Latest / Just For Today / 81. Staying Busy
Transcript
- Jessica Figueroa: Good morning, everyone. My name is Cindy, and we get to spend a couple minutes together every morning. Every morning. And we don't even have to worry about our bad breath. We just get to spend a couple minutes more together thinking about something. So what are we going to think about and do just for today? Well, just for today, we're going to think about the concept of staying busy. That's right. In Dale Carnegie's book, that this podcast is based on and inspired by. This concept of keeping busy is something he talks about. My grandfather, I had an Italian grandfather, and his mother, my great-grandmother, came over from Italy with five boys. She didn't read or write in Italian, didn't speak English. And she came over here with her five boys. And my Italian grandfather, who I adored, used to say, I've never met a depressed man with two jobs. And then in, I believe it's Napoleon Hill's book, he talks about it's hard to find a depressed person in. science labs and libraries. Well, what do they mean by that? Well, this is a simple, crude way of explaining something that's actually happening during the burn in the brain. So the brain can't be thinking about two things at one time. Like there's no such thing as multitasking. What's actually happening is the brain is very quickly going back and forth, back and forth between the two things you're thinking about. So when you are engaging in something that you have to focus on and you have to pay attention to, then you can't think About the thing you're worried about. And if you're not thinking about the thing you're worried about, it's much less likely to get you depressed. Okay. Also called a flow state. You may have heard this word flow. The the word flow is a term used for when you have this state of complete absorption into an activity that requires you to think. That requirement, have you ever seen a little kid with Legos? And then you ask them a question, you're like, hey, Timmy, Timmy. Timmy, and you call their name nine or 10 times and they can't even hear you, they're in a state of flow. And by all means, if you don't have to stop them, don't stop them because it's such a beautiful way to practice flow, childhood play. So you also, when you're in a state of flow, then you can't worry about something. And it requires a specific balance. The state of flow requires that the task needs to be challenging enough to require your real attention, but not so hard that it produces frustration. So if you're worried about something, Try keeping yourself busy. Try finding things that require your attention. That's the problem with TV. Is that just going to lead you to more depressing thoughts or worry because it doesn't actually require so much of your attention? So maybe it's a hobby. Maybe it's a new sport that requires you to think, focus, pay attention. Maybe sometimes reading, sometimes reading can be hard if you're worried about something. But find something that's meaningful and challenging and do it. And it might just be a second job. Okay, it might just be a second job for a season to keep you out of worry. Not because you need it, not because you want to do it, but because having to be somewhere in an assigned duty, especially if it's wrote, can keep your mind busy. And then as time goes by, time will heal or work out the thing that you're worried about. So in the book, ⁓ Carnegie is citing that the soldiers from war and that how grief that the the soldiers that return to structured activity sooner work or retune or community roles. They tended to process grief more healthily than those who withdrew. So it's not there's science. Get back in there. If you're worried or if you're sad or you're stressed out, keep yourself busy with meaningful, challenging activities, not with cheap entertainment. What is cheap entertainment? Cheap entertainment is TV, social media, alcohol, drugs. That's cheap entertainment. Find things that keep you busy. And if you need the accountability of another job, then do it. Go to the library, sign up as a volunteer, hold yourself accountable to be somewhere at a certain time because sometimes you don't need the second job, but you need the accountability of having a job because you know you're the person that's gonna show up. That's okay, guys. Like my grandfather said, I've never met a depressed person with two jobs. So where in your life are you needing to keep yourself busy with challenging, challenging, meaningful activities or work in order to stave off just the time? That is going to lead you to worry, anxious thoughts, or unproductivity. Just for today, I want you to think about keeping yourself busy from the time you get up till the time you get a bed with meaningful, challenging activities. I'll see you guys tomorrow. We do things here just for today.