UFYL: Permanently Neutralize This Massive Time Suck
This post is an excerpt of Unf*ck Your Life, a series available to SEO Revolution and The Game Plan members. To access the entirety of this Unf*ck Your Life series, as well as a complete and regularly updated arsenal of SEO how-to’s, tools and best practices (with a little grey hat fun thrown in for the adventurous), choose a membership: SEO Revolution or The Game Plan. Enjoy!
Get it?
The drama of life will happen. It is part of life. However, you may not be aware that you manufacturer most of it. Think I’m full of it? Okay, try this exercise and tell me how things look in just a week.
Step One: Stop posting anything of a personal nature on Facebook.
Why this will work: Without realizing it, much of what people post is an invitation for drama creation either by personally complaining about your life or bragging about your life. You will now do neither publicly. You instead will just “be.”
Step Two: Stop discussing your personal life problems with anyone except your significant other and therapist.
Why this will work: Did you know your friends, co-workers, neighbors, and family aren’t licensed therapists, and their advice is usually complete garbage? True story. Worse, it is also a manufacturing facility for drama. That isn’t emotionally healthy for you.
Also, what the **** are you doing discussing your love life with your friends and family? Yeah, that is going to make the next get together real comfortable /sarcasm. Just stop doing it already. You are a professional in your business, start acting like it in your personal life.
I have a weekly session with a therapist even when I feel 100% emotionally healthy. Why? I get to spend 30-60 minutes as a “bitch session” and complain all I want, and she just listens. Sometimes she offers advice; sometimes she doesn’t. It doesn’t matter. What is important is I have a sounding board. Getting my stress and frustrations out there with no repercussions of my words because of the person listening to me is being paid.
Don’t have a therapist? That’s your assignment today. Get one. You don’t even have to stick with a local one. Mine is out of state, and we have Skype conversations. That way I’m not wasting my time driving to and from their office. Plus, I can have the sessions when I am on the road too. It has probably been one of the smartest things I have done.
The great thing about therapists is they connect with different people and even though the two I use are awesome, doesn’t mean they will be awesome for you. However, if you get frustrated in your search, PM me and I will send you their contact information. I’m not posting it here as I want you to find one on your own. It is all part of this process of Unf**king Yourself.
Step Three: Show Gratitude
Why This Works: It is easy to get wrapped up in the stresses of the day and feel overwhelmed. Look around you. Right now you have much to be grateful for, do you not? Start each day realizing how good you have it, especially the people who are close to you in your life who make your life better just by being there. They kick ass, and you should tell them that. Seriously, you should.
This post might be short, but this assignment is HUGE, and it is going to take you some time to get there as it did for me. If you do nothing else today, hire a therapist (you can always change later), and make a list of all you are grateful for…and if you have a significant other, take him or her somewhere quiet and tell them how f**king awesome they are. I mean REALLY tell them.
And if they think you are crazy, tell them I put you up to it, and they’ll get it. I’ll take the fall.
Your life is better than you realize and every day it is going to get a little bit better. Stick with it.
