We’ve got to clear away some weeds–and sometimes even some healthy plants–to make room for new growth. Matthew makes and announcement about taking a step away from regular Mr. Bright Side podcast episodes.
Don’t worry! He will still be pursuing particular guests who he personally wants to have on, and will publish those interviews as they come. And on top, he will be back in some new incarnation at some point. Listen in for details as to what and why, and think about what you might drop from your own life that may not be as necessary as you think.
“Giving is getting” but this popular idea does have a qualifier that must be highlighted and properly understood, as it is often mistaken to refer to some kind of losing in the short term to gain in the long-term—which it kind of is yet isn’t. In this episode, Matthew distinguishes “giving” from “losing” so that we’re not trying to say anything paradoxical like “losing is winning.” There need be no losers for everyone to win.
What stories are we telling ourselves and the people we love? Are they serving us or hurting us? And them?
In today’s show, the power of story is made alarmingly clear—I mean powerful at the neurochemical level, and I mean alarmingly in that many of us are mostly passive in allowing old, unchecked, and disempowering stories about ourselves drive us—and not anywhere we want to go.
At minimum, you will leave this interview feeling confident and optimistic about yourself, your world, and the prospects in it, as Christmas Hutchinson convincingly reminds each of us that we’re worth more than we give ourselves credit for. Not a little more…way more.
Why do some people thrive in the face of hardship while others are crushed? To this challenging listener question, Matthew answers essentially that it’s about building resilience through the method of optimism versus the default of passive pessimistic resignation. On a deeper level, it’s about free will (optimistic) versus determinism (pessimistic).
Do your surroundings overwhelm and hamper your life? Are you aware of how they impact your experience of working, playing, and living?
In this episode, Matthew outlines how to be conscious of the places and spaces within which we live our lives and how not to allow them to dictate to us. You can choose and shape everything about your life, including your character, your body, your relationships, your work, your style, and–of course–your environments.
Get on the same page with your friends, teammates, co-workers–and most importantly–your dearest ones to more fully achieve your goals and have fewer frustrating fights.
In this episode, Matthew discusses and illustrates why constant communication is paramount in “merging your values” with those whose lives are tied to your own, particularly your loved ones. He highlights the reasons why partnerships flounder and fail, and offers the constructive means by which successful associations (including couples) create a “culture” or “identity” towards joyful progress.
A key excerpt: “We all have different bodies, lifestyles, means, likes/dislikes, goals, and many other factors which make up the context in which we are making health decisions. So my attitude is always intended to be not, “This is the right way to eat/work out” or “You should try this.” But rather: “This is what is working for me in this way. How might it apply to you in achieving your goals?””
“I’m gonna get healthy.” What does that mean? I’ve often taken the answer for granted, holding vague images of a slimmer, trimmer, fresher self. Everyone knows what healthy is; it’s just hard to do. But when pressed to define exactly what I want to achieve, I’ve in the past been reduced to expressing narrow goals like “lose weight.” As I got thinking a little more precisely, I might have started to say “lose fat.” But health is not a single-faceted concept, nor even a combination of a few things. Health is an integrated concept comprised of multiple components requiring multiple interrelated actions.
A key excerpt: “We all have different bodies, lifestyles, means, likes/dislikes, goals, and many other factors which make up the context in which we are making health decisions. So my attitude is always intended to be not, “This is the right way to eat/work out” or “You should try this.” But rather: “This is what is working for me in this way. How might it apply to you in achieving your goals?””
The title of this article includes two key concepts which may often be used interchangeably, but in the context in which I will define, are very distinct. I am referring to craving and wanting, and I don’t just mean that the former is a more intense version of the latter.
Because health is such a crucial value and because I think and act a lot on it, I intend to share occasional posts of what might be useful leads in regard to exercise, lifestyle, and nutrition, mostly in the way of results of various practices I’ve tried and by discussing how I think of them. But I think this can only be useful if I and any readers are mindful of how to take them.
Mr. Bright Side 