Obstacles for Growth, More Time With Others, and Learn Who You Want to Become

Hi Folks! Connor and Nick here from Healthy Living With Nick and Connor. Thanks again for being on our email list, it means a lot, and we are excited to share our weekly email with you. We hope you enjoy it! Here is what we hope you take away from this one: 

1. Treat the obstacles in your life as opportunities for growth.

2. Improve your health by joining a new community or starting a hobby with others.

3. Start learning about who you actually want to become. 

Starter Mindset Tip: How to View Your Obstacles

We are going to start this mindset tip off with a shout out to Ryan Holiday’s book “The Obstacle is the Way.” He does a great job at teaching us how to act when we are faced with all of life’s obstacles. Here is what he says: “A few things to keep in mind when faced with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle: be objective, control emotions and keep an even keel, choose to see the good in the situation, steady our nerves, ignore what disturbs or limits others, place things in perspective, revert to the present moment, focus on what can be controlled.” (Holiday, p. 18) These are all easy to say, and hard to put into practice. Every obstacle we face feels like a pretty darn big obstacle. If you can start implementing even just one way of thinking from what he recommends, you will be setting yourself up to crush through your obstacles better than ever before. The more you do this, the better you will get at it, and the less time you will spend thinking about your obstacles. This frees up your mental bandwidth for all the other aspects of your life. Stop letting obstacles stop you in your tracks, take the power back. 

Health Recipe:  Join a Group or Start a Hobby With Others

Timing: Try something for 30-120 minutes

Level of Difficulty: Hard to make time for, easy to enjoy

Serving Size: Start with once a week and grow from there

Spiciness: Mild and energizing 

INGREDIENTS 

Just yourself, a new activity, and some time with others 

 REASONING AND BENEFITS

Let’s start this off with an unfortunate piece of info: social isolation has doubled among adults since the 1990’s, and this is incredibly unhealthy for us. The UK actually created a government position called the Minister of Loneliness to try and fix this dangerous issue. (Headlee, p. xvii) We evolved in groups, and being together in a community is what our bodies need to thrive. Improving your diet, starting an exercise routine, getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep are all heavy hitters when it comes to improving your health, and stopping social isolation is right up there with them. This trend is starting earlier in life, teenagers are spending less time with friends, and this increases the chances for loneliness and depression. We spend more time working, and more time doing things on our own. If this sounds like you, join a group or a community, or start a hobby with others. Don’t pick something random, choose something that interests you, something that you will have fun doing, with people with similar mindsets. Do you have any friends or family members that you would like to do this with? In the last 200 years we have stepped away from human nature, we have grown away from our fundamental need for community, and we have instead moved towards individual thought and social isolation. (Headlee, p. 149) Join a group, start a hobby, give your mind a break from the grind and get out there and enjoy time together with others. 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Sit down and think about what your interests are. Are there any groups, communities, or hobbies you could join/start that are related to your interests?

2. Do you have any friends or family members who you think would enjoy joining you?

3. Commit to something. Join the group, start the hobby. Either by yourself, or with a friend. Either way you will be getting out there and spending time with others.

4. Start small, commit to it, be consistent, have fun, and grow. 

PRO TIP: It is so easy to tell yourself you don’t have time for this. It is easy to focus on work or doing things on your own to relax. Get out of this habit once a week and you will be amazed at how much energy this gives you. Pry yourself away from work, away from the comfortable couch, and get out there and hang out with others, while doing something you enjoy.  

* People who belong to a community live longer, experience less stress, and are more likely to say their lives are meaningful. (Headlee, 141)

** Choose an activity or a group that is full of people that will help you grow as a person. We grow together, so join a community that will help you grow the way you want to.

*** Who do you really enjoy spending time with? Ask them if they want to join you in the new activity, community, or hobby. 

Dessert Quote: 

“​​Rather than expecting an ironclad answer to: Who do I really want to become? Ask smaller questions that can actually be tested. Which among my various possible selves should I start to explore now? How can I do that? Be a flirt with your possible selves. Rather than a grand plan, find experiments that can be undertaken quickly. Test and learn, not plan and implement.” — David Epstein “Range” p. 163

Now we want to hear from YOU! Please let us know what you think of today’s newsletter, and send us an example of how you applied the health recipe to your life! We would love to share how you introduced this week’s recipe into your life’s unique menu. Thanks and have a great Sunday!

Sources:

Learn more about tackling life’s obstacles:

Holiday, R. (2014). The obstacle is the way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph. Penguin.

Learn more about the health benefits of being together with others:

Headlee, C. (2020). Do nothing: Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing and Underliving. Hachette UK.

Learn more about the benefits of being a generalist instead of a specialist:
Epstein, D. (2019). Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. Pan Macmillan.