Welcome To The Community

Together, we’ll dive deep and find the strength to never give up because Great Things Take Time.

Do less! Do more! Find balance! Take a breath! But what if I’m missing out on things I really want in the spirit of doing less?

If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe and join the Great Things Take Time Community to get content from me every Wednesday. (Did anyone catch I wrote Monday for like the last month..? I was testing youuuuuu)

Check it out below if you missed yesterday’s AMA and get your questions ready for the next one!

Here's what's in today's email

• No Original Thoughts Over Here

• Moments with Maurice

• What's Got Me Smilin'

No Original Thoughts Over Here

Social media isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but too much of a good thing can cause issues. It’s like sugar, you have it for a purpose or a treat, but you’re not going to base every meal around chocolate syrup. Sometimes we have these things for enjoyment, and sometimes we do them to feel numb. 

I was asked what goes on in my mind, and whether they meant it or not, I took that literally. There’s a huge jumble of things going on upstairs, and I’m sure many of you can relate. Adrian upstairs is like a washing machine, with things consistently being thrown into view with no rhyme or reason. And no, I’m not just pondering things like why they call them “dumbbells” if it’s so smart to work out. One thought triggers another, and the next thing I know, I’m on a tangent that Robert Frost might describe as the road less traveled by. 

It feels like we move at the speed of light, which is why I’m focusing on two things right now:

Slowing down to focus & doing more

Makes complete sense, right? End of newsletter, sign-off, never give up because Great Things Take Time, yadda yadda…

We’re connected to people we might never have been able to meet had we not had technology. It’s both a blessing and a curse. The hardest part is that swiping gives you that dopamine hit that feels good, which leads us to swiping for hours, often in search of that numbing feeling. For most of us, we have access to all types of communication at all hours of the day. Most of the time, there is that understanding, “if I send you a message late at night, don’t feel like you have to respond until you’re at work.” But how many of us at least take a peek (and then start spiraling over something)?

A common thread I’ve noticed is that a lot of us enjoy jumping from task to task, or task to scroll to task. It’s so much easier to remain on the outside of our brains than sit with what might be bothering us. I am no exception when it comes to doing tasks; I can easily find something that is equally important to the task at hand and switch it up. It wasn’t until I started focusing on the result that things got easier.

Class programming is a great example of this. I think a lot of people would be surprised at the amount of time we instructors put behind the computer. When I first started, even I was surprised. Programming a class for the platform was a way different experience than what I was used to. There were many new things I had to take into account, and I had to shift to more time in front of a screen and not outside, moving around and doing things.

When you feel like you have to muscle through something, there are a million and one other things your brain tries to get you to do. Luckily, at that time, I was working with a therapist who helped me see that what I needed in that moment was to reframe my thinking, and y’all, this is nothing new or groundbreaking. Instead of focusing on the part I didn’t like, I viewed things as the happy place where I go to create, to make people feel good and happy. I get to make people laugh, or happy, or feel motivated through music. I get to create intentional programming that makes people feel strong or empowered or challenged. 

Objectively, it might not have been my ideal time, sitting down, inside, turning inward to be on my laptop all day, but the result makes it all worth it.

Now, going into the studio and seeing people’s faces and hearing their reactions, getting messages with people’s stories, or knowing what that time in front of the computer created makes everything worth it. Hearing how the end result directly feeds my biggest goals for my life is enough to say BRING ON THE BLUELIGHT and whip my computer open.

So instead of giving 20% across the board, I’m working on being more intentional with my time to focus in with damn near close to 100% focus for the end game, helping create confidence, happiness, and joy.

For someone who is trying to focus and not be distracted, “doing more” doesn’t seem to make much sense. But if you’re doing more with intentionality, it sure does.

Let me explain: I can bet that almost every one of you reading this newsletter feels busy. You have jobs, extracurriculars, and maybe even kids. KIDS! Tiny humans who depend on you to keep them alive, healthy, and entertained? I can only imagine what that does to your schedule, especially on the days you’ve carefully planned out to have some glorious me-time.

Doing more doesn’t come from trying to add more to my schedule; it actually comes from something I observed my brother doing. Because if I’m nothing else, I’m at least an annoying younger brother who wants to copy everything his cool big bro does.

My brother travels for work, has two energetic children, loves photography and being outdoors, and has very little time to do all those things. Knowing he doesn’t have enough hours in the day to do each, he just started doing them all at the same time. He’ll go for a hike with his family, bring his camera, and get some amazing shots. He walks away with great photos, enjoys time outdoors, and gets to find an engaging activity for his family. 

It got me thinking about what I can combine to get the most out of my time. Of course, there’s nothing better than being able to dedicate 100% of your energy to something, but we don’t always have that luxury. Although let me be clear, doing more DOES NOT include scrolling while trying to have meaningful interactions with people. Lol nice try though.

Both of these things (slowing down to focus & doing more) aren’t original thoughts, but they were presented to me in original ways, both from my therapist and my brother. So maybe the thing I need to really be focusing on is opening myself up to unexpected lessons and sharing my feelings because I never know who’s dealt with these things in the past.

Moments with Maurice

If you only pause to reflect on your life for one moment today, do it now.

If you’ve been journaling along with me, take the time to pause on the reflection and write down your answer to the prompt. Even if it feels silly in the moment, looking back on what you’ve written down can be eye-opening when you start to see patterns form.

Because no matter what, there is always something to smile about.

Damn, They Put Their Foot In This!

Ninety Acres, are you kidding me right now?! This makes the phrase ‘farm-to-table’ sound processed because the meal was so fresh. Maybe it was the backdrop (a farm), maybe it was the menu, but whatever it was, I was blown away by the taste. Clean plate club over here!

Doing More!

A waterfront walk gave me a bit of the outside time I was craving. Of course, the urban nature wasn’t the same as above, but it gave me a moment to breathe, and sometimes that’s all you can squeeze in. If you made it this far, tell me your favorite location for a quick breather. You know, the one you can pop in or over to for a quick 10-minute pause (yes, even if it’s your pantry).

US Open

Now I’m going to say something VERY controversial, but I am ride-or-die Team Aperol Spritz (and it’s not just because they have a massive sign that says “Good Vibes Only”, but that is quite on par with last week’s newsletter.

The lululemon pop-up displayed their usual impressive event focused shopping experience… so much so that I’m wondering if I should attempt tennis… or at least wear the outfits…. Do we think I would be better or worse at tennis than basketball?

Classic Grainy Picture

You know what’s better than going to a concert? Watching someone’s 10+ grainy stories of said concert, where you have no idea what’s going on. (That was complete sarcasm, don’t come for me. Also, stop putting up so many concert videos.)

Need some new music? Try Elmiene (the concert I attended at Irving Plaza)

Remember:

-Adrian