Today kicks off my 7-day countdown to my birthday! To say I am excited is an understatement. Not only have I found that my life continues to get better as the years pass, BUT this summer has been one for the books! I am feeling more rejuvenated, aligned and CLEAR than I have in years. AND I have been listening to and reading all the things.
I have listened to more audiobooks and podcasts than I have in about five years – since my time in the U.K. And to coincide with this, I have been journaling and reflecting more – assessing if and where what I am learning fits in this season of my life.
Below if my list of 45. These are notes I’ve jotted down while listening to podcasts and audiobooks this summer. Because I am typically taking notes on the go, I did not associate the quote or note with the specific work. However, I hope you do still find value in the nuggets, with limited context and no direct references. Enjoy!
1. On making life decisions: “Once I made a decision I never thought about it again.” -Michael Jordan
2. On healthy food choices: “If I don’t buy it, I don’t try it.”
3. You can’t create a new vision of yourself while dragging the old version behind you.
4. From the movie They Cloned Tyrone: #IKilledMyClone #DeathToTheOldMe
1. Neurons that fire together wire together
2. The brain is wired for repetition … comfort & predictability.
3. We’re wired to avoid pain, seek pleasure and follow the path of least resistance.
4. Transform your meals into an offering to the temple of YOUR soul.
5. 100% is better than 99% (do not leave room for uncertainty, indecisiveness or waffling).
6. “My body’s natural state is to be in motion, not to be still.”
7. Discipline is hard but habit is powerful.
8. Emotions need motion.
9. Are you trying to change or trying to transform?
10. It’s a lifestyle for a LIFETIME.
11. Instead of WHAT do I want to achieve/accomplish, consider WHO I want to become.
12. Atomic Habits: make them obvious, easy, attractive and satisfying.
13. Join groups where you desired behavior is the normal behavior.
14. When you find an addiction, don’t be ashamed … when you heal an addiction you’re doing your deepest spiritual work that you can on this earth.
15. Humans are emotionally contagious.
16. The most powerful reward is relational.
17. Connectedness counters the pull of addictive behaviors.
18. SWAP: Say what/how you’re feeling; wait; address the feeling (food only satisfies/makes us feel better for 3 minutes); and pursue ANOTHER activity.
19. 5-5-5-5-5:: 5 people I can call, 5 places I can relax or calm down; 5 things I can do; 5 things I can say to myself; 5 ways I can distract myself.
20. Trauma is not what happened to you but what happened inside you.
21. Addiction is an attempt to solve a problem.
22. Feel it before you feed it.
23. “Physical fitness is a sign of discipline” – Janina Simmons
24. “CONSISTENTLY stay in your lane!” -Janina Simmons
25. Preparation trumps motivation.
26. Stressed is DESSERTS spelled backwards.
27. Moderation: drip-feeding the addiction
28. Doing the thing you need to do means doing the thing you want to do.
29. We imitate the habits of the close, the many and the powerful.
30. Heal your lifestyle.
31. Inspiration = in spirit
32. Enthusiasm = in God
33. Capitalize on the fresh start affect.
34. If it’s not from the ground I put it down. – Dr. Bobby Price
35. A finish line to be crossed versus a lifestyle to be lived.
36. Habits are the foundation for mastery.
37. FEAR: Finally exiting average reality
38. Nothing happens in a comfortable space except sleep.
39. Collective effervescence: The benefits of collective, joyful experiences
40. Beneficial presence – Michael Bernard Beckwith
41. “When you choose the benefits of an action, you also choose the drawbacks. If you want to be an author, you can’t only choose the finished novel and book signings. You are also choosing months of lonely typing. If you want to be a bodybuilder, you can’t only choose the fit body and attention. You are also choosing the boring meals and calorie counting. You have to want the lifestyle, not just the outcomes. Otherwise, it doesn’t make any sense being jealous. The results of success are usually public and highly visible, but the process behind success is often private and hidden from view. It’s easy to want the public rewards, but also have to want the hidden costs.”
42. “If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; if I can ease one life the aching, or cool one pain, or help one fainting robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.” – Emily Dickinson
43. Change your friends OR change your friends!
44. We do not rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our habits.
45. “The purpose of my day is letting go of my blockages and evolving spiritually.”