I am Elena - the founder and CEO of Selftalk and here I am writing about the practice and science of emotional agility! It's raw, it's personal and totally subjective!
Stress made me "lazy" to adapt new habits - Selftalk Newsletter #15
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I failed at successfully adopting new habits for 10+ years. And all this time, deep inside I thought I was just lazy. But actually, I was just very stressed. How did I understand that? I left my parents' house when I was 17, and I was in a constant rush TO MAKE IT IN LIFE. So that I could feel at peace with myself. I did 2 bachelor's degrees, moved between 4 countries 10 times, tried to start my own business multiple times, published a book, blah blah blah = a lot of stress. Coming back to live with my parents 10 years later, in December 2023, I returned to stay with my parents for a while. Unwantedly! I cancelled an investment deal and decided to bootstrap the startup for a while. After only one month of living with my parents, I realised I never felt so peaceful. I found that peace I was searching for - all over the world. I adopted around 10 new habits. Those that I wanted to have for such a long time. I became so excited about new & better habits! Why? As Brian Tracy puts it: 'Successful people are simply those with successful habits. Stress was eating up the energy I needed to build new habits! Thus, I faced a chicken-and-egg problem. I was stressing myself to do more - to be successful. I was lacking the energy to adopt new habits. I was failing to see myself as a successful person because of my bad habits. Lower stress = more energy Now, that I have a slow village lifestyle, no rent to pay, super healthy food, family time, etc. My stress levels are much lower. I am still running a startup and going through all the hassle. But this time, I feel differently. I have more energy. And the funny fact is... My mind got so used to feeling stressed that it never even thought that life could feel any different. I want to leave you with some food for thought. Before punishing yourself for not being focused enough, disciplined enough, or [something else] not enough. Check out what consumes your energy. What thoughts, what emotions, what circumstances are draining you? _____ Do you want to share this with me or just say hi? Email me or book a call here! I would love to talk to you! |
Selftalk Newsletter
I am Elena - the founder and CEO of Selftalk and here I am writing about the practice and science of emotional agility! It's raw, it's personal and totally subjective!
Last week, I learned something about newsletters. They are not blogs. As I kind of made it be. Usually, newsletters contain at least 3 pieces of content (news, updates, curated content) - on different subjects. Like a summary of the week's main ideas! So, please bear with me, and my minimal viable newsletter. I am still figuring it out! Also, last week, there was no newsletter! Here is why: Being too tired to enjoy the moment I had a very busy week. And it made me think deeply about how...
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This week's newsletter is arriving late. I am currently on a 7-day water fast retreat with my mom. Today is already DAY 3, and I am beginning to adapt. I wrote a newsletter on Day 1, and it was a mess, so I decided to wait. The first 2 days were mentally challenging. I didn't feel too hungry, but my mind was worried - preoccupied with surviving. Food is one of our basic needs to survive. And the first job of the mind is to take care of survival. Why am I doing this? For my gut health and...