A Friendly Reminder
Hey friends.
This is a friendly reminder that the device you’re reading this post on, this app, this screen, is robbing you of dopamine and serotonin — or happiness, in layman’s terms — in the short term.
Real happiness doesn’t come from a viral article or a post that blows up, nor does it come from a random DM.
It’s probably in that business you’re thinking of starting/have started, that book you’re reading/writing, the vacation you’re thinking of skipping work to go on.
This is why I love fitness. Real happiness is the pursuit of it — the delayed gratification and that feeling you get after prolonging the immediate reward for the long-game rush of positive emotion.
Two clients told me this week, “Fran, we’ve been working together for 6 months… the other day some shirts just got way too big on me and I don’t know when it happened” and “Someone the other day told me it look like I lost 20 lbs. I haven’t, but I do feel lighter. So this is working.”
That was gratifying for both me and them. It’s such a rush to be able to teach people the power of trusting a process, investing time into a craft, and seeing the dividends pay off in real time.
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to keep to a longer-term timeline of happiness mentally and not be chasing the small hits.
The reason you’re feeling like you’re never pleased with the outcome of anything or that you’re unaccomplished is because you’ve been conditioned by notifications, likes and emails to seek the smallest fungible bit of enjoyment.
Working on something that requires patience, a long-term vision, and the visualization tools to look past the uneventful days — like your fitness, for example — is the best way to practice a happiness-inducing form of delayed gratification that rewires your brain in favor of satiety.
You don’t have to give up your phone or apps forever.
You also don’t need to sacrifice the little things that make you smile throughout the day — texts from loved ones, memes, or tv series.
But you do have the ultimate obligation to not let these things possess you. When you start to fall into a cycle of unhappiness that is “random” or not triggered by any traumatic event, recognize that your brain chemistry might be playing tricks on you, and that screen-based fetishes are working nonstop to distract you from your Most Important Thing.
Here’s another app you’re allowed to keep in the rotation: Thrive25.
I’ve partnered with Thrive25 and developed my personalized longevity routine, not one that’s cut-and-pasted from the web.
Best of all? Thrive25 is super affordable and secure. If you sign up for their app with my affiliate link, you’ll save on your health for life.
Use my link to get an early access discount FOREVER and take real control of your health.
