Check out the original Hi Ren video here:

In this video, confidence coach Dan Munro reacts to the big hit song and musical genius that is Hi Ren. This song is an honest dive into the battles of mental illness, and the daily struggle we all go through in dealing with that negative voice inside your head. It looks at how the inner critic constantly discourages you and undermines your confidence and self esteem, even when you’re trying to do the right thing and live with integrity. This reaction video to Hi Ren explores the honesty and vulnerability of Ren, and how he’s created art with simple truthfulness.

Full transcript (unedited):

Some of you might already be aware of the Smash new hit song Hi Ren dude whose name has also been. And I’ve watched the song like 50 times, I can’t get over it. And today, I want to do a reaction video to it. Talking about it from a place of honesty, or look at the integrity of the song. You know, this is, as far as I’m concerned, the perfect example of turning honesty into an art form, showing that it isn’t just nonfiction. Honesty can be done as art. So we’re gonna go into it if you haven’t seen it yet, you’re in for a treat. Now I do tend to unpack things quite heavily. So I’m going to break this up and go through it in different bits and talk about the honesty and how it’s been expressed. So if you’d like to watch a whole video, I recommend you just go to the link which I’ll post below. Little bit of foreshadowing there. For those of you listening, maybe for the first time the guitars a little bit discordant deliberately. And when you find out whether it’s the song, it’s about the theme of mental illness and everything, even the guitars being honest. I don’t know if this was filmed live or not. I know he has a lapel mic on. And I know he likes to do one take videos, he likes to do things live and he does them really well live. So I suspect some or all of this video, the sound we’re hearing in the filming is actually from the video rather than like a pre recorded track. So there’s even authenticity and how this is presented. There are little errors in the guitar and then there’s also discordant things that aren’t errors but they’re a little harsh on the ear which play to the theme of mental illness you know, mental illness has its imperfection too. So you’re going to notice that throughout pay attention to the guitar when he’s not singing or rapping and also his voice you know there’s not errors so much just imperfections and he leaves them in there which is actually what makes the song so perfect and so almost Hi, did you miss me bury me didn’t miss has always been down you know that deep down in the rain frozen one a funny face there. So the rest of the song is obviously a battle between the voices in his head. And I love the way you start out by sort of saying hi again I’m back I always come back I’m always in the periphery you know I’m always the even when you have a good time you know I’ll be back and he acts this out so well watch what he does this voice is like a pride kind of superiority complex at the side of them has like I own you and I’m backing in in the sort of sarcasm Did you miss me you know and he just so perfectly embodies that inner critic we have just that the harsh voice we have in our head and just how superior and sarcastic and devastating it is and how it just always comes back on you’re pleased to see me it’s been weeks since we spoke I know you need me or the sheep on the shepherd Know your place to leave the place to be biting off that and that feeds me biting off the hand that feeds me not only are his bars just on point his book and lyrics are amazing but the implication there is you know, this is the voice we feed so this voice is like a you know it’s in the host body we it needs us to survive so there’s inner critic feeds off us and we can’t stop it from doing that we keep it alive. I thought that was really interesting insight. Hybrid looping taking some time to be distant object taking some time to be still up and taking some time to be by myself since my therapist told me Phil, and I’ve been making some progress lately, and I’ve learned some new coping skills. So I haven’t really needed you much, man, I think we need to just sit back and chill as acting so good in this. And what he’s showing you here, he’s he’s got like a timidity tone like, like, as you know, he’s almost apologetic as he tries to stand up to this voice, like a lifetime of knowing how powerful this voice is, and how reactive it is, when you try to talk back to it when you try to establish some dominance over it, the way it comes back at you, he can see it coming. And it’s kind of saying, No, we’re all good, leave me alone. He just knows how it’s gonna react, you know, this is just the acting in us or so on. It’s not just the music. You sound and the thing and I talked through this a million times or civilian mind is not perfect. Okay, pill boy, North Melbourne, the sound on white noise, hands down program, rejoice, all your problems will be gone fucking done by. And I’m going to break this up a lot. So if you want to hear the song of full, just go watch it and give the dude some support. Notice there’s also truth in what the critical voice is. And this is what makes critical voice so devastating. You know, there’s bits in there that he’s kind of pointing out that they have some accuracy to them, like you think pills is going to make all your problems go away? Of course not. And that’s actually true. But it’s also a way of discouraging you from doing anything that’s helpful by saying, if it’s not going to work out perfectly for you don’t even bother. And that’s where the discouraging voice often does to us. Because something will only work like a six out of 10 that says it’s not good enough for next year six out of 10 is amazing. It’s a huge progress. It’s a massive relief. Like if you had to take medication for psychosis, for example, you’re not gonna end up being this perfect human being this can be way better than having unmedicated psychosis, but the voice will just tell you, there’s no point it doesn’t work. Nothing ever gets you to perfect, why bother? And it’s a way of discouraging you from doing any progress. And that’s a really devastating little manipulation that does their time is different, man. Trust me. I feel like things might be falling in place. And my musics been kind of doing bits to like actually might do something great. And when I’m gone maybe I’ll be remembered for doing something special with myself. That’s why I don’t think that we should talk because when you’re with me and never seems to how you think that you can amputate me I am you You are me you are I am we have one split into that next one. So you see you’ve got a kill you if you want to kill me, I’m not a fighter. So you’re the lyrics. Again, the sort of hopeful version of them is trying to be shameless about a strengths. And it’s one of the hardest things for us to do in terms of honesty is to remove false modesty to go actually, I am fucking good at something. And I don’t mean I’m good as an I’m better than other people. But the thing I do is like a gift it does well, for other people, I feel good doing it. I have a certain level of talent and skill that I’m proud of and earned. And the voice, the column, the dark room, he hates acknowledging strengths, you know. And as soon as you try to acknowledge your strengths, it’s going to call their voice is going to say you’re bragging that you’re somehow harming others and making a fool of yourself that it’s selfish to embrace these gifts. It’s the kind of voice that talks you into playing down when you’re in a job interview, talk to him to not releasing your music or playing something safer, rather than something dangerous and more real. So, if if this last little rant, you know, you can amputate me, you have to kill me, kill yourself kill me. Again, he it, the voice will always tell you that you need it. The voice will tell you that. And he’s about to go on to hear that it’s a necessary voice like the voice that puts pressure on you the voice that discourages you the voice that tries to hold you back and tries to voice tells you to be modest about your strengths. It comes with this narrative like this is helpful for you. This is going to make you more successful you should listen to me. And he’s just playing this out really well. wrapped on the thought of your music is private delusional guy. Have you with your family friend? No. And another way their voice is gonna destroy you is by always setting the goal far beyond wherever you’re at. I call it the rainbow effect like you never catch up to the rainbow. So no matter how well you’re doing, and however you measure well, you can always imagine better, even if they’re better totally fictional, which of course it is. And the way this was really discouraged as you as it takes whatever when you’ve got it just wipes off the board by just adding another layer to it and only has to be one step better. But often it goes quite extreme like I’ve been playing music for six years and you don’t have a Grammy yet you suck you know If you didn’t make it into the Olympics, you’re not a very good runner. Right? It doesn’t to me all the time with coaching. You’ll be like, why’d you been doing YouTube for seven years, and you’ve only got 3000 subscribers? Like, okay, well, I guess I suck then. And it’s just it will take whatever you’ve got and say that’s not enough, because I can imagine you’re doing more, and other people did more by the time you were here, and so on. And in this way, like I said, you get a six out of 10, but it just turns it into a zero which discourages you from doing anything. Which is the real secret motive of this voice to keep you down to keep you the same to keep you from doing anything unfamiliar and scary. Music not commercial like that. I never chase numbers, statistics or stats, and never bright hooks for the radio. They never even play me. So why would I concern myself with that, for my music is really connected. And the people who find it respect. And for me, that’s enough because it’s like, prints off. So what gives me your purpose, I can rest in man, you sound so pretentious. The voice, that discouraging voice, there’s nothing you can say that it can’t turn against you. It’s so good at doing that because it is you and it knows you. You know, imagine how well you be able to manipulate someone, if you could see inside their mind from the day they were born and you knew everything about them. I mean, it just be like typing commands into a computer, it’d be a piece of press. Well, the voice inside your head has been there. You know the witness has been there your entire life and knows your greatest fears and knows your weaknesses. And knows what moves you the most. So it always says the exact thing to just destroy you and it comes up with it like that. And you can never shut it up no matter what you throw at it. It will destroy it. So this guy’s basically said look, I’ve given up on trying to be a big deal with quantity. I’m just going to do quality for a few people gives meaning to my life. Some people have shown as like they connect with it and they like it and respect it. So that’s enough man I can see like, this is me living by my you know my values and doing something good with my life. And their voice straightaway turns on I’m like, Are you fucking kidding yourself? You just pretentious is trying to make it sound like you’re doing something noble, when rarely is just needy. It just even when you’re doing things for the right reasons. And that’s your motive, it will pretend or challenge you into thinking that you’re not even doing it for the right reasons that you’re kidding yourself. So even when you’re trying to live with integrity, it’ll try to convince you that you’re only pretending to live with integrity, pretending to yourself, so you can get away with like needy pathetic things that are the real reason for what you’re doing. And so when I’m like when I’m coaching people, and including my own life, know, people trying to live with integrity, quite often they go through phases where they’re just like, is this really integrity? Or am I just kidding myself, and this voice has just come in and like killed them for doing the right thing. Total number was another song about how much you hate yourself, trust me, you should be so lucky to have died from remind you to manage invitations by the perspective that they mean exactly. You want. Next Jimi Hendrix. Again, I’m just sort of emphasizes the point where he talks about how like necessary the voices Yeah, I’m here to guide you. I’m here to give you perspective, keep you in line stop you doing something stupid and you know stopping taking risks way beyond what you can handle, just constantly trying to sell itself as being the reason for your success. Quite often, they’ll say that like, if you’ve done well with something and you felt like you’re under pressure to do well the whole time. Their voice will tell you that the pressure was good that there was motivating force that keeps you going rather than admitting the truth, which is the pressure slowed you down and you would have done even better if you were relaxed and being kind to yourself. Man, it’s not like that man is just like, I’m inside you always know you’re wrong. When I write I belong. Let me bring the fourth wall by acknowledging this song has a stroke of genius. He wants to write a song that was not done really as a battle with the subconscious. Eminem did it played on guitar Plan B did it comparison to others? Isn’t that the weapon of choice, right, especially for any kind of any kind of talent or performance or skill set. Your brain will always hunt for someone who’s better out at the new or done it before you and doesn’t need to even be right on point. So you know, compare themselves to Eminem and plan B now they didn’t do exactly what he’s doing. In fact, what we’re seeing here is really fun and original. You know, I haven’t seen something that’s original since Bohemian Rhapsody. But his brain, you know, which he perfectly demonstrates in the song which is actually what makes the song so original, that he’s talking about the difficulty in believing that he’s original. You know, comparing him to Eminem, I mean, how you supposed to compete with them. And if you’re some at the point of releasing this video, you’re just kind of like a very popular busker. How unfair is it for their voice to compare you to some superhero? in your genre and compete you unfairly, he’s not doing what Eminem does Eminem doesn’t play guitar. But as soon as he says play, they’re playing b Did you notice that anytime you argue with the voice, it’s got a counter, which is a hint. And he goes into this near the end, you know, to spoiler alert, arguing that the voice is actually what causes it to get louder. Money is the pinnacle of your successes stealing other people’s material, landmine we’ve heard it all before she Sophie shows overseas show. I don’t need you, but only to hear this. Because I’m fine by myself. I’m a genius. And I will be great. And I will make waves and I’ll show you the whole nonbeliever. I’m going to stop interrupting so much because I want you guys to enjoy the flow. But more than this. What do you notice, you know, the video gives the impression that the voice is the bad one and the other ones like the good one. But actually, they’re both creating waves here. So he doesn’t say I’m a genius, I’m going to make a big impact, it’s getting a little detached to outcomes. It’s getting a little attached to like things beyond just doing this for the right reasons, but also kind of wanting to be this thing and be big. And it actually provokes the other voice. So the more you kind of say like, I’m gonna be great, and I’m gonna do these great things and like call your shots like that. That makes the other voice going a fuck and not right. And so there is again, there’s some truth and they’re darker voice where it’s saying like, you’re trying to control things, you can control your calling shots. And I used to call, you’re focused on things that aren’t yours to control. And there’s like, an element to truth to there were a you know what he said before? Like, I’m just gonna write music and hope some people like it, you know, the voice is gonna attack you on that as well. But yeah, it’s just it’s interesting. Both of these voices are aggravating each other and battling it out. And as the song plays out, you’ll see where that goes. I’m gonna stop interrupting us so much and just let you enjoy it a bit more but I have more say as well. Bass rise mica truth your fucking god complex leaks out. It’s refreshing for us, we used to downplay music is all about the creative process. And if people can find something to relate to within that, then that’s just a bonus. Fucking FUCKING KILL YOU FUCKING KILL ME don’t let me run it over you to download music is that corporate stuff that’s using die? Yeah, call the shots. And so why choose the supplies, I’ll tell you what, we’re not gonna lock him aside. I don’t want to interrupt an expert. So I’m gonna let that play out in full. Well, what I love here is like, thing. If you keep fighting with the darkness, for long enough, eventually you really kind of provoke it. And it does a full blown takeover. You know, we’ve all experienced that, where we’re so battling with that, and a demon, constantly trying to you know, trying to do the right thing or trying to achieve something and going against the voice and arguing with it in various ways. And then it’s almost like we push it too far. And it just explodes on us. You know, we get full blown depression or apathy, we have a stress burnout, we get into this funk, where we just hate ourselves and hate everything for like a sustained period of time, we’re really irritated by everything, can’t see the good in anything, you’re really pessimistic. It’s gonna you just you can’t poke the beer that much without it eventually eating you. And he’s about to do the same way shows that kind of process where the thing just takes over and kind of makes a case for itself to say, there’s no point arguing with me everything is as negative as I say it is because I’ve been there since the beginning. And I understand it all. And I am who you know, he’s also going to do some commentary here on how this thing is just human nature. We’ve always had it. It’s what all the stories are about. And give you a hint that maybe this is just a normal thing that we all experience. Also, I saw another person react to this and they talk about the pride in his voice. He’s such a good actor the pride when he does this little bit just listen to their pride Newsflash, I was created at the dawn of creation. Temptation, I am mistaken. I am the reason for treason, beheading or kings I am sin with no rhyme or reason. On the morning Lucifer and the cry father replies Mustafa leaves truth in the blender deceitful pretender the banished Avenger that right just a random one standing in front of my soul and the message to your lips so he’s gonna kill me. I live in chaos I am using the bed at the end. I mean, the rest is just poetic genius. It’s worth looking at the lyrics when you see how well he’s thought this out and how many like references to various sort of themes Christianity, Satan and so on. But right the bed like I am you, you are me. This idea that this is this isn’t some separate entity. You know, this voice in our head is always horrible to us. This isn’t like some alien and fiction. This is the human mind. This is how it functions that can’t help but have this duality. We all have an discouraging voice. It seems like That’s its job. I won’t go into the details here. But my basic theory of it is that we have some evolutionary fear designed to keep ourselves safe. And over the years, it’s manifested into this thing. This kind of constantly contrarian things. And that doubts all the time, discourages all the time, criticizes all the time, constantly, battles for taking the easy way out and playing it safe. Because you know, 200,000 years ago, that would have been a really helpfully guiding voice because we’re very high risk, we’re middle of the food chain, we die very early for often, you know, it’s very rare to die of old age, it’s usually something else that got us other tribes and so on, resources were fought over and sometimes scarce. It’s a voice designed to keep us in check and not get too fucking ahead of ourselves at a time where there will get you killed. For being musician that there’s no risk in like having a go for it, but the voice doesn’t know they’re, the voice still thinks that you’re trying to take on the chief of the tribe, or that you’re doing something that’s gonna get you ostracized, or that you’re walking into saber toothed Tiger territory or something like that. And it’s trying to keep you safe. But the way it comes across is just criticism of any idea that you have. And we take it seriously, if we take it on the content, like oh, you’re not a very good musician in our original. We think that’s what it’s talking about. But all it’s really saying is you’re trying something new and unfamiliar and that freaks me out. And that’s all it’s ever saying. And now we’re going to hear from the other side, the voice that actually gives us the ideas in the first place. I’ve been taking some times I’ve been taken some time to be smooth, have been taken some time to be by myself and have spent half my life but just assured that the tide starts turning just the shore with a knight has done just to shore with the rainfall soon once dry, withstanding an iron storm. I was made to be tested twisted, I was made broken. I don’t want to interrupt this bit too much, but it goes Epic is a couple of key things he pointed out here and that is this this season’s to all of us should no matter how short life is, you know, night always ends in dawn comes again, if you can look at it that way if you have the patience for the bad luck to do its core, so you got the patience for the injury to heal the sickness thing, you know, this guy was really sick. He had Lyme disease, and psychosis and Lyme disease is a fucking nightmare, right? Like you’ll go from doctor to doctor to doctor, they’ll all tell you a different thing. The Lord give up on you. Nobody will fucking diagnose it. And you know, you can be sick for a very long time. It’s one of the worst chronic illnesses you can have simply because it’s so confusing for medical professionals, just very few of them are able to pick up on it. And nobody even really truly knows what it is to this day. Because you run through someone through the tests and they seem to be fine on paper and yet they can’t get out of bed. You know, they start being told that they’re making it up or they’re psychosomatic. You know, so this guy’s been sick for a very long time. And if you want to check out he’s got video blogs from when he was sick, you know, and he’s just as like teen boys just in the depths of despair, like one step away from suicide trying desperately like clinging to the world. His fingernails. Say hey, I really want to live by I don’t think I can anymore. It’s brutal to watch. It’s quite amazing to see where he’s at now. He’s so healthy now. It’s just like, Yeah, fuck he made you know. Now his storm lasted a long time. A decade he was sick. As far as I understand. He said I spent half my life ill. And a lot of us don’t realize that just because the storm has been going for a very long time, the darkness behind me for a very long time. It doesn’t mean it will never end. It’s just when you’re in it. It seems like a long time. You know, when my baby’s crying. And like she can’t get to sleep and she’s crying. After it’s done. I’ll come over like fuck, I was in there for an hour. You know, my wife will be like, No, I was like seven minutes. Seven minutes. Guys worse than exercise time. You know, when you’re in the darkness, it feels way longer than it is and even when it is a long time like when he was sick they would have been moments of joy, it will mean good bits. But the dark boys sort of like, plastered over them and said, it’s all shit, you know. But if you can take a moment to just keep an eye out for when the sun comes through the clouds a little bit, so to speak, you’ll notice it actually happens quite often. And it always eventually happens. And this is the buddy sings about now I’m gonna let him finish that. And we’ll finish out the song was made by his hand isn’t part of his plan, but I stand on my own two feet than you normally my will is a turn. And you normally you’ve met me before face to face with a beast that will rise from the east and I’ll settle on the ocean floor. And I go by many names. Also, some people know me as hope. Some people know me as the voice that you hear when you lose to the noose on the roll. Than you know how I know that I’ll prosper. Because I stand beside you today. I have stood in the flames that remain in my brain and I didn’t want to lose your shape. Didn’t want flinch your shame there’s a part of you if you can tap into it. The most honest part of view this observer this kind of like benevolent I would a lot of people would think of as God that watches you from the inside, it’s been watching uses a day you’re born. So only thing that hasn’t changed since you were born, your whole body’s changed your brain, your beliefs, everything have changed since you were born many many times. But there’s one thing that’s watched has been the constant the observing eye. And there’s a bit where you know, you’re ashamed of yourself. There’s something wrong with me. I’m a bad person. I’m different. Nobody likes me I’m unlovable, all the various things I’m not good enough. In, there’s a dim awareness we usually have that something’s watching us do that. And it just feels nothing but compassion and knows that that’s bullshit. And those there’s nothing wrong with you and knows that you’re just a human, and that everything you’re doing is your best effort. Given the circumstances, given your upbringing, given your genetics, you can’t do better than this. There’s a part of you that knows that the observer knows it. That the observer really speaks in the Whisper it’s very hard to hear it we very rarely hear. I mean, I often think of as mental illness as being out of touch with their voice really. And there’s the voice of your core values to your integrity. And the way you just said I never once flinched your shame like this idea. It’s kind of like a parent a very loving healthy parent watching their child and the child’s eye does something wrong with the drawing as I’m so stupid and the parent scares me and not like I know you think they’re like giveaway thing there but you’re not you’re fine. You’re perfect you know? And if you can tap into their voice you can you can at least a brief periods I don’t think I’ve ever sustained the feeling that brief period you can just give the sense of just warmth compassion washing through you we just get off like it’s fine. I had a moment once I won’t go into details because I’m gonna stretch this out too much but I was really in the pits just like fac was wrong in the semis doing this back and then I was like oh my fucking broken you know, I was just like really down in it. And then this voice just kind of laughed me to see the a fucked up dude. It’s fine. And it was a really compassionate voice it was just like your factor of course you fucked up everyone’s factor when he complaining about just be fucked up it’s fine. And it was it was one of the greatest moments of self compassion have ever had in my life where it’s just okay to be fucked up. It’s okay to not be okay you know he’s really tapping into that here okay, I’m gonna shut up now we’re gonna get through all the way to the end become we’re not seeing from the top of the hour we’ll retire on Sunday no fire inspires me to be strong in the music that are left behind, ferocious persistent and more to like you we reclaim it in difference. Comes from one stemmed from someone who suffered versus worthless Lincoln. When I was 17 years old, showered down into an empty room. These were blank canvas that I would defeat the forces of evil. For the next 10 years of my life, I suffered the consequences with autoimmunity, illness, psychosis. As I got older, I realized there were no real winners. And there were no real losers in psychological warfare, but there were victims. And there were students. It wasn’t David versus Goliath. It was a pendulum, a totally swaying from the dark to the light. more intensely that the light shone, the darker the shadow and it was never really a battle for me to win. There was an eternal dance. Like a dance, the more rigid I became, the harder it got, the more I cursed, my clumsy footsteps, the more strong so I got older, and I learn to relax, and to learn to soften that dance go easy. It is this eternal dance that separates human beings from Angel from demon from the gods. They must not forget, we must not forget. We are human. We do don’t forget that we, we forget there quite often. So he’s really nailed the kind of conflict that most people go through here, which is, instead of understanding that you will always have periods of darkness and light will be easy and hard, easy and hard. Even if you do everything right it’ll go like that. Then it’s unstoppable there breathing rhythm of life. If you fight against it swings harder and you have more highs and more lows. And eventually the lows are so devastating. You don’t even enjoy the highs. So that’s when you crash into depression, we get bipolar type effects happening. What he’s saying is most people battle when they should just dance. So one way to think of it as rather than like, when the darkness hits when times are rough. Thinking of I must have failed, there must be something I need to do I need to solve this problem needs to be fixed. There’s more like what’s a good way to play this out? What’s a good way to react to this? So Tom Hanks talking about this using stoicism. You know, this too shall pass. You can say this both in good times and bad times. You know, like having a real rough time. This is gonna pass you’re crushing it at work. This is gonna pass you know you’re suffering from the depths of mental illness and just want to kill yourself. wait long enough. It’s gonna pass you really high everyone loves you, you fucking winning everything. Yeah, that’s gonna pass too. So if you just learn to kind of cruise with it, as best you can just go Okay, it looks like we’re settling down for a winter. What’s a winter activity you know, read more books, spend time with loved ones relax, try to just sort of breathe through it tone down the to do list. And then when things are you know, abundant and going well okay, well, let’s make some gains. Let’s use this but not resisting when the pendulum swings. You know, that’s what he’s talking about here, I think is that he just stopped resisting the swings. Now I’m sure that when he’s on a high he wrote heaps of music and does well or maybe just performs it. Then when he’s on low maybe he writes you know, taps into that darkness and comes up with some epic ship. He spends time with family just tries to eat healthy and just, you know, pass through to them. So a brilliant portrayal of honesty as an art form. I really love this I hope this guy does well. He’s going to be great influence the world. Thank you for watching my reaction. Go give this guy some love. Go share it around let everyone know about it. This is a once in a lifetime kind of piece of art a masterpiece should be shared around the watching