Unlearning Bad Habits, Dealing With Friends' Issues, and More
Article Round-Up: 8.28.22
Enjoy this week’s curated round-up of articles, podcasts, and more from the web.
Featured Thoughts:
Takeaway: When I first started A-Team Fitness, I convinced myself of an essential truth: If I didn’t spend every free moment I had building my business, then I didn’t want it bad enough.
That belief was ingrained in me through habitual practice. I won’t lie to you, it helped me grow my business. The weight of starting a business in my early twenties was paralyzing at times. I often found it easier to avoid being productive out of fear of failure.
That belief helped push me to act when I otherwise would have hid away from the difficult tasks that lie ahead of me.
Now, almost ten years later, I am forcing myself to unlearn this habit.
This has never been more evident than in my upcoming trip to Greece. This will be the first time in almost a decade that I will take a real vacation.
To be clear, this isn’t my first trip in all those years. This is just the first time I won’t be working while I’m away.
It’s only been made possible by my amazing co-coach, Chris, who will be manning the ship while I’m away.
I am beginning to free myself of the busyness trap.
Instead, I’ll begin focusing on ways to add the highest amount of value and productivity in the time I set aside for work.
I’m excited to travel.
I’m excited to explore new hobbies.
I’m excited to be a present friend again.
This article hit home for me. If you’ve struggled with the busyness trap too, I encourage you to check it out.
“What To Do When Friends Overwhelm You With Their Problems”
Takeaway: Two thoughts arise from reading this article.
The first is the distinction between our friends wanting advice or simply wanting to vent. When engaged in a difficult conversation with a friend or loved one, I find it helpful to directly ask if they need advice or a listening ear.
More often than not when we get overwhelmed by our friends’ problems it’s because we feel pressure to solve issues we have no business solving.
The second thought is the idea of empathetic balance, a concept I’ve talked about previously. This is the idea that in your relationships you should attempt to balance negative and positive interactions. If the majority of the interactions with your friends is to solve your or their problems, without the balance of sharing positive moments with them, it will strain these relationships over time.
If you find you have a friend that constantly weighs you down with their issues, then it’s time to recommend they seek professional help.
“6 Reasons You Think You Should Be Losing Weight, But Aren’t”
Takeaway: These are the most common challenges I see clients face when their progress begins to stall.
Oftentimes it’s easier to jump to the conclusion that you are broken or incapable of seeing results rather than to acknowledge that some of the old habits have snuck back into your life.
The good news is you aren’t broken, but if you’ve stopped seeing results then it’s time to reevaluate what choices you’re making.
“How To Stop Wasting Time On The Internet”
Takeaway: There are many strategies shared for reducing time wasting social media scrolling. Two of my favorites:
Make “Do Not Disturb” the default setting on your phone. This will avoid those dings drawing you back to your device unnecessarily. Chances are, that message isn’t urgent.
Actively seek other ways to spend your time. It’s not enough to simply, “want to stop spending time on your devices.” You have to get proactive to fill your time with other activities that prevent this screen time. This is a concept I refer to as, Addition Not Subtraction.