Question on avoidance:

What am I avoiding because it's too painful to address?

Humans have a pre-wired pain avoidance mechanism.

If we subconsciously know that something is likely to cause us pain, we will go to some extreme lengths to avoid it.

Unfortunately, in some cases, avoiding pain now isn't helpful.

Pain isn't always something that dissipates on its own with the benefit of time.

In fact, sometimes it's more like pressure building up behind a faulty dam. The more it's avoided, the more likely it becomes that it will burst through (or around) and create more damage than ever anticipated.

What are you avoiding because it feels too painful to address?

• What tough conversation are you delaying?
• What emotion are you bottling up?
• What struggle are you burying?
• What new positive habit are you indefinitely suspending?

Create an awareness. Confront the things you are avoiding.

Remember: "We suffer more in imagination than in reality." - Seneca

Ask yourself whether the pain is really going to be as bad as you think, or whether you're better off dealing with it now and benefitting later.

Easy now, hard later. Hard now, easy later. The choice is yours.

Quote on powering your future:

"People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures." - F.M. Alexander

Your present is a result of your actions in the past. Your future is a result of your actions in the present.

Small things become big things.

(Share this thought to Twitter!)

Framework on avoiding judgement:

Fundamental Attribution Error

Fundamental Attribution Error is a cognitive bias whereby humans tend to hold others to the fire (while giving ourselves a break).

It says that we:

1. Attribute the flawed actions of others to their character (and not to their situation or context).
2. Attribute our own flawed actions to situation and context (and not to our character).

From an evolutionary perspective, quickly attributing negative actions to character may have kept you alive, as you’d be more likely to avoid that individual in future.

But in a modern context, being prone to this bias can create real problems.

It's easy to form perspectives on the character of family members, colleagues, or strangers based on small tidbits of information.

It's dangerous to use very limited information to create an overall picture of an individual. You've seen one tiny square of a map and believe you know the map in its entirety.

To combat the bias, start with awareness.

Keep it in mind as you build a rapport with new people.

Force yourself to slow down and rationally confront the potential circumstances or situational factors that may be influencing an individual’s actions or behaviors.

You won’t always have the time to do so (heuristics can be helpful!), but with more lasting relationships (friends, partners, colleagues, etc.), it's worth the extra effort.

You’ll build deeper, more trusting relationships—and naturally become a more compassionate person.

Tweet on nature's superfood:

I've been on a big raw honey kick since I started running in March. Reading up on the health benefits of honey, it's pretty hard to ignore.

This account has a lot of interesting food-related insights that I've enjoyed reading.

P.S. I got stung by a bee on a run the other day. 0/10 would not recommend. I forgot how much that hurt. Maybe they were mad I was eating all their honey.

Video that blew my mind:

​Driving the New Fastest Car Ever Made​

I'm blown away by the performance specs on some of the electric vehicles that are being produced. This video brought that performance to life. The side-by-side race (including a 2 second head start) was just crazy to see.

P.S. This is apparently what it looks like when acceleration rips so hard it leaves your soul at the starting line.

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