The Rob Arthur Podcast

Things aren’t going how we’d like them to be.

We want change.

It might be our body.

It might be our career.

It might be our relationships.

We’ve identified an area in which we want change.

So we start looking into our options.

Switching up our diet.

Going back to school.

Cutting people out.

Every option sounds better than what we’re currently doing.

We start to daydream about the change.

Looking into how to make it happen.

Then we start to romanticize about how things might look.

So we start planning.

Making moves.

Then we take the plunge.

And we realize we’re just as unhappy as we were.

We’re essentially right back where we started.

Because we rushed.

We didn’t give enough consideration to where we were headed.

We got so caught up in the idea of something different.

We didn’t consider what difference we actually wanted.

All that time and effort.

No better off than before.

You might know what you don't want.

The sources of your dissatisfaction.

What you're moving away from.

What are you moving toward?

Simply pursuing "not this" may lead only to more dissatisfaction.

Live with intentionality.

With direction.

Purpose.

Who do you want to be?

How do you want to live?

What do you want your life to look like?

Strive for that.

Don’t simply settle for not being where you are.

Pursue your best life.

Plan for it.

Act on it.

Make it happen.

You are worthy.

You’ve got this.

It’s natural to want a better life.

Even when things are going pretty well, we desire more.

We might want better relationships.

We might want a better career or finances.

We might even want material goods.

Whatever it is, there’s something we want.

Yet, many of us don’t think about how to make that happen.

We expect the life we want to just happen.

We feel entitled to such a life.

As if it’s simply misfortune that we haven’t achieved it.

Of course, fortune plays a role.

Being born to the right family at the right time at the right place.

There is undoubtedly some chance involved.

Yet, that’s not all there is to it.

Much of it is also up to us.

It’s up to us to believe.

To do the work.

To create.

To make the life we want to live happen.

Yet, we must look beyond just what we receive.

The world does not often reward those who seek only to take.

Those who are only out for themselves.

We must also look at what we can give.

How we can serve others.

How we can provide them what they want.

How we can help create their best life.

Then maybe, just maybe, somebody will do the same for us.

Maybe, to receive, we can start by giving.

It might be love.

It might be wealth.

It might be success.

It might be friendship.

Whatever it is you want from life.

If you want more, give more.

Not much comes without effort.

Without putting yourself out there.

Without doing what you can to create the life you live.

Furthermore, it’s not only up to you.

For you to receive, others must give.

And vice versa.

We all play a role in creating one another’s best life.

If nobody gives, how does anybody receive?

Do your part.

You are worthy of the best life.

You’ve got this.

It would be difficult to overstate the role of religion in the human experience.

Billions of us identify as believing in something greater than ourselves.

In a higher power.

In supernatural forces.

In other beings or dimensions.

Most of us essentially inherit our religion.

Handed down to us by our family.

Reinforced by our community.

Others of us forge our own paths.

We set out to learn on our own.

Questioning everything we learn.

Sometimes we arrive back where we started.

Reaffirmed in our initial beliefs.

Other times we end up somewhere completely different.

Choosing another established religion.

Perhaps even forming our own unique view of how the world works.

Much good is done as a result of religion.

Helping others in need.

Pursuing personal improvement.

Acting as a force for a better world.

Much harm is also done as a result of religion.

War.

Slavery.

A mindset of “us and them”.

Seeing ourselves as separate from and superior to others.

All because of our religion.

Never asking how such a mindset serves us or anybody else.

Leading us to a life of disconnection.

Shunning “the other”.

What kind of life is one without connection?

Of course, religion and connection aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.

However, they can be challenging to reconcile at times.

Many of us only have religion.

Completely overlooking connection.

To each other.

To the greater powers and forces in which we believe.

Do you have religion or do you have connection?

Are you following a set of rules?

Based on how it's been done?

Based on what you've been told?

Or are you living as a part of something greater than yourself?

Based on your personal beliefs?

Based on what's true in your heart?

You are worthy of a most excellent life.

Consider the role your beliefs - and your actions - play in that life.

For yourself and for others.

Because they are worthy, too.

We’re all worthy.

We’re all connected.

You’ve got this.

Bad things happen.

Sometimes, to us personally.

Accidents.

Injustices.

Lost opportunities.

Sometimes, on a larger scale.

Wars.

Pandemics.

Disasters.

Sometimes, we’re at fault.

We’ve miscalculated risk.

We’ve overlooked details.

We’ve ignored warnings.

Other times, we’re totally faultless.

We’ve played no role in the circumstances we face.

It’s a fact of life that bad things happen.

That we won’t always have things go our way.

That we’ll experience and see things that upset us.

Things that break our hearts.

Things that anger us.

Things that frustrate us.

We’ve got no choice.

What we can do is take a realistic look at our options.

Assess what we can and cannot do about it.

Then decide whether to do it.

Life will not always be easy.

You'll face adversity and challenges.

What are you going to do about it?

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

If there's not, change your internal state.

Your thoughts.

Your feelings.

Your attitude.

You can always affect those.

You are worthy of a most excellent life.

That may not look how you want it to externally.

How it looks internally is up to you.

Do what you can.

You’ve got this.

We can get so wrapped up in how we’re working toward our health and fitness.

We find an approach that resonates with us.

We’re convinced it’s what we need.

We’re sold.

So we go all in.

We’re vegan.

We’re paleo.

We’re a powerlifter.

We’re a triathlete.

Whatever it is that we’ve chosen, it consumes us.

Sometimes, this works out just fine.

We’ve found a way of eating that we love.

We’ve found a physical activity that keeps us engaged and fit.

Sometimes, though, things don’t go so smoothly.

We’re not looking or feeling as good as we’d hoped.

The effects aren’t worth the effort.

We’re doubting ourselves.

But we stick with it.

Because it’s what we “know” is right.

Because of all the convincing reasons that got us into it in the first place.

All the principles and concepts.

The idea we have in our head of what it means to implement such an approach.

What we think it says about us.

We have to stick with it.

How much time do we waste with this mindset?

Feeling obligated to eat or train in a certain way?

Because it’s what we were told is best?

Even when we can see that it’s not right for us?

You have no obligation to any diet.

No obligation to any training routine.

No obligation to anything but your pursuit of a most excellent life.

Let go of the dogma.

Let go of the rigidity.

Let go of the blind ideology.

If your strategy isn't working for you, change it.

You are worthy of a most excellent life.

It will take some time for you to figure that out.

It will take experimentation.

It will take willingness to learn.

It will take openness to refining your approach.

That’s okay.

That’s part of what makes the process so satisfying.

Don’t box yourself in.

Explore, learn, and grow.

You’ve got this.

Not any explanation of the story so much as a summary of my thoughts on the franchise.

Are you only seeing one goal or the other, one path or the other, when you might have the option of pursuing both goals through neither path?