Tag: flow

Stuck in the Clouds: On the Danger of Asking Why and How To Overcome Morning Overwhelm

Stuck in the Clouds: On the Danger of Asking Why and How To Overcome Morning Overwhelm

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Hello lovely readers and welcome back to my high-flying newsletter! The only newsletter that believes you shouldn’t peel onions…

Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others (that you should read), and 1 joke that’s so bad, it’s good!

Let’s begin!

3 Thoughts:

1) Asking why we are the way we are is like peeling an onion. Under the first layer there might be an important insight. But after that it’s just more onion. You have to be very careful not to keep peeling in a desperate attempt to find some cosmic truth that doesn’t exist. – click to tweet

2) The best way to increase focus is to eliminate distractions. The second best way to increase focus is to compartmentalise your life – to be clear about what you’re suppose to be doing and when. This gives us the best chance to engage in deep work – to harness those coveted flow states.

3)  5 ways to overcome morning overwhelm:

  1. Develop an internal voice that says I can.
  2. Slow things down by meditating.
  3. Lock your phone in a draw.
  4. Remind yourself why you’re doing what you are.
  5. Tackle the most pressing task first.

2 Quotes:

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”

— Edward J. Stieglitz

“It is not that we have a short time to live. It is that we waste a lot of it. . . . People are frugal in guarding their personal property, but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy.”

— Seneca

1 Joke 

If you’re American when you go in the bathroom… and American when you come out, what are you in the bathroom?

European!

For more insightful quotes you should probably ignore you can follow me on twitter here.

You can also sign up for my Stuck in the Clouds newsletter here and receive my free ebook: 66 insights for commanding life. 

Tuesday’s Top Tip

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Don’t eat yellow snow.

No. Nope.

Chase your dreams?

Naaah. Too trite.

Hmmmmm…

Forcing it…

Maybe don’t?

Don’t force it. 

Here we go. 

Don’t force life. 

You shouldn’t have to! There should be, I believe, a certain flow to it. That comes from letting go a little (or a lot). It comes from letting the river carry you down stream.

That’s how you get the most enjoyment from life.

Sure there are occasions where you need to to give yourself a slap in the face, a freezing cold shower or a motivational speech in front of the mirror (What… You don’t do that?), but that should simply be to get things off the ground. 

Afterwards things should come about somewhat naturally. I believe this comes from not giving a f*** so much. I believe it comes from trusting your gut. Following your intuition. Whatever it is you want to call it. 

If you happen to find that everything is a massive struggle – that everything feels like one big drag, that’s probably a good sign that you’ve been forcing life. It’s a sign you’re burnt out (or depressed). 

Let’s take writing as an example. If you find yourself in a spiral trying to rewrite a certain bastard post several hundred times, you need to walk away and do something else. 

Meditate. Go for a walk. Go for a w… walk (yeah I already said that). Whatever it is. Laugh. Play. Enjoy. Then come back when you’re itching to do so.

We both know that the best stuff you and I write are rarely the blog posts we’ve slaved over but the ones that came about naturally. From the heart (and with a glass of red wine.) 

Live and let go. There is always tomorrow. Or maybe there isn’t! Either way it’s probably best to enjoy today as your first order of business. 

Is this good advice? No idea. Don’t really care. I’m winging it. I’m enjoying it. Along with this lovely glass of vino. That’s good enough for me. 

Till next weeks piece of useful advice…

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