Find Buried Treasure
Reclaim joy by reintroducing childhood passions into daily micro-moments
- Difficulty
- Starter
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 90%
The Find Your Buried Treasure framework combats toxic resilience by reconnecting individuals with pre-existing sources of joy—often abandoned in adulthood—that induce flow states and reduce amygdala dominance. By identifying activities from childhood that made time feel effortless and scheduling just 5 minutes daily, users create a neural reset. This practice strengthens the prefrontal cortex, reduces stress biomarkers, and counters the cultural myth that suffering equals productivity.
Origin
Extracted from Young and Profiting
Core principles
- 01Joy is a biological reset
- 02Flow is a stress antidote
- 03Small daily inputs beat rare grand gestures
How to run it
- 1
Recall childhood joy
Identify 1–2 activities from childhood that made hours feel like minutes (e.g., drawing, playing guitar).
- 2
Choose a daily micro-practice
Select a version of that activity that can be done in 5 minutes daily (e.g., doodling, humming).
- 3
Schedule it daily
Anchor the practice to a routine moment (e.g., lunch break, after work) to avoid decision fatigue.
- 4
Focus on feeling, not output
Do it solely for joy—not for mastery, sharing, or results—to preserve its therapeutic effect.
Is it for you?
Best for
High-achievers and entrepreneurs disconnected from personal fulfillment.
Not ideal for
Those unable to recall or access any childhood joyful activities.
From the transcript
“Find your buried treasure... think about one or two activities that you did as a child that brought you lots of joy. Like Carl Jung…”
“Why don't you just play tonight when you get home today?... He played the guitar that day and felt immeasurably better the next day.”
“It gets you into a state of flow. And when you do something like that... it signals lots of a cascade of neural... neurotransmitters and…”
From the episode
Dr. Aditi Nerurkar: 5 Mental Health Resets That Will Save Your Life & Business
Dr. Aditi Nerurkar