The Rob Arthur Podcast

The world changes at a blistering pace.

New technologies, ideas, people, and places.

Every single day.

More “new”.

It’s hard, arguably impossible, to keep up.

Some of us try.

Others of us refuse.

We delude ourselves into thinking it’s not happening.

Holding on to a reality that no longer exists.

We find ourselves left behind.

Stuck in the past.

With no role in the present.

Change is inevitable.

You can dig in your heels.

Refuse to accept what you see.

Perhaps even ignore what's going on.

That doesn’t stop the change around you.

Will you change with it?

Or will you be left behind?

The world will move forward.

You don’t have to follow the crowd.

You don’t have to agree with the change you see.

Your role could even be to fight it.

That still calls for you to change.

For you to grow.

That might not be comfortable.

But it’s a necessary part of living your best life.

You are worthy of that life.

You’ve got this.

There are days when we feel motivated. 

We’re excited to go to the gym. 

We’re enthusiastic about our meal prep. 

We’re eager to put in the work. 

These days are easy. 

But they’re not the only days you’ll have. 

They’re not the days that determine who you’ll be. 

The days that determine the life you’re going to live. 

There will be days when you don't feel like it. 

Days when you don't feel like going to the gym. 

Like prepping the food. 

Putting in the work. 

Those are the days that matter most. 

Not the days when you're fired up. 

But the hard days. 

The days when you don't feel like it. 

That’s where progress is made. 

Where success is created. 

Those days require practice. 

They require consistency. 

They require the discipline of habit. 

Cultivating these skills is not easy. 

It doesn’t come naturally. 

You’ll have days when you won’t make it happen. 

Have some self-compassion. 

Keep showing up. 

Even when you don’t feel like it. 

You are worthy. 

You’ve got this.

It’s easy to think that if our situation changed, we’d be happier.

If we could save more for retirement.

Had stronger friendships.

Found a more satisfying job.

Improved our health.

There’s nearly always room for improvement in these areas.

Yet, we often overlook that things could be much worse.

That there are those whose situations we might envy who are just as unhappy as we are.

And those whose situations we see as worse than our own who are much happier.

The difference lies in how each of us view our own situations.

What we expect of ourselves and the world.

How our experiences align with those expectations.

Much of our unhappiness is rooted in a difference between the two.

Your happiness is not dependent on your situation.

It's dependent on your thoughts about your situation.

Not what's going on around you.

But what you think about what's going on around you.

When you can't change your situation, change your thoughts.

What’s keeping you from being happy?

What can you do about it?

If nothing, how can you think about it differently?

Explore ways to view it as an opportunity?

Search for potential benefits from the experience?

Or even simply work to accept it?

Do what you can.

That’s all you can do.

And that’s enough.

You’re enough.

You’ve got this.

We’ve all got circumstances holding us back.

Mistakes we’ve made.

Opportunities we’ve missed.

How others have treated us.

Being in the right place at the right time.

Even our genetics.

Many of us dwell on these circumstances.

Letting them replay over and over again in our heads.

Feeling like a victim.

Telling ourselves, and perhaps others, that life isn’t fair.

That we’re unlucky.

This may be true.

But what are you going to do about it?

You may have been wronged.

You may have made mistakes.

You may have had fewer opportunities.

You may face plenty of legitimate obstacles.

Dwelling on them won't make your life any better.

Only action will do that.

What if you spent less time dwelling and more time doing?

You might not overcome every obstacle you face.

You might make irreconcilable mistakes.

You might miss opportunities.

That's okay.

Do what you can.

That's all you can do.

One step at a time.

What step can you take today?

You’ve got this.

We often let the little things slide.

Small problems that don’t appear to be much of a threat.

A nagging pain.

An annoying engine noise.

Undiscussed tension with a friend, partner, or relative.

We let these little things go unaddressed.

We’ve got bigger things to focus on.

This isn’t necessarily the worst strategy.

After all, we’ve only so much time and energy.

Life often calls for us to prioritize.

To take care of the big things first.

But the little things don’t always stay so little.

They have a tendency to change.

To become not so little anymore.

The nagging pain becomes an injury.

The engine noise becomes a breakdown.

The undiscussed tension becomes a relationship ended.

The little things become the big things.

Take care of them before that happens.

Of course, the big things often take priority.

Consider, though, how many started as little things?

What if you’d addressed them then?

What little things are you putting off?

What can you do today to keep them from becoming bigger?

What’s stopping you from doing just that?

Taking care of the little things isn’t always fun.

It’s not always exciting.

It doesn’t always give that sense of accomplishment.

It does pay off.

You’ve got this.

Food is one area where so many of us beat ourselves up.

We know it’s an important factor in looking and feeling awesome.

So we work on our eating habits.

We make the change.

But change is hard.

And we deviate.

We end up eating things that we later regret.

We take dietary detours.

Eating, perhaps, for pleasure, rather than health.

For some of us, this is no biggie.

We deviate, then get right back to pursuing our goals.

For others of us, deviations are a major problem.

We feel like we’ve ruined our progress.

Like all the effort we’ve put in previously was for nothing.

We feel the same way about the future.

We screwed up this meal, so the whole week is blown.

Might as well just not even try.

This “all or nothing” perfectionist mindset keeps us stuck.

We’ve set an impossible standard for ourselves.

When we face impossible standards, we’re discouraged.

The reality is that perfection is impossible.

Another reality is that every single meal stands on its own.

Serves its own purpose.

No meal is dependent on any other meal.

No meal ruins any that came before.

No meal ruins any that follow.

Some will align with your health and fitness goals.

Others won't.

It's what you do consistently that matters.

Not perfectly.

Consistently.

One meal at a time.

Focus on the meal in front of you.

Not the one before.

Not the one after.

Just the one in front of you.

That’s the only meal you can ever control.

Make it count.

Whatever you determine that means.

Whatever purpose you want that meal to serve.

Independent of anything else you’ve ever eaten.

Make this meal count.

For no reason other than that you are awesome.

And you are worth it.

Right now.

At this moment.

You’re worth it.

You’ve got this.

Do you ever find yourself in a bad mood?

Maybe something happened at work.

Maybe somebody said something that rubbed you the wrong way.

Maybe you just woke up that way.

Life seems gloomy.

Every little thing is getting under your skin.

You’re reactive.

It’s a bad day.

Maybe even a bad week, month, or year.

We all feel like this at times.

Sometimes, we know exactly why.

Other times, we don’t.

Regardless of the reason, we often accept how we’re feeling.

We don’t question it.

We don’t do anything about it.

We just let it sit there.

We let it fester.

Hanging over us.

Keeping us feeling miserable.

What good does this serve?

Allowing our lives to be at the mercy of our emotions?

Can we not do anything about it?

You might feel depressed.

You might feel irritable.

You might feel upset or angry.

These feelings are normal.

But you don't have to let them dictate your life.

Start by exploring the root of what you're feeling.

Ask yourself one simple question.

"Why do I feel how I feel?"

Then, ask yourself what you can do about it.

If there’s something you can do, do it.

If not, let the feeling go.

Feel it.

Acknowledge it.

Allow it to serve its purpose.

Then let it go.

This is not easy.

It takes practice.

It takes mindfulness.

It takes persistent effort.

But it is worth it.

You are worth it.

You’ve got this.

So many of us want change.

Our lives aren’t how we thought they’d be.

How we want them to be.

How we know they can be.

Our health.

Our career.

Our finances.

Our relationships.

Rarely do we find ourselves perfectly satisfied in all of these areas.

Of course, some of this might be due to unrealistic expectations.

Often, though, there’s legitimately room for improvement.

Obvious ways in which things aren’t going well.

Yet, we do nothing about it.

We wait.

We complain.

We deal with it.

Wishing that things would change.

Hoping that somebody else does something about it.

That we might just one day have better luck.

That things just magically fall into place.

But it doesn’t.

Things stay the same.

And we stay miserable.

Do you find yourself in this kind of pattern?

Wishing?

Waiting?

Hoping?

You could wait for somebody to help you.

For some gift from the universe.

For better luck.

But you don't control any of that.

And while you wait, your best life will continue to elude you.

The only thing you control is yourself.

Nothing will change if you change nothing.

If you don’t take action.

If you don’t put in the work.

What are you putting off?

What can you do today?

How can you get started?

Get started.

You may make mistakes.

You may need to adjust.

That’s okay.

Keep showing up.

You are worth it.

You’ve got this.

We hear so much about “balance”.

Balancing our finances.

Eating a balanced diet.

Finding work-life balance.

There’s value in the idea of balance.

Not pursuing one end to the detriment of others.

Not living in a way that’s unsustainable.

Spending more than we make.

Eating consistently to the detriment of our health.

Neglecting work or life to an extent at odds with our values.

Of course, we all find ourselves out of balance at times.

Usually, it’s not too difficult to correct the course.

Unfortunately, we often beat ourselves up in the process.

We feel guilt or shame.

We seek what we think others consider to be “balanced”.

Even if it’s not what we want.

So we’re still miserable.

Living out of alignment with our truth.

What if, instead, we sought to find our own “balance”?

Do we not all have different values and priorities?

Different ideas of how to manage our finances?

Different relationships with food?

Different work-life priorities?

Don’t let anybody else make you feel out of balance.

Nobody can tell you how much to spend or save.

How much to indulge or abstain.

How much to work or play.

Or how to “balance” any aspect of your best life.

You define what balance looks like to you.

Based on your needs, your preferences, and your goals.

This might take some time.

Some trial and error.

Often, even being out of balance.

That’s okay.

This will be a process.

You will make mistakes.

Be willing to let that happen.

But also to learn.

To grow.

To push yourself.

Acknowledge your limits.

Do the work to change.

Be who you know you can be.

Live how you know you can live.

You are worthy.

You’ve got this.

There can be a stigma around indecision.

It’s sometimes looked at as being fickle, flighty, or flaky.

Some might even look at being non-committal as a character flaw.

However, we do at times need time to consider our options.

To figure out whether we want to or not to do something.

To assess whether an effort is in our best interest.

To determine if a course of action is right for us and others involved.

Unfortunately, taking such time might be frowned upon.

So we offer an answer immediately.

Without giving our decision due diligence.

We say “yes” to things that end up not being good ideas.

We say “no” to things that turn out to be missed opportunities.

All because we rushed to provide an answer.

When we really wanted to just wait.

To wait and see.

To think about it.

But we didn’t.

Because we were afraid of how it might look.

Sometimes, we definitely want to.

Other times, we don't.

Often, we're just not sure.

Yet, we feel pressure to say "yes" or "no".

We give an answer we end up regretting.

It's okay to give an honest "maybe".

To take some time to clarify what you want.

Everybody will benefit.

You’ll spare yourself and others the detriment of insincere effort.

You’ll give yourself and others the benefit of honest effort.

You might frustrate some.

You might disappoint some.

You might be looked down upon by some.

That’s okay.

You’ll be living in alignment with your truth.

Managing your time and energy how you see fit.

Even when that means taking some time to figure that out.

You’re worthy of that time.

You’ve got this.