💎 Friday Gems #15 (Big Rocks, Fear-Based Motivation, Hardiness)

Three ideas to help you unleash your potential!

Big Announcment: We have reached 100! 🎉

Before I get to this week’s gems I wanted share some great news. We’ve passed the 100 subscriber mark thanks to each and every one of you! Thank you for being a big part of the Low Fidelity community. I couldn’t have done this without you. It took three years to get here with a lot of ups and downs, stops and starts, pausing and going, blood, sweat, and tears but we made it!

I will write more about this in the next issue but I wanted to share a graph of the journey to 100 which was paved with many inner obstacles.

Along the way I stopped many times because of the stories I was telling myself such as I wasn’t good or thinking why would anyone want to read what I write, it really got to my head. Instead of focusing on becoming a better writer I wasted too much time in my head playing out the negative thoughts that kept me down.

The one thing that has kept me going all this time is hearing from you about how my words have helped when you needed it the most. Also, your support along the way cheering me on to keep going especially when I felt down and got off track, your support helped me get back on track.

I started Low Fidelity to help creatives achieve their potential and will keep pushing forward to help as many people because life is too short to be held back by our inner struggles.

Thank you for your support and being a part of this journey. 💜

You rock!

A play by play of how this three year journey went down. What was the lesson? Get out of your head and the stories we tell ourselves and take action towards your goals!

On to the gems!

💎 Big Rocks in first

It's easy to fall into the trap of reading emails and scrolling social media feeds first thing in the morning. By the time we know it, the day has passed by, and we haven't worked on the things we wanted to. This is where the idea of working on your big rocks first concept comes in.

Big rocks are the activities, hobbies, things that make you feel alive, things you want to get better at. It can be anything that gets you closer to your goals.

By tackling your big rocks first during the day, you can fit in the other activities and tasks that may be necessary, but they won't move you toward your goals.

Although I recently started using this approach by identifying the big rocks I need to focus on each morning, I have noticed that it is helping me focus on the important things I want to get done. When I do get distracted and suddenly remember I should have been working on the big rocks, I can refocus and get back on track.

Try it out, and let me know how it goes for you.

Source: The Art of Manliness - YouTube

💎 A Fear-Based Fitness Plan

Finding the motivation to achieve your fitness goals can come in different forms, such as making your goal public, using rewards, or joining a group. There is another form of motivation that is powerful which is fear. Using fear to motivate ourselves can help get us out of a rut and shake us into taking action.

Setting goals that scare you can come in handy, depending on the situation. For example, the last month was terrible for my running. I got sick and had a lingering cough that caused me to stop running. Now that I have slowly started running back again, I need a jolt to help me refocus and get back on to my running plan.

I set a goal that scares me.

I mean, just thinking about it makes me shudder.

My knees shake as I imagine what is coming up.

The result of this is that I have been sticking to my training plan, and I now have the motivation to work harder instead of finding excuses to skip training sessions.

Let me know if you already follow a plan like this or will try it out. I would love to learn about your experience.

Source: Brendan Leonard - YouTube

💎 Regulating Your Nervous System with Hardiness

You know those days when you just feel out of whack? When you're feeling anxious or panicking because of thoughts, events, or a situation you may be in. In other words, when your nervous system is dysregulated.

How can we keep from letting a situation get the best of us and keep from falling into some story that we create that doesn't serve us?

We can approach moments like these with intention, care, and a new concept I learned from this article which is hardiness.

Hardiness is a mindset and a practice that has three crucial dimensions:

• Commitment - Accept a situation as it is. Resist the temptation to move away from it.

• Control - Figure out what you can control in the situation, be flexible and then take thoughtful action.

• Challenge - See the situation as a learning opportunity and growth.

Hardiness is a mindset that can help keep our nervous system regulated because it helps increase our energy, and meaning of life, our fulfillment deepens our relationships, and overall satisfaction and well-being.

Source: The Growth Equation

Let me know in the comments if any of the gems resonate with you. I always love hearing from you.💜

Thanks for reading, and have a fantastic weekend!

Rizwan