There are good reasons people with addictions talk about ‘one day at a time’. One is that particularly at the beginning everything is hard. You’re facing a mountain. It can seem like a climb you can’t make. Thinking only of today ensures that’s your only job. It becomes manageable. Your only focus is to getContinue reading “One day at a time”
Author Archives: Jon Red
Mental bandwidth
Years of depression, anxiety, struggle, busyness and ongoing addiction have had a significant impact on my ability to think clearly. It was only when I committed to abstinence, occasional meditation and running that my mental clarity grew significantly. (I still slip up sometimes.) I was amazed by the mental bandwidth awarded to me for theseContinue reading “Mental bandwidth”
Rest
Recently I experienced the detrimental effects of a lack of sleep. Through work stress, deadlines and family things, I was waking up several times in the middle of the night every night for over two weeks. Then I’d go to work early to work on personal projects. When work starts it’s “Go! Go! Go!” withContinue reading “Rest”
Language
Language is more powerful than you might think. It can be used to build people up or it can be used as a weapon to destroy. This is particularly true for self-talk. What habitual language do you use every day? Having a child has revealed some of mine to me and it’s not all good.Continue reading “Language”
Don’t react, respond
Wanting to help is not the same as being helpful. I keep having to remind myself to respond instead of reacting. Stop, step back, assess, respond. When I fail to do that I’m like someone running into a burning building with no knowledge or plan. I want to help, but end up making things worse.Continue reading “Don’t react, respond”
Practice
If you look at the greats, they don’t just well perform on the day. They perform well on the day because they’ve practiced different eventualities, every move thousands of times before the day, making it look simple. Deliberate practice. They sweat the details. We don’t see the minute details of their practice and tweaking andContinue reading “Practice”
Deadlines
Deadlines ensure work is done in a reasonable time or faster than it would have otherwise been done. They’re powerful, create extra pressure and get stuff done, but they can be hard to stay on top of when you have multiple deadlines running simultaneously. This is more a lesson for myself: In the last fewContinue reading “Deadlines”
Strengths
Recently my weaknesses have all been laid out in front of me. The question is: what do I do about it? Do I aggressively focus on making my weaknesses better? Or do I focus on my strengths instead? My gut tells me to go with my strengths as this will provide maximum effort, fun andContinue reading “Strengths”
No Black and White
For a long time, I thought in black and white. It turns out life doesn’t divide so neatly. “Good people” do bad things. “Bad people” do good things. I’ve seen both. I’ve been been both. It’s all different shades of the spectrum. There’s always more to it than meets the eye. Reminders to self: HowContinue reading “No Black and White”
Addiction
I’m an addict. I’ve been making excuses and avoiding confessing it for years. I believed I had things under control. In truth I’ve stunted my emotional development, hurt people and wasted a lot of time and money amongst the other problems that come with addiction. I can’t provide advice as I’m still working through myContinue reading “Addiction”
Chaos
A personal reflection on mental overload, scattered thinking and the power of choosing one priority to regain focus, progress and confidence.
Hope 2
TLDR: This post deals with suicide. If in immediate danger, call the emergency services phone number or go to the nearest hospital or police station or reach out to a trusted person. If you’re having suicidal thoughts, copy out and follow this template: I commit to staying alive For: If in immediate danger I will:Continue reading “Hope 2”
