Tribe of Mentors by Timothy Ferriss