The Chris Cuomo Project - Cuomo On The Couch: Christmas

Episode Date: December 22, 2022

In a candid, unfiltered talk from his living room couch, Chris Cuomo speaks about why he’s not a huge fan of the Christmas season, why everything that happened to you this year should be considered a gift, and more in this special holiday episode. Follow and subscribe to The Chris Cuomo Project on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube for new episodes every Tuesday. Get a 4-week trial, free postage, and a digital scale at https://www.stamps.com/chris. Thanks to Stamps.com for sponsoring the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas! Or whatever you celebrate or choose not to. Although I'm a Christmas guy, and that's okay. Not a holiday tree, a Christmas tree. Why? Because who else uses it as a symbol for the season? What else could it be? Sometimes we take what we think is the right intention too far. Great message for this season, because that is a common malady. watching or listening to this. I appreciate you subscribing and following. I hope you spread the word. Your growth is good because it's organic and I dig it. And I want more of it, especially because this is a free product, right? And that really matters to me. A lot of you have been

asking me why I'm not doing a sub stack. I don't know. I don't really feel the need to. I have a good amount on my plate, but I'll think about it. Anything you think that helps the reach, but I'm not in any hurry to charge anybody for anything. And the free agent merch is a perfect idea for your gift giving as an independent. Everybody loves that word. It is so American and that's cool. And being a free Asian, being independent, owning it as a brand, as you see it on the merch, I think it's important. I think it's an important time to not just look good, but to be projecting something good. And you should be independent. People should leave the political parties. That's the way we change the system. Not because the Democrats are bad or the Republicans are bad, although the Republicans are on hard times, that's for sure, and they better stick a

fork in Trump and find out how they become about something better, but because we're better than this system. We need to get back to the right men and women to lead us for the right reasons and not just check in boxes because it's an R or a D, a red or a blue. Hopefully, Herschel Walker was kind of like the nadir of that tendency, a guy who had no business being in the U.S. Senate, actually being a half a step from it. We should be better than that. Forget about left and right. We should be reasonable. Support for the Chris Cuomo Project comes from Sundays. Now, we got a problem in the Cuomo house.

We got three dogs who now like Sundays better than the other food that I was giving them. Sundaes is healthy dog food, easy to store, okay? Very tasty, very nutritious because Sundaes is fresh dog food made from a short list of human-grade ingredients. No, not humans. Human-grade. Sundaes was co-founded by Dr. Tori Waxman, practicing vet, tests, and formulates every version of each recipe. No, the doctor doesn't eat it. They test it for pets.

What is wrong with you? So I got this stuff, and I like that it's kibble, man, because I gotta tell you, I've tried other foods that are wet foods, you got to have a whole refrigerator for them. This you store just like all the other kibble. And I got to tell you, they loved it. All right. I got these three savage rescues. They eat an incredible amount of food. And I actually had to get a special bowl for one of them because he was eating the Sundays too fast.

And if you're a dog owner, you know that that can go sideways on you. And I love it because it makes me feel like I'm doing them right. So get 40% off your first order of Sundays. Go to SundaysForDogs.com slash Chris or use the code Chris at checkout. We don't fake the funk here and here's the real talk. Over 40 years of age, 52% of us experience

some kind of ED between the ages of 40 and 70. I know it's taboo, it's embarrassing, but it shouldn't be. Thankfully, we now have HIMS and it's changing the vibe by providing affordable access

to ED treatment, and it's all online. HIMS is changing men's health care. Why? Because it's giving you access to affordable and discreet sexual health treatments, and you do it right from your couch.

HIMS provides access to clinically proven generic alternatives to Viagra or Cialis or whatever. And it's up to like 95% cheaper. And there are options

as low as two bucks a dose. HIMS has hundreds of thousands of trusted subscribers. So if ED is getting you down, it's time to pick it up. Start your free online visit today at HIMS.com slash CCP. H-I-M-S dot com slash CCP. And you will get personalized ED treatment options. HIMS.com

slash CCP. Prescriptions? You need an online consultation with a healthcare provider, and they will determine if appropriate. Restrictions apply. You see the website, you'll get details and important safety information. You're going to need a subscription. It's required. Plus, price is going to vary based on product and subscription plan. Now, that takes me to what I want to talk about today. The Christmas season. I'm not a huge fan, okay?

Why? Well, don't hit me with the religious stick, okay? This is not when Jesus was born. It is the story of Jesus' birth, and that's what we are celebrating, or we should be if you're Christian. But this is not when scholars, religious scholars, theologians believe he was born. This was picked as a time of year to celebrate it along with the winter solstice as a way of conforming to what was going on with other non-theistic or polytheistic or heathen traditions. So there was less beef, made it more familiar for people, less controversial. That's where the Christmas

tree comes from as a symbol of enduring life. It's not a Christian symbol. It is a Christmas tree. I don't know why you got to call it a holiday tree. I mean, that's just the nod to PC that I don't think makes anything better. It just provokes division for the wrong reason. PC that I don't think makes anything better. It just provokes division for the wrong reason. So why don't I like it? It's too much about the stuff. It's too much about the stuff, especially if you're in the kid game. The families who agonize about how to do the gifting and moving to the secret Santa and then who gets who and is it rigged and how much is the money that you spend and who do you give to, who do you not? There's so much stress, so much drama. And there is a reason for apprehension.

This is a dark time as we enter the end of the year. People start to think about what has been good and what has been bad. I mean, we know this is the time of year that people indulge too much in self-harm. They indulge too much and it becomes self-harm. And there is self-harm and people do horrible things to themselves. It's a hard time of year. And I really think that that doesn't have to be. Not that the motivations that make it that way aren't real.

All pain is personal. One of the big mistakes we make is in judging other people's pain, forgetting that all pain is personal and refusing to deal with our own grief, our own pain, our own loss, because we think it's unworthy or we're unworthy. I'm a huge perpetrator of that, by the way. The struggle is real. I'm in it. And I don't sit like this because I'm some yogi. You know why I sit like this? Because Greg Ott, the producer, forces me into the corner of this couch, okay? And I'm too big to sit in this. And you know why else I do it? It's hard for me. It hurts. Both of my QLs, my hips are on fire right now. And I like that. I like to put myself in uncomfortable positions. Talking to you like this is uncomfortable for me. I don't like sharing some of these things. I think it's important. I think it's important for me to do.

And I'm understanding that it's important for you to hear so that it's okay for you to acknowledge the same in yourself. So it's worth it. So I'll do it. My therapist is okay with it. Now, the message of the couch is we need balance at this time of year. Balance is hard. You know, I work out regularly. I have for a really long time.

And I've always done independent things. I don't answer phone calls. It's not my child. They will, you know, my phone is always on. Did you know that? Because I have a deal with my kids. If it's that important, if it's real, call me. If I'm on TV, I'll answer.

If it's that important, my show does not come before you. It's important that they know that they get that. I know that that's weird. It would be weird for me to answer the phone. But to them, it's weird important, my show does not come before you. It's important that they know that they get that. I know that that's weird. It would be weird for me to answer the phone. But to them, it's weird that I wouldn't. To them, it's weird that I'm unavailable. You know what I'm saying? And they live in a weird world because of me.

Balance, balance. I am imbalanced. My right side is ridiculously different than my left side. Broke my collarbone very badly when I was playing ball. My right side is ridiculously different than my left side. Broke my collarbone very badly when I was playing ball. And I have a weird hole in my right pec. My left pec is different. My left leg, my right leg, even more than typical asymmetries.

I mean, all of us have a dominant side. And what's weird is that I was a ball player and I could go right very well and I could go left very well, but my left side is much, much bigger. It's not even that much stronger. And that's the message. That's the message. Balance matters. And it is not always in the obvious. This is the big side.

This is not as big. This one's stronger. Why? I think it's because I have overcompensated with effort for my weak side. And by the way, even though it didn't give me what I wanted, I'm not symmetrical and not pretty. It's not the same size or even the same shape, but it does what it needs to do as well, if not better than the strong side. does what it needs to do as well, if not better than the strong side. That's the payoff of balance in effort. And you should think about that at this time of year, not just in the don't stop working out. Don't take the holidays off. Don't do that. I'm not a big fan of new year's resolutions. I'm a fan of consistency. And I actually try to hit my goal for Christmas. I wanted to lose 10 pounds for Christmas. I think to lose 10 pounds for Christmas.

I think I'm going to get there. We'll see. I do control that outcome, right? Balance, how much you let yourself get down, how much you think about others, how much you play into the drama. Another way to deal with that and create balance is in gifting.

Take it easy on the gifting, okay? More is not always more. I know for a fact, and if you're a parent out here, you know I'm right, there's nothing that compares to a letter from your kids, right? Most of the time, even if they're into their 20s, they're buying you stuff with your own money anyway. Even if they're into their 20s, they're buying you stuff with your own money anyway. But knowing someone took the time to think about you and what you mean and what you don't mean, I'm telling you, it is so valuable. It's not just moms who like to get cards from their kids, but I know why they do.

Because you see that there is appreciation. If only in that one letter. That they recognize that they're getting some of the stuff that you want them to get. And they know that you're putting it there. It's so beautiful. It's so touching. Think about that. Think about giving that gift yourself. Sweater.

Some tech thing. Gift certificate. Groupon. These are all nice. You may check boxes. People may ask you for them. But I don't think it goes deep and matters and resonates and is a gift in the meaning, the true sense of that word, as giving something of yourself.

Now, that's harder than just paying for something. It usually demands a commitment, time, thought, energy. Maybe you don't want to put it in. But it's a good way to balance out this excess of having this shop online or anywhere else that's going to get here what's the code all that crap and what do they do with it who remembers really do you see it on them and even in the next christmas is gone already hanukkah kwanzaa whatever it is the reason for the season i don't believe that you have to believe in something bigger than yourself

to be the kind of person that you want to be and should be, as you understand it. It's helpful to me. I choose to have faith. It helps me. I can't sell you on it. I don't want to sell you on it. I don't like people who do try to sell you on it. It helps me with my balance. This is a hard time of year. You know, a year ago, Christmas, holy cow. Dark days in Cuomoville. And that was okay. Now, that takes me... We don't fake the funk here, and here's the real talk. Over 40 years of age, 52% of us experience some kind of ED

between the ages of 40 and 70. I know it's taboo, it's embarrassing, but it shouldn't be. Thankfully, we now have HIMS, and it's changing the vibe by providing affordable access to ED treatment, and it's all online. HIMS is changing men's health care. Why? Because it's giving you access to affordable and discreet sexual health treatments. And you do it right from your couch. HIMS provides access to clinically proven generic alternatives to Viagra or Cialis or whatever. And it's up to like 95% cheaper. And there are options as low as two bucks a dose.

HIMS has hundreds of thousands of trusted subscribers. So if ED is getting you down, it's time to pick it up. Start your free online visit today at HIMS.com slash CCP. H-I-M-S dot com slash CCP. And you will get personalized ED treatment options. hyms.com slash ccp. Prescriptions, you need an online consultation with a healthcare provider. And they will determine if appropriate.

Restrictions apply. You see the website. You'll get details and important safety information. You're going to need a subscription. It's required. Plus, price is going to vary based on product and subscription plan. Look, no shame in my game. I've been using AG1 for over five years. Why? It works, it's easier, and it's less expensive. That's why. Since 2010, they've been

getting their formulations right and tweaking their formulas. Why? Because the science changes, okay? It's not like politics where people decide to believe one thing and no matter what happens with the facts, they never shift. This is the opposite. Ooh, prebiotics work with probiotics, but in this way. D works with K, and this type of B works with that. They have the scientists doing it, so I don't need all the bottles. I don't have to spend all the money.

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You get a free one-year supply of vitamin D3K2 and five free AG1 travel packs, okay? That's what happens with your first purchase. So make it. Go to drinkag1.com slash ccp. Drinkag1.com slash CCP. Check it out. To the real gift. I know that this is true, what I'm going to tell you.

And I did not like hearing it. I rejected it. It pissed me off. And it made me think less of the person. And then it was like two or three people who told me it but they were right and i was wrong and here's what they told me at this time of year we take stock and we think of the good and the bad we ledger we pnl profit and loss deposits and withdrawals pluses and minuses. We do it. Good reason,

bad reason, no reason. Here's the truth. It's all a gift. Several reasons. Memento mori. Remember you could die. Remember this could be it Tomorrow is not guaranteed Highly fatalistic, highly extreme Borderline unreasonable Because the chance that you do die tomorrow Should be almost infinitesimal Possible, but not in the real world of probability Unless you live in Ukraine or Iran

But it is something to keep in mind as a starting point Next Ukraine or Iran, but it is something to keep in mind as a starting point. Next, you have no one to blame for how you deal with what comes your way, except yourself. What are you talking about? This is the guy who fired me. This is the one who lied about me. This is the one who hurt me. This is the one who broke my heart. This is the one who stopped seeing me. This is the one who stopped training with me. This is the one who made me twist my ankle. Yes, yes, all true. But for each of these stimuli, it is in our complete authority, agency, power of what to do about it and what it's going to mean to you. And you know that I am right, that when you look at your own life, learning moments, what led to change, what led to betterment,

almost always comes out of something bad. Feel free to share a story with me where, hey man, I really killed it on this thing and then I just became a better person afterwards, I learned. It's not easy because when something goes well or goes right or comes easily, usually you just take it for granted and you keep moving. There's not a lesson in it because you don't have to pause to think about it. Now you should, you should be grateful because the longer you live, the more you learn that you better enjoy those good moments. You better take stock because they're not guaranteed and you're on to the next and the next may not be another

good thing and then you'll miss it. But the gift is all of it. All of it is an opportunity. I am not ready nor prepared nor sure in any way that me losing my CNN life the way I did was anything but regrettable and painful. And not just for me. I see it just as loss. And I'm not ready to see it as anything else. anything else. Yes, I do like hearing you guys say that you think I'm doing the job differently, better, this project, the podcast, that you dig it. I like all that. I wouldn't have done it if this hadn't happened. That's true. I'm not ready for that, but I do see why people suggest it to me. And I know that overall, it is a truth. Everything that has happened to you this year is a gift.

It all made you who you are and what you're going to become. And that matters for two reasons. One, we don't need more reasons to be down. And two, take control of what you can. Leave nothing to chance that you must not leave to chance put nothing on anyone else that you can do for yourself now i'm not telling you not to need not to love and want love but don't give yourself a pass by forgetting that once something happens, what is done by you, done to you, you are then in control of what comes next.

And there's a great expression from the recovery community, focus on doing the next right thing. That's the reason for the season. The message of Jesus's birth, right, if you care, is that he is born as an agent of our ultimate salvation, that he loves us so much that he will die so that we don't have to suffer. And that is a very powerful message, right? And that in that love is this incandescent glowing light of truth that literally allows him to rise from the dead because his father redeems him so it starts with this with his birth and he's poor

and the manger is the french word for to feed because he is food for the world. We're going to eat a baby. Now that's a different conspiracy, but that's the message. And I'm fine with the symbolism. I like the story. Is it real? Is it not real? Who cares? I do, but you don't have to. There can be value in a lot of narratives. And it's just a good lesson, no matter what you choose to believe or not. And you know me. I mean, that's not my game. I want you to be independent. I want you to be a critical thinker. I want you to make your own judgments, informed and responsible and reasonable, not be played for a sucker or get carried away by some team or tribe. So you believe what you want. This is a hard time of year. Allow that.

Allow it in yourself and allow it in those around you it's hard and people are suffering and struggling be aware of that pay attention to it pay attention to it in yourself if you really want to give people the best gift give them yourself give them something of you not Not like an ear, but a letter, a favor, time, commitment. But I'm telling you, writing down what somebody means to you is so powerful. So powerful. It means so much to me. And I do it. I do it. Balance is everything. You know, cardinal virtues of stoicism biggest gift i gave myself this year was getting deeper into the study of that philosophy and remembering how important philosophy is you know it's not a luxury philosophy is the learning that allows us to live a better life and it's kind of like religion without the deification or even the strictures of don't eat meat and you

know things that are just to reinforce faith curiosity temperance justice wisdom temperance is balance is moderation give yourself that gift don't go on hiatus from being healthy don't forget to let yourself feel what you're going to feel doesn't make you a bad person. Remember the reason for the season. And it is to be generous and to be good to others who have been good to you. And remember that everything that happened is a gift.

And look, a lot of this I say to you, but for me, because I'm trying to reinforce it, because I'm trying to reinforce it, because I'm trying to live it, and it's hard. It's a lot harder than having my old arms be the same size. But even in the imbalance, there's more vascularity in this arm, the weaker arm. Well, actually, it's not weaker, but the smaller arm, than this arm.

Why? I try harder. And that's all we control is the effort and that's all we control is the effort it's all we control is the effort the effort to be balanced to be generous to be understanding of others and of yourself and to understand that everything that happened this year no matter how sucky and how much you cried and felt pain and hurt or hurt others. All of it is an opportunity to do something else and to focus on the next right thing. And that is as important as any message of this season. And I wish you the best of it. And I appreciate you for the gift of your attention, your participation, your belief, the opportunity. It means so much to me. All the work that I put into it,

the thought, the writing, it's all because I know that you value it. And that is a gift, and I thank you for it. And I wish you the best for this season. Be good to yourself. Be good to yourself. It starts there. Be good to yourself. Be good to yourself. It starts there. Be good to yourself. Be good to others. Be balanced. And remember the reason for the season. Forget about religion if it doesn't work for you.

Be grateful. See, everything that happened is an opportunity for you to become who you want to be and how you want to be. You can't ask for more than that. Thank you for watching, subscribing, following, being an independent. That's who all this is designed for. I know, I know, I know. Why do you hate us, Republicans? Why did you leave us, Democrats? I was never one of you. I don't hate you. I just want people to have more choice and to stop voting on bad reasons

because of a team. Thank you for all of it. Thank you for getting the merch. Thank you for being part of the project. Thank you for watching me on News Nation. I just found out it's on at 11 Eastern also. Who knew? So you can watch it at 8 or 11

and you can find it wherever you want. By you, there's a button on the top of my Instagram page. I'll see you again soon. Enjoy the season. Thank you for the gift of you.