Brainjour

Think Better

Shortcuts

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why smoking and drinking are shortcuts

Do the things you love hurt you, or help you?

This is a question everyone needs to ask themselves at some point. Sometimes the things we love the most don’t return the favor.

Take alcohol for example. I’ve been sober for 122 days due to a stomach issue, and it’s been eye-opening, to say the least. It’s led me to a point of reflection, and to really ask myself – why do I drink?

I’ve figured it out, in three words:

It’s a shortcut.

Alcohol is for when you want everything immediately. Connection, laughter, fun, relaxation, kindness, romance. We all use it in this way, and there’s nothing wrong with that if your relationship with alcohol is reciprocal.

For many though, the relationship is one-sided. Alcohol takes more than it gives.

Unfortunately, this is true for most shortcuts. Shortcuts almost always come back to bite you in the ass.

One of my biggest personal challenges has always been overcoming boredom. In my early twenties, I looked to substances like tobacco and alcohol to bring some excitement into my life. In quiet moments in my car or in my dorm room, I’d turn to stimulus for help. This shortcut came back to bite me hard.

It’s at the point where our shortcut’s become the destination that we really start to get worried. When you’re no longer drinking to build connections and are actively avoiding people in order to drink, the shortcut has officially turned sour. I found the same thing happening with tobacco. It quickly became something I needed, that I would avoid other people in order to do, as opposed to a way to kill boredom. Sneaking off to use tobacco meant that the shortcut had won. It had become the destination.

Fortunately for me though, I’ve battled my way out of a bad situation. As of yesterday, I’m officially one-year tobacco-free. I made the decision to quit after seeing bad things happen to people I care about and realizing that my shortcut had become the destination. It’s honestly the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and I’m proud to say I’m no longer taking any shortcuts in my life.

When it comes to drinking, I’m not giving it up forever. When I’m healthy again, I’ll definitely enjoy a beer or a whiskey.

One thing is for sure though – I’m not going to use alcohol as a shortcut anymore. In the long term, shortcuts lead to too many bad things. If there’s one thing I’ve proven to myself, it’s that I can have fun and love my life without copious amounts of alcohol every weekend. There are a lot of benefits that come from being sober, and I intend to keep enjoying those benefits.

No more shortcuts.

The Olympic Games Are Now

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epictetus quote the olympics

It’s easy to put things off. To indulge. To pile everything on the plate of your future self.

I’ve been working hard to increase my willpower this month, and equally as important, my won’t power. I’m reading The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal, which I’ll write more about in the future when I finish the book. For now, I wanted to write about a quote I read from Epictetus a few years ago. It’s helped me summon willpower this month on several occasions.

“And whenever you encounter anything that is difficult or pleasurable, or highly or lowly regarded, remember that the contest is now: you are at the Olympic Games, you cannot wait any longer, and that your progress is wrecked or preserved by a single day and a single event. That is how Socrates fulfilled himself by attending to nothing except reason in everything he encountered.”

It reminds me how important it is to live in the present moment. We can so easily dump that next workout, next chapter we’re writing, or next sales opportunity onto our future selves, that we need a strategy in place to tackle things here and now. At least, I do. Reminding myself you are at the Olympic Games has come in very handy. I’m currently exploring other ways to help me stay in the moment – meditating, setting triggers, and journaling has all helped. Reading from the stoics and collecting gems like the quote above in an Evernote notebook has helped my decision making immensely.

Create More, Consume Less

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create more consume less

I first stumbled across some life-changing advice back in 2015.

I had just moved to a new country, started a business, and altogether was biting off a lot. Stress, anxiety, and burnout were all creeping into my life.

It was around the new year, and I’d set the lofty goal of reading 40 books for the year. I’m a voracious reader and on top of loving a good book, I was also facing a lot of alone time – making friends when you move 3,000 miles across North America takes time. On top of reading 40 books, I also felt like it was time to become more informed about current events in my new home country. My second goal for the year was to read three New York Times articles every day. Finally, I’d just discovered the joy of watching TED talks, especially on topics I knew nothing about – and decided to make watching one talk a day goal number three.

Those goals added up to a lot of consuming.

6 months into my goal, I was really enjoying it. I felt like I was preparing for a test that was never coming, but in a strange way, it felt like the right thing to be doing with my spare time.

Then I came across an article that changed my life. The life-changing advice was right there in the title.

Create more, consume less.

The article, from The Minimalists, highlights the void that consuming leaves us with.

Being The Minimalists, the article was mostly about consuming products, material possessions, food, and other traditional things that come to mind when the word “consumption” comes up. But the article struck a different chord with me.

What if, instead of consuming so much information – I decided to fill my own creative void?

I’d written many travel blogs and a few articles for my business, but I really hadn’t taken the plunge into daily creating. I had no time – I was too busy consuming.

That day, I decided to create more and consume less.

Instead of reading three New York Times articles a day, I started writing for my personal and company blog every day. Instead of watching a TED Talk, I put myself in front of the camera. Instead of reading 40 books a year, I cut the number in half and invested more time into drawing, cooking, journaling, podcasting, coding, photography, and even starting a book club to share ideas about the books I was reading.

Making this switch has changed my life. It’s reopened a creative bug in me that has helped me flourish in both my personal life and in my career. There’s nothing more gratifying than expressing your ideas – consuming information doesn’t come close.

If you’re in a rut or feel like you’re experiencing a creative void, take this advice.

Create more, consume less.

Doubt Kills More Dreams Than Failure Ever Will

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doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will

I saw this post on LinkedIn and loved it. All credit goes to the poster (assuming he wrote it) Delwyn Andrews Jr.
[1832] – lost his job

[1833] – failed in his business

[1835] – lost his sweetheart

[1836]- suffered nervous breakdown

[1838]- defeated in his run for Illinois speaker

[1843]- defeated in the run for Congress

[1856] – defeated for US Senate

[1858] – defeated for the nomination of Vice President

[1860] – Abraham Lincoln elected as the President of America, and went on to become one of the most famous presidents in the history.
Failure is never permanent. Always, always, move forward.