Since this newsletter concerns embracing struggle, I thought it would be helpful to explore what constitutes productive struggle and what constitutes unhealthy struggle. Most people would say that embracing struggle seems like a very negative and pessimistic practice and philosophy to introduce into our lives. I actually think it’s the opposite. There are a plethora of “inspirational” quotes that circulate the Wild West of the Internet intended to motivate people or to make people feel better about their choices and decisions. These quotes do not motivate me. They make me throw up in my mouth. See an example of these below.

The reasons quotes like the above inhibit such a visceral reaction in me is because they are not helpful. “Live, Laugh, Love?” Live is a waste of breath to even include in an “inspirational” quote. Of course we want to laugh and love, very few of us require a reminder on our home walls making sure we remember to laugh and love today. Which brings me to the ultimate reason why I hate these quotes. None of them contain any viable advice that is useful in the long run. “Love today?” But what if I don’t love today today? What if I’m feeling depressed or anxious or can’t be bothered getting out of bed? That’s where these quotes fall drastically short, they are not helpful themajority of the time. If I felt motivated and happy every time I worked out, I wouldn’t workout. However, I can tell you that there are no exceptions to thetimes in which I have felt motivated and happy after a workout. That’s thepoint.

It’s not about making people feel better with a quote, it’s about showing people how to feel better.

We wonder why we don’t feel motivated to get out of bed in the morning or to go outside into the cold for a run. We don’t feel motivated to do these things because our brains are telling us not to; “stay in your warm, safe bed,” “conserve energy and eat your body weight in salt and sugar.” Thus, this is why I hate cliched “inspirational” quotes.
Back to embracing struggle. Embracing struggle is a realistic approach and mindset to achieving more. A quote is not going to solve your problems but a mindset could. Our minds want us to be comfortable. But that’s theopposite of progress. Who ever achieved anything extraordinary when they were comfortable? That’s why striving for happiness and comfort is an unworthy pursuit because happiness comes and goes without any control from you. However if we just strive to struggle more, we trick our brains into being fulfilled. It just takes some struggle to produce it. We cannot make our minds feel better with our minds, we must trick our minds with our body. We cannot think our way out of a bad mood, but we can undertake some struggle to counter negative emotions.
So what is productive struggle? Productive struggle is anything that is painful, laborious or a struggle. It could be physical; something that gets your blood pumping and that involves getting out of bed and building up a sweat. Or it could be mental; sitting for ten minutes without your phone or any other distractions and just being within yourself. Writing a weekly newsletter surrounding struggle is also a good example. The most important aspect of productive struggle is that it has to be both a struggle before and whilst you carry the activity out and it has to produce a healthy emotion or result afterwards. For example, going for a run is a struggle. You have to get out of bed, put on your running gear and go outside into the cold and force your body to move, force your heart to beat faster and force your breath to get shallower. However, running and being outside is extremely healthy and productive for your body and mind. You will also definitely feel better when you have finished. It is also possible to enjoy the act of running but it is still a struggle whether or not you enjoy it. Don’t be afraid of lowering the bar for yourself; making your bed can be a struggle but it might just start a ripple of productive activities.
There is also unproductive struggle however that you should be aware of. Unproductive struggle is any activity that is painful or a struggle before or during as well as afterwards. For example, if you try out a new activity like boxing or spin classes, but you feel extremely anxious during and you don’t get any positive feeling afterwards, then perhaps that is unproductive struggle and you should pick a different class. The point is that in order for struggle to be productive and healthy, it has to produce productive and healthy results in either or both your body and mind. If it doesn’t, ditch it.
To sum up, the majority of “inspirational” quotes that circulate the internet are unhelpful and ineffective. The embrace of struggle is a mindset and philosophy that teaches us how to be productive, motivated and fulfilled in the long-term. The difference between productive/healthy and unproductive/unhealthy struggle is that healthy struggle must produce positive benefits to your mind or body and produce a positive emotion once the activity in question has been completed. So there you have it. What are you waiting for? Get up and get struggling! Actually, read the rest of this newsletter then get up and get struggling.

Keep on Struggling,

Gregor

Productivity Method I Use Obsessively - The Bullet Journal Method

I first read Ryder Carroll’s book The Bullet Journal Method a few years ago and it has made me more organised and productive. It’s a method of planning that doesn’t take up your whole day so it’s not procrastinating productivity in which planning a day takes up more time than what you’re planning on doing. I plan my months and weeks using this method and it takes me no longer than fifteen minutes to do so and it helps me to stay on top of high-priority tasks as well as any events, podcast recordings or workouts that I want to do. Here is a short description of Ryder’s book: “Meet The Bullet Journal Method, the mindfulness practice disguised as a productivity system. In his internationally best-selling book, Ryder Carroll, creator of the Bullet Journal, explores what it means to live an intentional life, one that's both productive and meaningful. Whether you’ve used a Bullet Journal for years or have never seen one before, The Bullet Journal Method will help you go from passenger to pilot of your own life.”

You can buy the book below.

BUY HERE

Article I’m Re-Reading

The Tail End is an unlikely masterpiece by Tim Urban (pictured) given its fun and graphic style but this article packs a deep philosophical punch. I mentioned it on my most recent In Context Episode with Gavin Oattes. It basically outlines, in graphic form, how short life is and how grateful we must be for all aspects of it. We actually spend such little time with the people we love the most and the graphics in this article portray that beautifully. Even more sad (just kidding) is how many more pizzas we’re likely to eat from now until we die. I think one of the main morals of this article is that we should appreciate every minute of our lives because life can feel short sometimes and it’s the people we love and spend time with that we will cherish, not new cars, handbags or phones. Life can be hard, but it’s the people you love that make it worth every minute.

Read the article below

READ HERE

Video I Love - Good by Jocko Willink

This is something on the internet that actually ismotivating and helpful. Jocko Willink is a retired U.S. Navy Seal and ultimate badass. His social media following is huge mostly because the majority of uploads are just images of his watch at 4:00 AM as that’s when he wakes up to start the day. He speaks about how he deals with apparent failures and setbacks simply by using the word “good.” It’s an excellent and simple strategy for viewing failures; “something good will come of this, I just have to look for it.”

Watch this below.

WATCH HERE

Practice I Use - Quote Journalling on Evernote

Do you ever read a page or a sentence of a book that resonates with you and you say to yourself “I should remember that” but you never do? Well that’s why I journal all the quotes that have resonated with me in an app called Evernote. Whenever I read something that hits me more so than the rest of the page or book, I either note it down on the page or fold down a corner of the page to come back to later. Then when I have five minutes to spare, I take a picture of the quote and upload it to Evernote. I give each a title and hashtag them with specific topics in case I need a specific type of quote. For example I have lots concerning failure and lots of quotes for motivation. Now I have hundreds of the best quotes tailored to me on hand should I need them…like now, I need a quote to share with you guys below.

Download Evernote Below.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Quote to Ponder

Robert Rodriguez recounted a conversation with his son, who was extremely upset:

”I said, ‘I’m going to tell you a secret in life: You never have to be upset about anything. Everything is for a purpose. You just failed your driver’s test, and you’re all pissed off. I couldn’t be happier. I’d rather you fail with a teacher and take it 100 more times than go fail in front of a cop, or make that same mistake and hit somebody…I can’t even think of a negative reason why you failing that test is a bad thing. It’s really how you look at it, and the way you look at it is so important. If you can have a positive attitude, look at it, and say, “Let me see, what can I learn from this?…Why would you ever get upset about anything?’ And he said, ‘Wow. That makes so much sense.’ You’re upset because something didn’t go according to plan? It might be for a good reason.” - Robert Rodriguez

References

Image Credit (Live, Laugh, Love) - Refinery29