do it for your future Self | vol. 27
Hey there,
By now hopefully you know the 'S' in PRST stands for "Self". Without knowing your true Self, expressing it, and taking care of your physical Self, your Pursuit will most likely come up short. Breaking out of the box you've been placed in, pursuing the life you desire, and doing things others will tell you that you can't will require you to be at your best on all levels.
Only you know which Self needs the most attention or which should be addressed first. I don't think one is more important than the others and we are at our best when they are all in alignment--I can assure you when your physical, mental, and emotional Selves are in harmony, it is magical.
Life seems to move a little slower allowing you to take in more. Productivity sky rockets allowing your to accomplish more than you have in the past. Energy levels are no longer a detractor from making the most of each day. Nature seems to communicate with you more than ever. And happiness and fulfillment are at all time highs. Everything just seems to fall into place in the ways you'd like them to.
No cap.
And I want you to find this harmony in your life--it will be important for the progress of your Pursuit.
Physical Self
Many of us have physical goals we are working towards. For me I really began to focus on my physical Self last year when I decided to step away from the startup I was working at. I had a tough conversation with my CEO and set the stage to leave in the spring of this year and when I left I was at my heaviest, wasn't sleeping well, nutrition was less the ideal, and my workouts were non-existent. There were multiple reasons for leaving the company and freeing up my calendar and at the top of the list was getting back to taking care of myself.
Within the last couple of months I've really hit my stride when it comes to taking care of my physical Self. I've lost 20 pounds since February and I anticipate the next time I step on the scale (I only weigh myself every couple of weeks) I'll finally be below 200 (I was 200.4 earlier this week). I'm happy to share what I've been doing--just shoot me a message but my exercise routine and nutrition is not the purpose of today's writing.
I want to share how I changed the way I looked at my workouts and nutrition that led to more consistency with all of the important contributors to a healthy physical life.
In the past when I was making changes to my nutrition or workouts, I was making the change for myself in that moment. Because I was focusing on the present version of myself, it was easy to fall out of my routine or not stick with my diet because I could always start anew the next day or following week. I had plenty of time to make the changes I was looking for--time on my side. I'm not proud of it but in the past I was too generous with myself. I'd give myself a pass because I was tired and needed to prioritize rest. Or I'd skip a workout because I felt guilty coming home and heading downstairs to our home gym. I'd skip meals because not eating was better than eating Five Guys, which is conveniently right across the street from my office. I had plenty of reasonable excuses to keep me from taking care of my physical Self.
The truth is I wasn't making taking care of my physical Self a priority. I was talking the talk but not walking the walk.
Turning 40
I don't get too excited about birthdays but there was something special about turning 40 this year. As I celebrated my birthday I felt more excited about the next decade than I was about the previous and my 30's were great to me. I had greater alignment in my life than ever and with a freed up calendar I found myself with enough space to finally prioritize my physical Self.
The first few months of my new routine were going well--definitely better than the previous year but it wasn't until I watched a podcast with Rich Roll and Dr. Peter Attia. I shared the episode in a previous episode of The Weekly PRST. In this particular episode Dr. Attia discusses his goal of winning a decathlon as a centenarian and something he said hit me hard...
Dr. Attia explained that all of his training was not for the present version of himself but for the 90 year old Dr. Peter Attia. He was playing the long game and trying to approach his living today to give him the best chance to be healthy enough to compete in and win a decathlon when he is in his 90's.
I don't have goals of competing in any demanding fitness events when I'm in my 90's but I do want to be in great shape when I'm in my 60's, 70's, and 80's. I know it is much easier to get in great shape and fine-tune my habits NOW than trying to make changes in the future and reverse any health or fitness weaknesses in the future. I realized it would never be easier to lose weight and get myself back into shape that makes me feel good...because if I look good (to me), I'll feel good, and I'll be good.
And that was it.
That was the change in perspective I needed to get drop the excuses and prioritize taking care of my physical Self. All of my Self work is for my future Self and the side effect is my present Self looks better than ever, feels better than ever, and has found more alignment than ever.
So, if you find yourself struggling to stick with a your health routine, shift your perspective to making your future Self the version you want to be. Your present Self will thank you.
Let's get to The PRST...
Creative Elements Podcast: How To Live As A Creator: Focus Like a Monomaniac with Derick Sivers
Last week I highlighted a TED Talk that encouraged us to multi-task in slow motion. This week on Jay Clouse (who's been mentioned in a previous Weekly PRST) Creative Elements Podcast, Derek Sivers takes to the other end of the spectrum and encourages us to focus on one thing at a time and then move on to the next thing--to not multi-task. His analogy of the donkey who finds himself halfway between food and water is great.
I have a feeling Derek will one day be on an episode of On Our PRST. He's been hitting the podcast circuit hard lately and I want to wait to catch him when he has some new things to say.
Since I don't believe in absolutes I think the answer for some people is to multi-task in slow motion and for others it is to be a monomaniac; this could even be applied to certain chapters of our Pursuit. One chapter may require you to be a monomaniac and the next might need you to multi-task.
how do you feel?
Psyche: Asking One Simple Question Can Entirely Change How You Feel Who knew a simple questions could yield so much insight, if answered properly. What question is that? Well, it's simply "how do you (I) feel?" You'll have to read the article to find out why and how you should answer the question to gain the most insight to how you are really doing.
"When labelling positive emotions, the type of words you use also matters. Instead of using generic, all-purpose words such as ‘happy’, it is more effective to use specific positive-emotion words such as ‘joyous’, ‘amused’ or ‘content’. Research has shown that people who label their positive emotional experiences with these more specific words also tend to be able to cope better with stress. The reason is that labelling positive emotional experiences with more specific words provides a better window into identifying and noticing those experiences. On the flip side, when people have difficulty identifying and labelling their emotional experiences, this can lead to problems."
PRST goes crypto
This week the very first PRST NFTs were sent to the beta Collective participants. The NFTs will be their tickets to future events that are exclusive to NFT holders, special content, and even merchandise. Every future Collective will have a unique NFT for participants who complete the six week cohort. There will be other opportunities to earn PRST NFTs beyond The Collective. I wrote more about the NFT collection and other progress being made with PRST over on Mirror.xyz, which is a blockchain hosting site (think WordPress but built on-chain).
early access: Our PRST with Ryan Russell
On Our PRST with Ryan Russell will drop to the public on Tuesday but you get early access to the unlisted YouTube version of the podcast. Please leave a comment (and a like) letting Ryan know what the episode meant to you and what, if anything, you are going to be changing in your life as a result of his message. I hope to surprise him with a bunch of positive comments and letting him know how much he inspired others.
something to meditate on...
Keep Pursuing,
JC
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