Life is full of starts and finishes and the quality of your next beginning can be tied to the quality of your last ending.

Welcome back to another episode of The Hard Thing Podcast. I’m your host Justin Lewis and I’m here to walk with you through the journey of discovering solutions to whatever hard thing is in your life right now and in the process learn how to deal with whatever hard thing life tries to throw at you.

Today’s episode is going to be different than normal. For those of you who are new to the show, usually I sit down and have a discussion with someone who’s overcome or accomplished incredibly hard things. Usually we talk about how they managed to do that and how you and I can emulate their example. 

That’s not what we’re talking about today.

In fact, that’s not what we’re talking about for the next few weeks until January 3rd 2022. Yes that’s right, this will be the last episode of The Hard Thing Podcast until 2022. In the next few weeks when you usually would be listening to The Hard Thing Podcast, take a moment and call a friend you haven’t talked to in a while.

So since this is the last episode this year, I thought I’d take a moment and talk about the most important principles I’ve learned this year. That will be a great way to round out the year.

Before we get into the meat of the show, let me first take a moment to invite you to go to ourrescue.org and learn about Operation Underground Railroad. They are my absolute favorite non-profit organization because they put their lives at risk to go undercover to dens of thieves and murderers to rescue children who’ve been stolen and sold into sex-slavery. The brave women of OUR try their best to put an end to human trafficking and what they need right now is more awareness. So go to ourrescue.org and get to know the problem of human trafficking and what solutions are out there.

Now, let’s talk about 2021.

1. Your relationships are one of your most valuable resources

Recently I contracted COVID 19 and then I got better. But as happens for a lot of people I started feeling intense feelings of anxiety and depression. It was like nothing I’d ever felt. During this period, the thing that most helped me was being around friends and family. Reaching out to people I deeply cared about was infinitely more rewarding because I was suffering and connecting helped relieve that suffering. People are the world’s greatest gift.

1. Some is always better than none

Many times you’ll be tempted not to do what you say you’re going to do. You won’t want to wake up early and work out. You won’t want to go to that extra class. You won’t want to ask for help. You won’t want learn a new skill. Sometimes all of your internal forces will be pushing you not to do that thing. This isn’t an excuse to slack or give up. In those moments when your discipline is weak, just do any amount of your desired behavior. Any amount is better than none. A shorter workout is better than none. Calling and saying hi is better than not. Even texting is better than not. Doing anything is better than nothing. Keep pushing yourself to do more, but don’t overlook doing at least a little.

1. Emotional Detachment is essential for adaptation

As I’ve said before, you can choose results or methods. Too many times, we get attached to the “way we’ve always done it.” If you really want to see results, you have to detach yourself emotionally from what you are doing and learn new ways of doing things. 

1. Seeds must be planted constantly

I found this out based on looking for podcast guests. Whenever I would get a guest booked I felt great. This year I had some really amazing people on the show. A couple times, I would enjoy this feeling of having booked an awesome guest and forget to book the next guest. Bad idea! Seeds must be constantly planted if they are to be...