Hey Reader,

Hope you've been having a great summer so far (or a great winter for anyone in the Southern Hemisphere 😉 )

Lately, I've been wondering is the act of personal growth paradoxical?

Why does someone seek to make changes in their life?

If you think about it, most of the time personal growth starts from a place of not accepting something about ourselves.

Our discontent for a certain characteristic of ourselves or the state of our life is so strong it forces the need to change.

At times this is exactly what we need when our lives have completely unraveled.

For most other times, it begs the question: aren’t we supposed to accept ourselves, warts and all?

Here’s another one: if self-improvement is meant to connect us with a greater, wiser version of ourselves, then why is it that many of our goals and dreams are driven by our ego’s need for validation?

In this week's essay, I explore this idea a little further using one of my own experiences as the backdrop.

Also, I'd love to get your thoughts on this. We just started a dedicated Quora Space called Notes on Personal Growth, feel free to drop your ideas and thoughts there regarding this topic here.

Have a great week! 🙏

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Replace Negative Thinking With Positive Experiencing
​Paul McKenna, NLP Practitioner and Behavioral Scientist

"You don’t break a bad habit, you replace it with a new one. We get good at what we practice. "

"Replace negative thinking, not with positive thinking but positive experiencing. This is from having a purpose. And that doesn’t mean you have to go out and save the world or have a job you love. Purpose can be I’m going to be a good husband, father, mother, or friend. Purpose can be some project you take one. Your purpose can be that I am going to sing and dance every day around the house."

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Youth
​Poem by Samuel Ullman | 1 minute

​Read the full poem ➜​
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Multi-Tasking Is Bad For Your IQ​
​Vanessa Loder | 5 Minutes

What makes you more stupid – smoking marijuana, emailing while talking on the phone, or losing a night’s sleep?

According to research, it's writing that email while on the phone.

• Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry at the University of London studied 1,100 workers and found that multitasking with electronic media caused a greater decrease in IQ than smoking pot or losing a night's sleep.
• Additional research showed that 69% of workers have difficulty focusing on one thing at a time and are easily distracted during the day.
• And the average worker spends 13 hours a week on email which is the equivalent of 28% of the workweek.

13 hours a week! That's insanity.

​Read the post ➜​
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100 Days of Joy: Do Something Every Day That Makes Your Heart Sing And Find Your Sadhana
​3 minutes

If you were to do something every day that brings you so much joy that it literally makes your heart sing, what would it be? In this post, I combine the ideas of 100 Days of Joy from Charlie Bleecker with the yogic tradition of Sadhana by exploring how committing to do something every day that brings you joy can become a spiritual experience.

​Read the post ➜​
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Thanks for reading.
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If you have any questions, feedback, or want to share some of your own insights, feel free to hit reply and let me know. I read and reply to every email.
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​As Always, Keep Creating,

Anthony V. Lombardo

https://anthonyvlombardo.com
Join the space: Notes on Personal Growth
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