My mission is to live a story worth telling while helping others do the same! If you want to add more meaning, fulfillment, and adventure to your life, we need to talk.
Tools For Defeating Depression & Avoiding End of Life Regret
Hi Reader,
It's about time I told you why I think dad jokes are amazing.
It's because they have a powerful life lesson embedded in them.
Low expectations = unexpected positive outcomes.
When you know someone is telling a dad joke, you have low expectations.
(Unless it's me, of course)
You expect to cringe.
And yet...if you start to chuckle...
Bada bing bada boom!
#magic
What I'm learning about ðŸ§
Reframing and the work of Byron Katie.
Reframing is a concept I am currently learning more about
It can be done humorously by "flipping the frame" as in the following example.
President Reagan's old age was an issue when he was running for president.
When asked to speak about his age, he replied:
"I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience."
He flipped the frame from him being old, to his opponent being young.
It was humorous, witty, and clever.
But let's talk about reframing in a more serious context.
In 1986, after a ten-year-long depression, Byron Katie had a powerful realization:
"I discovered that when I believed my thoughts, I suffered, but that when I didn't believe them, I didn't suffer."
She then created a simple way to help herself and others examine the beliefs that cause suffering.
Simply ask yourself the following four questions about a stressful thought.
- Is it true?
- Can you absolutely know that it's true?
- How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?
- Who would you be without the thought?
These four questions have become quite famous and are now referred to as "The Work."
Give them a try in your own life for those pesky, stressful thoughts that are not helping and creating unnecessary suffering.
Do you like it here? ðŸ¤
The number of subscribers to Renaissance did not quadruple after asking you to forward this email to someone you cared about.
I know it's shocking, I really didn't think you'd let me down.
But I have already forgiven you and today we will try a different tactic.
Since you didn't want to forward this to someone you love, please forward this email to someone you hate.
Your enemies need dad humor and knowledge too.
THE CRAZIEST THING I HAVE SEEN 🤯
The future is here.
Take 5 minutes to watch the beginning of this and it will blow your mind.
What I'm thinking about ðŸ’
The most powerful quote I've read in a while.
I am fascinated by people who suddenly come face to face with their mortality.
It's why When Breath Becomes Air and Not Fade Away are two of my favorite books.
Death mystifies me because it is the greatest example of cognitive dissonance that I can think of.
We all know that we are going to die.
Yet by our actions, you'd think we knew we'd live forever.
We put things off.
We say we will start tomorrow.
We don't take action because we are scared of failure.
Scared of what other people will think.
But let me ask you this.
How would things change if you were diagnosed with terminal cancer?
Here's what Professor Randy Pausch had to say about the matter:
"It is not the things we do in life that we regret on our deathbed.
It is the things we do not.
I assure you I've done a lot of really stupid things, and none of them bother me.
All the mistakes, and all the dopey things, and all the times I was embarrassed — they don't matter.
What matters is that I can kind of look back and say: Pretty much any time I got the chance to do something cool I tried to grab for it — and that's where my solace comes from."
In my own life, things got exponentially better when I took a leap of faith.
The chances of me looking stupid skyrocketed, but that felt like cheap insurance compared to what my biggest fear was at the time.
To wake up at age 45 and still be working a job I hated.
But don't take it from me.
Take it from Randy who looked death squarely in the face and said,
"Come and get me - I played all out."
What is one thing that you know you'd regret not doing?
Go take action on it this week!
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Sent with love,
Gregory Russell Benedikt
Talk to me: hello@gregoryrussellbenedikt.com
Website: gregoryrussellbenedikt.com
Writing: Medium
Gregory Russell Benedikt
My mission is to live a story worth telling while helping others do the same! If you want to add more meaning, fulfillment, and adventure to your life, we need to talk.
Hi Reader, Welcome back to Renaissance This newsletter is meant to: Teach you cool stuff Inspire you to take bold action Make you pause, smile, and maybe even laugh It's part of my mission to live a story worth telling while helping YOU do the same. If you're ready to create more meaning, fulfillment, and adventure in your life, click the button below: Book a Free Discovery call TODAY Why wait any longer? What I'm learning about 🧠Creating "perfect moments." Eugene O'Kelly was the CEO of one...
Hi Reader, Welcome back to Renaissance This newsletter is meant to: Teach you cool stuff Inspire you to take bold action Make you pause, smile, and maybe even laugh It's part of my mission to live a story worth telling while helping YOU do the same. If you're ready to create more meaning, fulfillment, and adventure in your life, click the button below: Book a Free Discovery call TODAY Why wait any longer? What I'm learning about 🧠Alexander the Great's final three wishes. Alexander the Great...
Hi Reader, Welcome back to Renaissance This newsletter is meant to: Teach you cool stuff Inspire you to take bold action Make you pause, smile, and maybe even laugh It's part of my mission to live a story worth telling while helping YOU do the same. If you're ready to create more meaning, fulfillment, and adventure in your life, click the button below: Book a Free Discovery call TODAY Why wait any longer? What I'm learning about 🧠The secret formula to feeling MORE ALIVE. I'll give you a...