TGIM: Your Best Kept Secret

Welcome back to Thank God It’s Monday! Last week we talked a bit about how comfort can make us complacent, and when we’re complacent we become less resilient, creative, and fulfilled. I don’t think any person is completely lazy or totally driven all of the time, but the degree to which we can push ourselves into discomfort varies. We know deep down how much better we feel when we push ourselves and yet it’s so hard to go beyond our comfort zones. How can we use our ability to do hard things to continue pushing ourselves beyond our limits?
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tl;dr We are more fulfilled when we strive to do better than we’ve done in the past. We can use the times when we have lived the best version of our lives in the past to guide how to replicate that version of ourselves moving forward. What did you do differently when you were happiest in the past? How can you implement those differences to get even more out of your future?​
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Think of a time in your life when you were crushing it. This doesn’t mean when you were skinny or when you were making the most money necessarily. But when is a time in your life when you felt satisfied at the end of the day?

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It might be when you were working towards a certain goal that required you to sacrifice in other areas of your life. Maybe you were working towards running a marathon, you were getting a degree at school, or working on a big project at work. You might’ve gotten up early in the morning or gone to bed late at night to put in extra hours. Maybe you missed some social gatherings because you made extra time to put in the work. But you most likely ended each day with a sense of accomplishment because you spent your days intentionally.

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This would be ideally how we spend every single day: intentionally working on a greater purpose that contributes to the betterment of ourselves and those around us. But as life feels like it gets in the way, we can ebb and flow between periods of greater and less effort.

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To create greater intention by pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zones, we can implement the habits and routines we established during the times in the past we’ve had our greatest success.
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For example, I know that I function at my best when I spend some time each day intentionally getting movement in. However, over the winter especially I have a hard time working out when I work 13 hours and commute 2 additional hours. Now that the sun has been up longer and the temperature milder it’s been a little easier getting in a quick workout after work. And man has that improved my overall mood tremendously. In making myself less comfortable, I’ve increased the reward and feeling of accomplishment.
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When you were at a time in your life working hard and proud of your efforts each day what were you doing differently than you’re doing now? Of course, you should take into account your circumstances and allow for any major life changes (like maybe you have kids now for the first time or have a bigger role at work). But what habits were you practicing when you were feeling the most fulfilled that you are not practicing now?
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Maybe it’s exercise or maybe it’s taking time to learn a new skill. These things take time and energy, and by no means will they happen by accident. However, when you implemented these uncomfortable changes in your routine, you probably felt the best you ever have.
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Do a mental dive into what that period of time in your life looked like when you were thriving and notice what changes you can implement today to improve your schedule now. What’s one small thing you can do each day to work towards making this season of your life even better than your previous best? Hint: it’s probably something that will initially be uncomfortable but you know in your gut will make things better in the long wrong.
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On the other side of the coin, what is something that you’re currently doing now that you weren’t doing during that time in your life? Maybe it’s spending more time on your phone or spending the night watching more TV before bed. Figure out what’s something you can eliminate from your life now that is inhibiting your from feeling fulfilled at the end of the day. Hint: it’s probably something that makes you feel “comfortable” in the moment (maybe alcohol, overeating, social media, etc).
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In order to make this a successful exercise, try to really feel the emotions of what the period of time in your life felt like that you’re trying to get back to. What does that sense of fulfillment feel like in the pit of your stomach? How does the noise in your brain sound? How can you make yourself feel uncomfortable intentionally to get more of that feeling as a result?
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In the morning, set an intention to strive towards that feeling again. Try to work towards that sense of accomplishment when you’ve worked hard for something. It will make the hard work a little easier and push you to be uncomfortable because you know it will benefit you on the other side of things.

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If you found some value in this, please share it with a friend you think would enjoy it! And let me know if you’d like to be added to get TGIM. Or visit https://walshwellness.weebly.com/ for older editions and if you’d like to subscribe.

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This week my podcast recommendation is from Paul Levitin’s Change Made Easy, “Building Antifragile Confidence and Living with Arete with Brian Johnson.” Guys this episode got me so hyped up and this newsletter actually was inspired by the action step Brian recommended at the end of the episode. I am currently reading the book Antifragile which is a concept that we can gain strength from being challenged (in an oversimplified explanation). Brian Johnson explains how so much of his philosophy that he teaches uses this concept and pushes people to get uncomfortable to come back even stronger. I cannot recommend this episode enough!

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With that, let me know the one thing you are implementing to make this the best season of your life, and what one thing you are eliminating.
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Until next time,

Shannon