Demons Hate Fresh Air

The demon’s hate fresh air - Austin Kleon

No matter what you do for a living, life can be filled with stress. Some days are better than others, and some seasons are over the top FILLED to the brim with it. My season has been an odd teeter totter of very high and very low stress. Each day brings something completely different. But two things are certain for me on this topic:

This too shall pass. Everything in life is built around seasons. And no matter what season you are in, the next one is just around the corner.
Austin Kleon is right…. Stress and Mental demons hate fresh air. So, when you are feeling stressed the best thing to do is change your environment and add some fresh air.

The level of stress you are facing will always dictate the remedy. Sometimes a quick walk around the block to defuse an argument is just enough and sometimes a weekend in the mountains with limited digital connection is just what the doctor ordered.

“We travel initially to lose ourselves, and we travel next to find ourselves” - Pico Iyer

Changing your environment can have a profound impact on your mental health and can help you dislodge what is no longer serving you. So, if you are in a rut, feeling stuck, or stressed out of your mind, go out an explore the awe of our world, even if it’s just staring up at a clear night’s sky.

But get outside do and something different… what you discover will most certainly surprise you.

Notes that Resonated:

Your success is always defined by how well you help people
Persuasion is about authentically connecting with people
If you want to win… Start showing up. Then do it again, again and again…
Nothing can take the place of perseverance
People of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them, they went out and happened to things. American Aviator Elinor Smith
The average American spends around 3-7 hours a day checking email and opens email around 11 times per hour (seriously, this is not productive no matter who you are)
“Doing something unimportant well, doesn’t make it important” - Tim Ferris
Attention doesn’t scale. - Ozan Varol
Extraordinary people ignore the minutia and focus on the highly important
Decide what’s highly important and be relentless about making it the priority
Life is selection,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. “The work of the gardener is simply to destroy this weed, or that shrub, or that tree, & leave this other to grow.”
What weeds do you need to kill to leave room for other things to grow?
Time is always there until it’s not