33. The Greatest Life Hack – Being In The Past, The Present AND The Future

On today’s show, I talk about the greatest life hack – which is how learning from our past can help to shape our present, and move us towards a brighter future!Getting into our flow can make us extremely productive. I tell a story on how not being in our flow can stop us from being the best version of ourselves, and I look at some activities in which we can participate to get us into our flow. Exploring the past can help us to move away from dysfunctional behavior patterns that may be holding us back in our lives. By introducing self-awareness around these issues, we can start unravelling these patterns.The stories and narratives that we may be telling ourselves about our past situations can actually end up holding us back. Listen out for the pointers I give on how to turn those narratives around into something more positive. I provide you with my 4-steps on how we can re-write the stories that we have told ourselves. Getting nostalgic over past events that we enjoyed in our lives can help us to learn about ourselves, and can help to shape our present day lives. I touch on the benefits of mindfulness and being present, as a way of building a brighter future, and I conclude with some ways in which we can build a brighter and more satisfying future for ourselves.  Topics:<br />00:00:00 Intro<br />00:02:04 Recap of last week’s show<br />00:06:00 Being in flow<br />00:06:24 Richard Branson and flow <br />00:08:46 Amy Anderson and being in flow<br />00:11:40 Activities to get in your flow<br />00:14:20 The past, narratives and nostalgia<br />00:14:52 Narratives about the past and dysfunctional behaviors <br />00:16:55 Sharon Martin, “Why Do We Repeat the Same Dysfunctional Relationship Patterns Over and Over?”<br />00:23:00 The past and nostalgia<br />00:23:23 The past shaping our present<br />00:27:05 Stories we tell ourselves about the past and the impacts of that on our current lives<br />00:34:44 My 4-steps to re-writing the stories we have told ourselves<br />00:36:33 Step 1: Identify the story that you have been telling yourself<br />00:43:41 Step 2: Turning the narrative on its head<br />00:44:56 Step 3: Going back to the negative story and understanding where it has come from<br />00:46:24 Introduction to Step 4: Making a brighter plan for the future<br />00:46:46 The present and mindfulness <br />00:50:55 Step 4: Making a brighter plan for the future<br />00:56:06 ConclusionsOnline resources:<br />Success, 3 Science-Based Mind Hacks to Get Into Flow: https://www.success.com/3-science-based-mind-hacks-to-get-into-flow/<br />Forbes, Five Surprising Ways Richard Branson Harnessed Flow To Build A Multi-Billion Dollar Empire: https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenkotler/2014/03/25/five-surprising-ways-richard-branson-harnessed-flow-to-build-a-multi-billion-dollar-empire/?sh=c376d816d6eb <br />Amy Anderson, Success, Go Straight for the Joy and Follow Your Purpose: https://www.success.com/go-straight-for-the-joy-and-follow-your-purpose/<br />Sharon Martin, PsychCentral Why Do We Repeat the Same Dysfunctional Relationship Patterns Over and Over?: https://psychcentral.com/blog/imperfect/2018/07/why-do-we-repeat-the-same-dysfunctional-relationship-patterns<br />Haili Hu, Science, Growing up poor left me isolated in academia – until I began to share my story: