Episode Details

Imagine you’re looking for a personal trainer.

You open one trainer's webpage and read their testimonials: “I had an experience tied for the most intense experiences of my life”; “They do it all with fun, care, and a sense of humour.” You notice that none of the testimonials mention improved body composition, fitness, or bloodwork. What would you think?

Personal training should improve your body. Inner work should improve your life. If inner work were optimized for results, what would we expect to see?

I’d expect to see success stories: people who got undeniable life changes. Like:

> He was single for years due to anxiety; today, they’re celebrating their one-year anniversary.

> He used to lose 4–5 hours per day to coping behaviors. After our program, he got bored of them all and stopped. It's been six months; he's used the extra time to host parties for his friends.

> She recovered from burnout, negotiated for the first time, and started shipping again.

But this is not what we see.

Look at the testimonials

I reviewed every testimonial posted by three of the most well-known inner work practitioners in my network. How many describe a [...]

---

Outline:

(01:19) Look at the testimonials

(03:20) Seven years of Duolingo

---

First published:
May 13th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KnvAXDyLAbs3iKkgf/most-inner-work-looks-like-entertainment-1

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---

Images from the article:

Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.