Living in the Moment | David Mitchell's Soapbox

[@jez9999]

Having watched the entire video, I have retrospectively decided that I was enjoying myself while watching David Mitchell say this.

[@GunBreaux]

As a procrastinator, I live in the future, future me is fucking amazing.

[@The_Butler_Did_It]

I don't live in the moment, I live in the past...or at least I used to do.

[@drumraine6910]

The Butler Did It It's the best place to live. You can cherry pick the bad bits to justify your failures, and romanticise the good bits to avoid doing anything to clean up the future.

[@katty4682]

I'm going to live in the future I would have lived in an alternate moment

[@lordcrayzar]

Always live slightly in the past. Your brain isn’t instant

[@dougwhiley4028]

I used to be quite nostalgic. But nostalgia isn't as good as it used to be.

[@leebattick5874]

I used to do drugs, I still do drugs but I used to do drugs as well.

[@rock7stu]

Only David Mitchell would list one of the "main carnal enjoyments" as sneezing, fantastic

[@tobybartels8426]

It's like an orgasm of the nose.

[@kenlieck7756]

No, it's snot!

[@KindredBrujah]

Sneezing is clearly great, though as David suggests, it is definitely annoying after three.

[@dylanmorgan2752]

+KindredBrujah once had 40 in a row.

[@KindredBrujah]

I can imagine there would even be an element of tedium in such a protracted sneezing marathon, Dylan.

[@XieYali]

I like watching these with headphones, it makes it seem as if David is in my head.

[@sprobablycancr4457]

@@acourdour5576 Hello from UK. Welcome to my world.

[@handsomebrick]

"apart from the obvious paradox that anytime I'm checking to see if I'm living in the moment or not I cease to live in the moment, or rather the moment I'm living in becomes a moment of checking" That's a great counterargument actually, I'll just use that.

[@GameToony]

I find david mitchell's soapbox is sometimes overlooked as just an internet show with not much substance, however everything he has said in this video i find really profound and well thought out. David was very literate in expressing ideas and used some great metaphors and example to get his point across, in a way this is very similar to poetry from the greats, expressing what people have always thought in just the right way

[@jasont79]

Oddly reminds me of CS Lewis.

[@anetola]

abelcain, I agree with you

[@cattysplat]

In a world filled with friends, self help experts, therapists, media, advertisers, conspiracy theorists and angry protesters telling us how to think and act, it's refreshing for someone to tell us to all stop worrying we are not enough right now and just slowly work towards our goals to get enjoyment out of life. Common sense - it's not dead, just extremely unfashionable.

[@henrytheturnip]

Yeah it's a shame he died, particularly in that way.

[@dashiellgillingham4579]

“Very literate” is one of the most unique ways I’ve ever seen someone refer to someone else.

[@cormyat07]

IMO, this was David's most insightful Soapbox. I've had moments following my favorite baseball team and was enjoying myself greatly while they appeared to be winning, only to watch them lose to a furious comeback. They go from enjoyable to traumatizing experiences which, in retrospect, are not fondly remembered at all.

[@cattysplat]

I find it fascinating that sport supporters become so invested in their team's performance/success. Winning and loosing are natural parts of any sport, heck it's fundamental to everything we do in life, even mistakes happen since we are all human. If a good team/player stomp all the competition all the time as an outsider it looks boring and the game would be stale, lacking innovation and full of copy cats. Attaching so much of your personal emotion and enjoyment on the performance of other human beings is dreadfully unstable even at the best of times, nobody can predict the future and today's winner is tomorrow's potential looser even if they are still good. I would highly recommend for things like sport that you do live in the moment, enjoy every little dramatic turn of events and roll with the punches, getting hung up on whether your team got a win or a loss should be the last thing you watch sport for.

[@LordBhorak]

@Timothy We're getting closer now. Only 4 weeks. But on the subject: All I'm going to say is Group Identity and dopamine. The first one gives a sense of belonging and pride (countries, cities and whatnot, and sports teams as their extension) and the second one should be self explanatory.

[@billbertRIOR]

"What happened to then?" "We passed then." "When?" "Just now." --Spaceballs

[@danielr3522]

'Mark, do you have to live quite so *relentlessly* in the real world?'

[@cummins235]

Perfect

[@MrV902]

Someone finally said what not enough people were thinking.

[@Rantalaiho74]

Wow! Sir, that's a compliment David Mitchell would have been proud to come up with.

[@eggmayonnaise325]

There is one notable exception though. It really annoys me when people insist on "living through their phone" like at concerts or fireworks displays where they're busy filming the whole thing and looking at the screen rather than "living in the moment" and enjoying the show live.

[@joshuarosen6242]

I'm with you there. My wife always used to insist I video everything our children did. I just got fed up with looking at them through the screen of my phone. I wanted to be with them there and then not have a computer screen between the two of us. Now, instead of videos I have memories. I prefer the memories.

[@TurboTroller]

@@joshuarosen6242 not being rude, but think about when you're gone. Your kids will have vague memories, but if they can pull up a picture their dad took, or had their dad in it, thats a world of difference. I think its all about a balance, not everything needs to be recorded but saving memories nearly indefinitely? Priceless

[@joshuarosen6242]

@@TurboTroller My wife and I have plenty of photographs of ourselves on our own and with our three children - far more than I have of any of my relatives. Photos and videos are great for the reason you mention. What I don't want to do is to hold a phone in front of me and experience life through a phone screen instead of being in the moment. Just imagine the first time you kiss the love of your life or watch your first child being born but instead of being absorbed in something wonderful, you are taking a video of the occasion. That's what I don't want to do.

[@divinepotnoodle]

Everyone tells me I'm weird for enjoying a good sneeze, but David Mitchell knows what it's all about.

[@Solidfact42]

I've always enjoyed someone who encourages me to think while making me laugh, and here David has touched on an issue I've often thought vaguely about, but never put into words or a solid concept. Great stuff here.

[@LemonChieff]

I think that's the most motivational speech I've ever heard! I don't have to enjoy myself now. I can slowly work towards eventually enjoying myself! This is way more attainable. It feels like something I can enjoy doing right now, ironically.

[@lindybeige]

Well, mine at least made sense, and accorded with what I found on-line. It was satisfactory. You could say that there is no definite correct interpretation of Star Wars as well.

[@Andrew-yl7lm]

Oh hey lindy from 7 years ago. Congratulations on 1 million subs!

[@w4rp3d71]

I didn't expect to see you here Lindybeige.

[@majeck]

Why are we just here after 7 years!?

[@popejulianis1701]

@@majeck fate

[@margaretsomeone854]

It makes perfect sense that Lindybeige would be watching this video. It's very...Lindybeige.

[@theoriginalt-paine3776]

This is fucking fantastic. I love this. He is dead on with this. I get so annoyed when people tell me to live in the moment, and yet I also think its absurd the way some people plan out every last detail of their lives, and deny themselves experiences for fear of deviating from the plan because this is exactly how I see it. Its all about finding the happy medium. I really like David Mitchell, and this, in addition to a number of other things he has said, makes me think that could be a result of us having a similar way of looking at life.

[@demonboyx34]

“I’m in the moment, it’s a terrible moment!”

[@Indicteronomy]

Yeah, I reckon "living in the moment" is not about enjoying whatever you're doing, but just being immersed in it, as opposed to worrying about the future or regretting the past. Living in the moment can be horribly painful, and it's really good to know how NOT to live in the moment if you are, say, losing blood for some tests in a hospital. But it's important to do, not to enjoy life necessarily, but simply to live it, which we're not doing if past or future considerations blind us to whatever is going on presently. I know Mitchell's views on the word "reckon", I still think it's a terrific word.

[@Crinklechip-s]

Ultimately the secular pop psychology of Mindfulness can be found wanting. However It has its origins in Buddhism. Your description is close to Buddhist teaching and that’s why it is different. It is not what David Mitchell is referring to. I’m glad someone has written it here.

[@ManicWolf]

Posh word for sneezing: sternutation. A word I have just discovered and shall use forever more.

[@labibbidabibbadum]

I'm interested, 7 years on, to know whether you continued to use that word or if you quickly fell back into the not-very-posh but still enjoyable "sneeze"?

[@Nugget-No-More]

Me three!

[@Fliptheonly]

"living in the moment" to me just means, allowing yourself to enjoy little things without worring about the implications of everything all the time or stressing myself over things that don't really matter that much.

[@saketjawaji1557]

Bingo!

[@BodomBeachKiller]

I'm not sure where else to voice this, but to David Mitchell: "Back" is SUCH a wonderful, thoughtful, witty, and rewatchable series. I really hope you guys plan on making more seasons. "Peep Show" was a work of art, and I was hesitant about "Back" because all I wanted was more "Peep Show" (forever) but "Back",... everything from the location, to the music, to the ongoing chemistry with Webb, and all the other brilliant, nuanced performances was just masterful, understated, and possibly the best thing on television. Anyway, just hoping this comment finds your eyes at some point. Best wishes from Canada!

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

Come back to this as I've just watched Mulholland Drive.

[@maximthemagnificent]

On a related note, I've always found this quote by Epicurus ludicrous, since we possess foresight. "Why should I fear death? If I am, then death is not. If death is, then I am not. Why should I fear that which can only exist when I do not?"

[@gra3520]

I think you misunderstood. Your foresight tells you death is coming. You assume it will have an impact on you. Which is exactly what he is denying. It won't affect you. Imagine your death as you would imagine the dying of the universe : sure it's frightening, but you'll already be gone

[@stefanwalicord]

Bold of you to assume you'll be gone

[@WernerKlorand]

That is so very true! Calendar mottos are rarely worth living by! If a long-term friendship breaks up in a nasty way, where is the value of the moments you shared and enjoyed in retrospect? They were there and you know they were nice "in the moment", but they feel poisened now, again "in the moment", only a later moment with more context. It is not good advice to live in the moment, only. You need to stay aware of the lessons you learned, the progress you made, the abilities you gained and the traces you have left (good and bad).

[@esotericed8736]

I think being immersed in something is the key.. Not consciously thinking about time and your relation to it.

[@Toaru]

Yes, definitely. As long as your mind or subconscious want to be somewhere else, or want to do something else, you're gonna have a hell of a time. Not in a good way.

[@mmmcoffeetogo]

I think this is my favorite video on the whole internet. It's just brilliant.

[@mulberrytutoring]

Brilliant, absolutely bloody brilliant! I'll be smiling for hours. Off to watch a few more.

[@simongrozov1801]

Sometimes I have beastly sneezing fits that last for hours, and I always enjoy the heck out of them without any regard as to how long they might last, or whether or not they come in any particular context.

[@grodesby3422]

de gustibus non est disputandum

[@nicholaswhyte9442]

Great rant! Cheers to not living our lives for only cheap pleasures, but rather those which grow richer with time and context.

[@verynormalman]

Recently I saw Mr Mitchell in John Lewis Oxford Street, walking through the menswear section on the ground floor. He didn't appear to be enjoying the moment at all. I can report I wasn't enjoying the moment, he wasn't enjoying. And that I also wasn't enjoying the moment I wasn't enjoying either. That's a bit sad.

[@badluckrabbit]

that's David for you; overthinking everything. It's why we love him so much.

[@zantardis]

His analagy about Mulholland drive is exactly how I felt the whole way through playing Spore.

[@SubscribersWithoutAnySubscribe]

I couldn't disagree more with his analysis about that. You can't 'retrospectively downgrade' your enjoyment, if you were enjoying the buildup and anticipation you enjoyed that part of it, period. The fact that you were enjoying it because of a mistaken assumption that a climax would follow doesn't mean the enjoyment wasn't real, that's not how enjoyment works. It just means that you wouldn't enjoy it again given what you now know.

[@nomdeplume9590]

@@SubscribersWithoutAnySubscribe I would argue that the enjoyment of the buildup is taken away by an equal amount of disappointment.

[@katawatenshu]

I just love this man so much.

[@yakobsoulstorm5187]

There are two types of fun: things that are fun when you’re doing them, and things that are fun in retrospect.

[@atb8660]

"I don't enjoy the thing while I am doing, it's after" who would have guessed that Karl Pilkington and David Mitchell would have common ground

[@michaelmaverick1185]

It saddens me that new episodes stopped coming JUST when I discovered this channel.

[@JakeWilliams283]

For me It's often the retrospective and hindsight looking back that makes me realise just how good a moment or period in my life was and I think you need the comparison of your current situation to realise how good something was, it's like the saying you don't know what you've got till it's gone. I think it's good to look forward and back to realise what you have in the present. The only thing that stands out as me truly loving and living in the moment was jumping out of an aeroplane (video on my channel) as it was so bloody intense and hijacked by adrenaline I couldn't think of anything else but what was happening to me right then in the present.

[@gkw9882]

Understanding whether your enjoying something by what happens later? No, the result cannot alter the cause. When you're enjoying a tennis match but then your favoured contestant loses, that's disappointment. It takes the gloss of your later remembrance of the match, but it does not change your previous enjoyment into anything but enjoyment. Disappointment cannot go back in time and kill a butterfly.

[@naryanr]

I have a theory as to why I found this all so easy to understand. Back when I used to support a football team, I was amazed at how difficult it was to enjoy watching any match they played, and I think this video is just David articulating that feeling that I think I knew and understood all along, somewhere in the back of my brain. I don't bother with sports or TV any more, and life has seemed to become more wholesome and fill out rather than hollow itself since then. *Lasting* gratification.

[@JewTube001]

I miss this show

[@witlessandwanting]

This is how I think, but while watching this I kind of changed my mind. It's almost as if there are degrees of enjoyment. For sports, when you watch a game where your team is winning from the off, you are enjoying yourself - but when they win at the end there is no surprise so your enjoyment level doesn't increase. When watching a game where the team you support is falling behind, the relief/excitement you feel when they end up actually winning is just a higher level of enjoyment & seems better.

[@killernatz11]

I just saw this as a youtube ad! Best. Advert. Ever.

[@AvielMenter]

I am always happy right now when listening to david mitchell. Although I'm depressed right afterwards.

[@Pining_for_the_fjords]

David, if you're reading this, what ending were you anticipating for Mulholland Drive? I quite enjoyed it the way it was.

[@diggeler]

I love that guy!!

[@TacticusPrime]

The Mulholland Drive example is kinda how I feel about Game of Thrones. I don't really know how it's all going to end, so it's hard to know whether I really enjoy it.

[@Alexanderrayman]

David has my respect since long, but I must say, not liking Mulholland drive made him rise an additional notch or two. I hope he is as critical towards the rest of Lynch's career. He's really overrated.

[@grumpyoldman3458]

I never got round to watching The Game Of The Thrones, but now I've heard about the disappointing ending I don't think I'll bother. Does this mean that I've enjoyed more on average than people who really enjoyed it and then felt let down?

[@sarahfara1539]

Grumpy Oldman I wish I had just never watched the last season. The ending was so unbearable to watch I‘ve sort of twisted it in my head now almost believing there never was a final season. The rest was well worth it though.

[@BatmanAoD]

This comment aged well.

[@strategystuff5080]

Anticipation of happiness is a form of happiness, also thinking too much seems to be counter productive, doing things is.

[@osully67]

"Living in the moment" doesn't have to put pressure on being happy every moment. It's just noticing what you're feeling, whether pleasant or unpleasant, and being aware of what's around you.

[@swine13]

David strikes me as the kind of guy who could rant the joy out of a joystick 😂

[@Zorak9595]

I have never until right now, been presented with the idea that sneezing is something enjoyable.

[@anyalazor7978]

The great thing about this Living in the Moment video is the fact that sound does not match the picture so we are not watching this in the moment.

[@hmssirius9343]

Sometimes I have to stop doing something I enjoy because I'm worried about ruining it, and not enjoying it (or feeling like I enjoyed it later).

[@ecalik]

Nice change of pace from all the mindlessness, tnx for the joy resulting from your stimulus to use our brains.

[@asfarfafar]

This last episodes are some of the best on the 4 seasons :D Thank you David

[@nontrainspotter]

Much obliged!

[@redgreen82]

I enjoy virtually every movie I see, when I see it. It's only after it's done, by days or even weeks, that I actually subconsciously rate it.

[@Essenji]

This might be the most brilliant thing I've ever heard.

[@JACKnJESUS]

I use Ronco-Moment O' Matic in a can. It's a moment adhesive body spray to make each moment stick and last longer. Simply reapply when another moment approaches. I go through cases of the stuff.

[@picknick21]

He's so eloquent :P

[@thatoneoddball2564]

"I was enjoying myself" you're not "as I anticipated the dramatic ending that would cleverly resolve and make sense of this intriguing mystery" there isn't one "it just sort of stopped" it's akin to a purgatory loop, David, suffer with us. Keep your eye on the donut, not on the hole.

[@revilo314]

Proust sniffs, Mitchell sneezes. That was woefully esoteric.

[@fingerboxes]

Man....I guess I'll never get to enjoy sneezing since my body is apparently genetically predisposed to never sneeze less than three times in a row. If I'm sick it'll go up to 7 or 8, but when I just wake up and there's a tickle in my nose or whatever, it's a minimum of 3. No idea why my body is like this, no one else in my family has this problem but ever since I was born, I've always had multiple sneezes.

[@cakestalker]

Drug addiction is definitely living in the moment and wanting and having to be happy to experience pleasure and gratification right now.

[@p911gt2]

I absolutely bloody love David Mitchell

[@potentperson]

your comment brings to mind that old gem about people wanting to be right more than they want to be happy :)

[@hughtierneytierney3585]

Living in the moment is best for people who have someone consistently on hand to pick up the pieces resulting from their lack of foresight.

[@reneecampbell9113]

Just a thought-Whatever happened to enjoying the journey? Perhaps if we ease up a bit on the metacognition about these notions we would actually be enjoying them AND living in the moment. Who says you have to stress yourself out over meeting a set level of enjoyment? Who rates it anyway? I mean I can enjoy eating a grape and going for a walk on par on different occasions, other times you might need a bigger thrill to feel the thrills of being alive but really its all just subjective to your own viewpoint at that moment anyway. Another question -how long is a moment?

[@pixarboy02]

Flawless analysis of Mulholland Drive. I felt the exact same way.

[@BatmanAoD]

I'm surprised to see so many people echoing this, because the entire last 10 or 15 minutes are in fact a revelation of what has been going on the whole time, and an almost (by Lynch standards) mundane one at that.

[@trishayamada807]

Perhaps that’s why I enjoy reruns of tv programs more than when I saw them the first time…..🤔

[@lindybeige]

I loved Mulholland Drive. I recall thinking as I was seeing it that I understood it, and afterwards I went on-line to check if I was right, and I was. If you understand it, then it _does_ resolve. However, note that I still went on-line to check, and had I turned out to have been wrong, what would I have thought then? I hated Liebestraum (Mike Figgis 1991) and perhaps it is no coincidence that I failed to solve that film, and when I found out the answer, I thought "How was I to get that?"

[@AdamStircrazy]

We need more of these.

[@justintaylor375]

This is philosophical, and has me rethinking my worldview a little...

[@consorharley2]

You seem to think that, in order to enjoy something, you have to be able to quantify the extent to which you're enjoying it. Yet, as you said at the beginning of this piece, that mindset cripples your ability to enjoy the moment. The key to "living in the moment" is to *not* live inside your own head.

[@orionmatthews9759]

This was oddly therapeutic and supportive. Nice!

[@amberswafford9305]

I want to build a cathedral AND I fancy a sandwich. Ah ha! Now who’s living in the moment AND playing the long game?

[@Chasmodius]

What about laughing? That always feels good at the time *and* in retrospect. You can even do more of it than sneezing (which I've never found pleasurable) before it becomes a bother! And somehow, you can both laugh while enjoying something *and* be aware that you are enjoying something (a clever joke) without it losing its enjoyment.

[@Redbaron_Gaming]

Best of this series.

[@cmilla111]

Any time someone asked me how my day was I would always think “I don’t like to decide that until I have awoke the next day. I use to say it but too many people thought it was weird or stupid.

[@handsomebrick]

It's why I love Donnie Darko, it's vague enough that there are many interpretations but not so vague that it seems any interpretation could be right; when I made my own judgment I was pleasantly surprised to discover that not only did other people disagree, but that their own interpretations seemed to be "there" as well.

[@JohnBevan]

"We're too intelligent a species..."; somehow I feel David's refined his definition of our species to exclude all those who watch reality tv.

[@darkprose]

Oh, good for him. I hope his marriage is enjoyable for both his "in the moment" and "looking back" selves.

[@jcortese3300]

Just starting series 4, and I almost don't want to watch it so there will always be more.

[@Will-ud4wr]

Chores now for jam tomorrow. Simple words to live an honest life, I think.

[@BackToEarth]

its fine to think the way you find most pleasing, as long as it doesnt negatively affect other people. why do you think it isnt?

[@thescowlingschnauzer]

Good point. Tho I'd counter that lot of people were disappointed with Lost's lack of resolution well before the last episode.

[@AndyKennedy503]

For some reason this comment amazes me. I too live in Vantucky and think stumbling across this comment and another David Mitchell is a rare find indeed.

[@Capgungoesbang]

I love this so much. I've always detested when people say to live in the moment.

[@Codex7777]

I've always thought it depends on the moment. Most moments aren't worth it. :)

[@JohannesWiberg]

Hey! Mulholland Drive might not have had a "revelation" ending, but it sure made sense after seeing it a couple of times. And it was beautiful from a cinematic perspective. Sure it felt better once I realized how it all hung together, how everything actually meant something, but I could appreciate it even without that.... ...but yeah I see what you mean and you do have a point.

[@Christians_Retro_Gaming]

I know I am late to the party but well said!

[@JohannesWiberg]

@@Christians_Retro_Gaming Well I have just one upvote so I'm afraid there wasn't much of a party to be late to. :D

[@xyz.ijk.]

That was actually and surprisingly ... legitimately profound.

[@Posiedon58327]

David is the best, I love his passive-aggressive logic...

[@Trazynn]

This is about the only angle you can have on the moment crowd so good on David for taking it. That these folks are saying is to EXPERIENCE the moment. Appreciate it for what it is. You don't need to sneeze, fuck, imbibe or eat delicious food. You can just sit there, waiting for a train or whatever and experience your existence regardless of the narrative your mind like to put on it.

[@mallisonmallison]

He really nailed it on the head with the Mulholland Drive example

[@xProudxIrishxGirlx]

David, you've gone all quasi-philosophical, this has actually somehow made me feel better in my current situation. At least I think I feel better. Maybe in hindsight this isn't happiness.

[@whispersmith]

So with a decade of perspective, how do you feel about it now

[@xProudxIrishxGirlx]

@@whispersmithweirdly your reply found me at a good time - think I needed the rewatch. A decade on I think we’re even more obsessed with the appearance of happiness as a society which piles on even more pressure. I love his idea about medium term happiness - going to try to think about this for a while!

[@4Mae4]

The way he described his viewing of Mulholland Dr. Is how I felt watching Hanna in theatres.

[@justhubby]

The episodes are released by batches. So, you get a batch of episodes every so often.

[@tjimicole2677]

1:26 Pretty much my reaction to the entire series of LOST (minus the lesbian sex-scene).

[@TBrewer64]

I got Mulholland Drive on DVD and had to watch it a few times to fully understand it.

[@sarahc561]

+Terrence Brann That's dedication for you!

[@hughtierneytierney3585]

+Terrence Brann I think Mulholland drive is like quantum theory: if you think you've understood it you've not really any idea what it was really about.

[@pinkishgirlyXfilms]

This is exactly what I feel like when I watch F1 races. David Mitchell is my hero.

[@thetopherhaslanded]

I totally get what he means about watching sport. I look back fondly on watching England win the Rugby World Cup in 2003 but honestly I remember hating it when it was happening because it wasn't until literally the last 20 seconds that Johnny made that famous drop kick and won it.