Message 336

More from “The Obstacle is the Way” by Ryan Holliday

In this section Ryan was pointing to the reasons some people and businesses were successful during great crises while others folded over. The primary principle is something we can all put into practice in our daily life.

Because the founders were too busy existing in the present— actually dealing with the situation at hand, They didn’t know whether it would get better or worse, they just knew what was.

In most ordinary people’s lives, we aren’t content to deal with things as they happen. We have to dive endlessly into what everything “means, whether something is “fair” or not, what’s “behind” this or that, and what everyone else is doing.

Then we wonder why we don’t have the energy to actually deal with our problems. Or we get ourselves so worked up and intimidated because of the overthinking.

What should we do?

Focus on the moment, not the monsters that may or may not be up ahead.

He says “Those people with an entrepreneurial spirit are blessed to have no time and no ability to think about the ways things should be, or how they’d prefer them to be.”

we’re always trying to figure out what things mean—why things are the way they are. As though the why matters.

Emerson put it best: “We cannot spend the day in explanation.”

What matters is that right now is right now.

The implications of our obstacle are theoretical-they exist in the past and the future. We live in the moment. And the more we embrace that, the easier the obstacle will be to face and move.

You can take the trouble you’re dealing with and use it as an opportunity to focus on the present moment. To ignore the totality of your situation and learn to be content with what happens, as it happens, or as we talked about yesterday, love it.

To let each moment be new- wipe clear what came before and what others were hoping would come next.

Find the way that works for you to bring yourself right down into the present moment. Enlist others to help prevent you and your team from straying outside that moment.

One thing is certain. It’s not simply a matter of saying: Oh, I’ll live in the present. You have to work at it. Catch your mind when it wanders-don’t let it get away from you. Discard distracting thoughts. Leave things well enough alone—no matter how much you feel like doing otherwise.

Remember that this moment is not your life, it’s just a moment in your life. Focus on what is in front of you; right now. Ignore what it “represents” or it
“means” or “why it happened to you.”

Message 334

James clear has released a new book. Atomic habits workbook $20 on Amazon
Guided templates for easy habit tracking and habit stacking.

Journaling prompts to help you assess your physical and social environments, identify forces at play, and strategize for greatest habit success.

Strategies for overcoming the habit plateau and sticking with your habits, even when the going gets rough.

Plans for adapting your habits to fit your ever-changing life.

New ideas from Clear on the role of fun in habit formation.

Packed with tips, tricks, and activities, The Atomic Habits Workbook is your step-by-step guide to making small changes that will transform your habits and deliver remarkable results.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

This is a long quote from our Jay Zeller’s daily coach email. I am so proud to have him for a friend. It’s another friendship that showed up in my life in a very weird way exemplifying that the universe really does work in strange but beautiful ways.

Anyway here’s what Jay wrote after he noticed a deep fog both on his morning walk and on his way to work.

“That same day I drove into work and couldn’t see the field house or campus until I was right up near them. Clearly I knew they were there behind the fog, as was the sunrise along my walking route.”

…here’s the key part …..

“Sometimes life causes a metaphorical thick fog to come along. This fog tries to hamper your judgement, slow your progression, turn you around, leaves doubt, and on and on. Like the sunrise, everything is still in front of you if you’ll just keep moving forward.

KEEP GOING! As you press on through that fog, at some point the fog will begin to lift and you’ve become stronger for having continued the journey instead of waiting it out in fear or comfort.”

Ponder this as you head into the weekend.

Message 333

Can you relate to any of these holiday traps….and reaction?

This is from Becoming Minimalist and although I am the farthest thing from minimalist, I could identify with most, if not all, these traps and reactions. So I thought I’d share them with you.

This is from Becoming Minimalist

When it comes to the holiday season, most of us spend this time reacting to what happens to us rather than intentionally planning for what we want.

These reactions tend to come in four distinct holiday flavors:
You react to the spending trap by buying gifts you can’t afford because everyone else is spending big, putting purchases on the credit card with a vague plan to “figure it out later.”

You react to the gift trap by scrambling to find the perfect present for everyone on your ever-growing list, stressing out about whether it’s enough, whether they’ll like it, and whether you’ll be judged for it.

You react to the time trap by saying yes to every invitation, every event, every tradition, because you don’t want to disappoint anyone, even though you’re disappointing yourself by missing the quiet moments that actually matter.

You react to the decor trap by pulling out every box from the attic because that’s what you’ve always done, spending hours decorating spaces you don’t even use, feeling obligated to maintain (or add to) a display that exhausts you instead of delights you.

But when you plan ahead for the holidays instead of reacting to expectations, everything changes.
And the best time to plan? Right now—before the chaos begins.