With people catching up with deliverables leftover work from the holiday, following up on projects, and people getting sick left and right, it is hard not to feel overwhelmed with everything that needs to get done. 

It's impossible to avoid overthinking things when we're constantly bombarded by our own thoughts to succeed. In a world that hides failure and encourages comparison and competition, how can we learn to move forward and avoid paralysis by analysis? 

In this episode, Sean and James discuss how we can do better by becoming the difference we want to make in our lives. Listen as they explain how taking action now, being different, and risking failure propels us forward. 

Sean and James' discussion circles back to living in the present, as they encourage us to reflect on the fact that we are where we are because it is where we need to be. This week it’s all about:

• Looking at your situation from an outsider's perspective 
• Avoid placing blame on others for your current situation
• The importance of being gracious about failure in order to absorb all the learning
• Just doing the next thing and acting to make the difference you’re looking for

Blaming others will only make you feel more helpless

Sean [00:11:24]: I think what makes us feel trapped is when we buy into these stories that we tell ourselves. But these stories are about other people. We’re trying to put the blame or shift the blame onto other people, right? But the problem is that you can't change other people. You can't change other people's situations, you know? Archie can't just instantly feel better, right? If I keep buying that story, I feel helpless.

Societies and communities should encourage failure because it promotes learning

James [00:21:09]: You're going to have to fail at multiple things to learn how to do something. It’s just a natural part of growth. And for some reason, for us, in society, we don't talk about failure very often. You know, the word failure is just very negative. I can't help but think very negative things about it, right? “Oh, you failed. You're a failure,” but in fact, it should actually be a very positive thing. We should try to fail at something almost every day, in the sense that then we're going to be learning something every day.

The only way you change something is to do something different, right now

James [00:28:17] The only way to change something, the only way to get something different, is by doing the different thing right now. And change happens in hindsight, right? Because no matter what we want to do, if we think that like, “Oh, I should be doing this. I could be doing this. I should have done that.” These are all things that we can do right now. 

Show Links:

Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life, by Byron Katie

The Work (And Resources, by Byron Katie)

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey