☠️ Meaningful Struggle & Your Life from a Distance


Hello Friends,

πŸƒβ€β™€οΈLet's get unstuck together!

Let's dive into three ideas to help you start scripting your best life.


IDEA #1: Embracing Space and Distance

THE INSIGHT: Giving yourself grace to take a breather isn't just great for you physically. It gives you the opportunity to do some psychological distancing.

β€œCrying helps me slow down and obsess over the weight of life’s problems.” β€” Sadness, Inside Out Movie (2015)
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"Sometimes you need to press pause to let everything sink in."
β€” Sebastian Vettel, German Race Car Champion
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"It's not so much knowing when to speak, when to pause."
β€” Jack Benny, American Comedian

TRY THIS: Grow your Trust in yourself

When you have to make a decision in a high stakes situation, try these techniques:

Take distance from the situation and...

  1. Become a neutral observer
  2. Imagine your future self thinking about the decision you are inclined to make
  3. Look at the situation from a broader view (i.e. if you deciding on whether to pursue a part-time MBA now, imagine your life journey as a whole, how will pursuing that fit into your overall life plan?)

Try them to see if you become more confident and empowered about the decisions you make.


IDEA #2: Remember, you must die

THE INSIGHT: Is culture's obsession with longevity a signal of its death-denial or death-phobic nature?

Death doesn't have to be shrouded in grief, regret and loss.

It can be a celebration of one's life.

How can we use this inevitable end to live a good life?

"Most men and women die intellectually at 25, but are not buried until 60."
β€” G.E. Marchand, Early 20th Century Orator
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β€œIt is not death that a man should fear, but rather he should fear never beginning to live.”
β€” Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor & Stoic Philosopher
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"The conquest of the fear of death is the recovery of life's joy. One can experience an unconditional affirmation of life only when one has accepted death, not as contrary to life but as an aspect of life."
β€” Joseph Campbell, American Writer

TRY THIS: The Eulogy of your Dreams

Write a tribute to yourself. Imagine sitting at your own funeral and hearing this tribute. What would you like to have heard about yourself?

You may want to include:

  • Things that make you uniquely you
  • Your attitude towards life and living
  • How you have related to your family and friends
  • Memorable experiences and relationships that you treasure greatly
  • Your own brand of legacy - what you feel is important for your remaining living loved ones to know

After you've written it, do a life audit to see if what you wrote is analogous with the way you are currently living.

You have the power to make the necessary shifts to get yourself there.


IDEA #3: The Comfort Zone is NOT the Enemy. Meaningless Struggle is.

THE INSIGHT: Culture encourages us to get out of our comfort zone in order to grow, achieve and challenge ourselves. This encouragement stems from the belief that staying there leads to complacency, stagnation and a smaller world view.

Rather than focusing on getting out of the comfort zone to grow, try shifting the focus on what is meaningful to you. When you do, you might find things you're willing to apply greater than average effort on. Even if struggle is imminent, you'll persist because it is meaningful to you.

"Most everything that you want is just outside your comfort zone."
β€” Jack Canfield, American Author & Motivational Speaker
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β€œThe further you get away from yourself, the more challenging it is. Not to be in your comfort zone is great fun.”
― Benedict Cumberbatch, British Actor

TRY THIS: Select a few (Meaningful) Struggles

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Goals to accomplish by 31 Dec 2025

1) Strength Training 20 minutes x 3 times / week

2) Decluttering my wardrobe

🎨

Possible Struggles & Challenges

1) Lack of discipline & motivation

2) Lack of time and energy + hoarder spirit

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Will my effort be meaningful to me?

1) Yes, it will reduce my back aches

2) No, it's just a nice to do but not necessary


The Humble Cupcake

Big money can be earned from humble concepts.

Think about that nondescript cafe selling pastries and coffee, expanding beyond their first kiosk to multiple locations locally and overseas.

Product definitely matters but strategy and execution are just as important.

The journey of Candace Nelson shows us exactly how she started with cupcakes and ended up as a Shark on Shark Tank.


THIS MONTH'S SCRIPT NOTES

  • What are some decisions you've made that have been driven by fear?
    • Are you able to make those decisions from a more positive emotion?

Script your Life

Every fortnightly issue takes a founder communication situation β€” submitted by a reader β€” and breaks it down through three lenses: the social script, the inner script, and what to actually say. Plus a pop culture parallel you probably didn't see coming.

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