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New Year - Better Identities
10 Plays6 months ago
Brian and Dave touch on their New Years resolutions, expanding on the trials they will face and what it is going to take to continue to hold these habits.
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Transcript
Setting and Achieving New Year Goals
00:00:01
David Isaacs
Welcome back. This is yeah don't either episode four or episode five. um New Year, better identities. They will be talking about going into the new year, some of the goals we have set. So the steps that we're going to take to get there, maybe some challenges that we're going to have along the way.
00:00:26
David Isaacs
Not only challenging ourselves, but I think, at least for me each month, setting up a different challenge. We'll talk about January here in a bit. Brian, how are we doing?
00:00:37
Brian Leithead
I'm good. I'm good. ah Excited to talk about this topic. It's been, New Year's been on my mind since like May, cause I'm ready for this year to end personally. But, um, you know, I got a lot of goals set, uh, not necessarily one for each month, but they go off the financial and personal goals that I'm looking forward to talking about and actually following through on. So excited to talk about this episode.
00:01:02
David Isaacs
Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I think the years nothing great. It's really a lot of people, you know, the economy stuff seems at least for me. I don't know you particularly like trying to find different jobs, just kind of feeling like trapped, I guess, in a way. ah The decisions that I could make, but cost more money to be able to do them and not really getting too much equity in doing it between renting or do I buy a house?
Navigating Challenges in Personal and Financial Goals
00:01:35
David Isaacs
Then I look at the house being sold like six years ago for 20 to 30% of what it's worth now, you know something being bought for like 50 grand. Now they're trying to sell for like 200,000. It's tough, but yeah, i I definitely share in the sentiment that I'm just waiting for this year to get over and hopefully next year will be better. But even if it isn't outside of
00:02:00
David Isaacs
my own control or your own control. Hopefully the things within our control will have a better semblance on and working towards.
00:02:09
Brian Leithead
Yeah, absolutely. And that's that's really all you can do at the end of the day, um you know whether it's New Year's resolutions or just being a better person. It doesn't have to come down to coming in next year. The things that you can control are what you should focus on. So you know political climate, housing market, that's not really things you can control, but you know saving towards the house, making better decisions, healthier decisions, those are things that you can control and control now.
00:02:38
Brian Leithead
um I know that a lot of people use the New Year's and Excuse and they just, you know, fall off. I think it's like 8% of people actually follow through on their New Year's resolutions. um And I'm definitely not one of those people. I think if I said, especially within the last few years, I've just kind of been going through transformation as in my career. um It's been harder and especially while going through it.
00:03:07
Brian Leithead
you know, kind of parallel to being a parent, it's, it's hard to set those goals. But I think just after the year that I've had personally, um, I'm a little bit more focused on what I want now that I'm in a career and working for a company that I love working for, um, it's a little bit easier mindset, but you know, everyone's different. There are people who are out there who are employed, probably listening to me, telling me to go to hell, but, um, it's,
00:03:35
Brian Leithead
for each, it's different for every person, but I kind of, and just as soon as it hits midnight today, like it's go time for me.
00:03:44
David Isaacs
Yeah.
Maintaining Motivation and Realistic Goal-Setting
00:03:44
David Isaacs
Yeah. I think the New Year's resolution stuff, it really comes down to motivation. And I think I've heard it before, but you're not motivated to start now. If you're pushing it back, then you're not really prepared, preparing yourself enough to be able to take it on. And that's when you get into like these crash diets or very restrictive habits that are way restrictive for what you were doing previously.
00:04:13
David Isaacs
And a lot of people really can't keep up with it. You know, you hear about the stories of somebody's like, Oh, I'm going to start exercising again, but then they overdo it. And within three days, they're too sore to go to the gym again. And they put it off until they feel better again. And maybe they'll show up like one or two more times, but it really comes down to.
00:04:35
David Isaacs
my own issue as far as scheduling and making use of my time is, you know, we only have so much time to be able to do things every day. and I enjoy having time not having to do anything, but it's kind of detrimental to me when I do have that time. And I think the just working from home has worked against me in a lot of ways. I felt like I was more productive when I was in an office and came home. And I, I just felt like I did more, like there was something about going outside of the house that got me to do more, but now just like sitting in the house and I have, you know, I can
00:05:14
David Isaacs
go lay in bed, go
Productivity and Lifestyle Changes
00:05:15
David Isaacs
watch TV. I can go get something to eat. I can, you know, go swing the golf club outside or run on the gas station or whatever it is. And it's kind of one of the things that um I need to work on a lot more outside of just the things that I do want to work on that I've identified. As far as not spending as much money trying to save, like you had mentioned towards the house by only paying for things that I would consider necessities as far as groceries, gas, my bills, the coding boot camp that I still haven't paid off that I got, we got fucked by. um But yeah, it's, it's tough. I know it's, it's tough for a lot of people because yeah, they a lot of these habits form
00:06:02
David Isaacs
and these issues happen that just compound and you don't really realize it. And it's good that you've noticed and identified like this is an issue. I need to do something about it, but just trying to attack it right away without really getting a lot of a lot of knowledge in the ah subject or really planning out like how you're going to want to do it.
00:06:25
David Isaacs
Because I think the it's it's hard to really, at least for me, kind of identify like how long this change is just going to take. How restrictive do I need to be? And also not getting down on myself when I trip up, which I think is it's definitely a problem for me, and it's probably a problem for a lot of people. But and it's a lot it's a lot to want to make a change. and not only set goals for yourself, but trying to be, trying to turn that into part of your identity, trying to turn that into part of your habits. Um, as far as going to the gym, uh, currently I'm sick, so I haven't been able to go for a few days and most of my stress is not really there. I think my body's just fighting off the infection still, but yeah, like a few months ago started going to the gym three or four times a week and
00:07:18
David Isaacs
If I missed, you know, three days in a row, I would just start getting. Irrationally anxious, irrationally stressed for whatever reason. And I would have to work on my breathing exercises or trying to clear my mind, trying to calm down, just sitting at home, like not really doing anything. So at least for the gym, I think I've gotten pretty aligned with going there every day. But the next challenge is trying to eat healthier.
00:07:48
David Isaacs
And it it's going to be, it's a lot easier to go into the gym and throw weight around when you're eating. I don't know. I, I haven't
Health and Wellness Strategies
00:07:57
David Isaacs
counted. I'd be scared to count, but it's probably upwards of 2,600 calories a day. Just cutting that down to around 2000 or 1800 at my most restrictive. That's going to be a lot tougher.
00:08:10
Brian Leithead
Yeah, um that's that's always been my biggest problem, especially portion control. I never really counted calories, but that's one thing that I'm doing. I'm going to start focusing on in the New Year's. kind of Because I did keto ah before the pandemic in 2018 to 2019, and yeah like you were talking about with these restrictive diets. Um, yeah, I mean, I lost 120 pounds in that 10 to 10 a year month frame. Um, but then unfortunately the pandemic happened and I gained all of that weight back minus five pounds. So it was kind of like taking the long way to losing five pounds. Um, but with those restrictive diets, you know, it's like, yeah, you lose weight quickly, but you're gonna, um,
00:09:00
Brian Leithead
gain it back twice as fast as you you you know took it off so um I've read a lot into like clerked deficits and or just counting calories is way more helpful anyway um you know you can still eat closer to what you probably normally would obviously you want to cut out certain things and kind of just broadly of like bread pasta and and rice so but Yeah, I mean that's that's a huge goal of mine is is to lose weight get back into the gym just be healthier I mean both my wife and I are overweight and we don't want to kind of pass on those bad habits to our son So we're gonna we have to set the example now, especially while he's so young that And I'm not a spring chicken. I'm 36 years old. I haven't been to
00:09:49
Brian Leithead
you know, my main primary care physician in probably almost three years, um you know, I've just gone through specialists if I've needed something specific, like an allergist or I forget what the, I think it's a pulmonary doctor does your ASMR. Anyway, get away from it. I've always gone to seen specialists rather than just go to my my PCP. So I'm gonna be focused on that.
00:10:17
Brian Leithead
focus on getting back and getting a bunch of blood work done and getting myself back on track mentally and physically because um like you were saying with your you know diet you were or not going to the gym is kind of causing you to have like become anxious or you know have negative feelings. Well, for me, it's been diet and just drinking too much caffeine. like I think I drink I have a 20-ounce Tervus, which is the equivalent of four cups of coffee. I have like two or three of those in a day. So like by the end of it, I think like everyone's out to get me, like somebody's watching me. Like I just become kind of almost borderline paralloid delusional. So I've already kind of started the wheels on that. I'm down to one cup of coffee per day now, unless I'm really in it. Then I'll have a second one or...
00:11:04
Brian Leithead
you know, something with lesser caffeine in it. Um, but these are just small changes that I'm making now, like, cause I have control over this. So I want to kind of snowball that into my diet and actually going back to the gym. Um, and my wife owns a cafe who has a partnership with the gym. I don't even take advantage of that. It's just simple as going again, half mile, putting my shoes on and going to work, but I just,
00:11:34
Brian Leithead
for whatever reason, I just kind of, this circular logic of drinking too much caffeine, getting paranoid. I never feel like I kind of like amounting enough and then just never, just I find every excuse to just like not go. um But I've got to change that. If it's not for me, it's for my son and like my next generation, basically.
00:12:00
David Isaacs
Yeah, excuse me. um
00:12:06
David Isaacs
Yeah, the gym. The New Year's resolution is at the gym. Normally, I don't like the the touristy stuff like New Year's Eve. I'm not going out and doing anything because I hate crowds like the day before ah the bar night before Thanksgiving. Hate it. You know, any any one of those like big nights, you're like going to be out with a crowd. But the gym is one of the places that I think at least if there's more people there, like trying to better themselves, I can kind of get around it. So I'm not as ah mad about it as I am, like sitting in traffic or whatnot. Like if I have to wait you're on a machine and like people are trying to better themselves, like that's great. And yeah, I think the. I don't know that the certain statistic, but it's got to be a mass majority of people just don't exercise or go to the gym and
00:12:57
David Isaacs
It's definitely one of the things that kind of falls by the wayside. I was even talking to my mom earlier about you know if I ever end up having kids and just like how much time it would take just to you know make sure you're looking over them, not only being a good parent and instilling good values in them, but making sure that they don't set the house on fire or hurt themselves or whatever else so I definitely get it that and it's probably tough to you know go and do something alone or leave your leave your kid at home or leave your wife with them or whatever else so
00:13:38
David Isaacs
I get it. I definitely think it's something that falls off for a lot of people. You know, my parents, at least my mom and her ex-husband, he went to the gym. He had a New Year's resolution, went to the gym like twice ah a few years ago and that just never went again.
00:13:54
David Isaacs
It's a very hard habit to keep up with, especially considering time commitment. But that's why the only way I've been able to do it without having many more responsibilities is that I joined a health fitness club and I like doing the sauna. I like doing the steam room. I like that I can get in, get a good sweat going, running, or on the machine, sauna, steam room, and being able to shower there as well.
00:14:22
David Isaacs
And having access to a pool and a hot tub is just so much, like so much better than just going to your, your average gym. And, you know, you just work out and I don't plan it. Fitness has showers and I've, I've gone there and showered before in that, but there's just so much more to it. And you really feel more of like a community sense of being in a locker room and being around other people and people that just want to talk your ear off, but you know It makes for a funny story a lot of the times coming around. So that's what i I hope people look at and realize in trying to set these goals, trying to become a better version of yourself. it your your mind Your mind, your body, they work against you so much.
00:15:11
David Isaacs
If you're trying to change your diet, anytime I try to change mine, I'll feel sick for a couple days or going to the gym and getting too sore. like you know if you If you miss the gym one day and you said you were going to go, ah you can't get too down on yourself because maybe if you did go or sometimes you go and you overdo it and you're too sore and you have to miss miss the next day, like it's okay. you know You're learning, you're realizing these things.
00:15:37
David Isaacs
But yeah, a lot of the work comes with just getting up and doing it. And if you do it and it doesn't work out that way, then you just have to readjust and try it again. And I hope that.
00:15:51
David Isaacs
at least, you know, kind of talking to myself, giving myself here advice to like self positive self talk. But I think other people can probably reconcile with that fact as well. It's shame. No shame doesn't lead to change in many cases. So like, hoping to stay upbeat myself if I If I fall back a little bit, then just work at not trying to get like two days in a row that I'm off what I set out to do.
00:16:23
Brian Leithead
yeah um I can't I personally can't do self affirmations I it's maybe it's a self-esteem yes I was gonna say I can't quote them without sounding like um ah that or like Stuart Smalley from SNL Al Franken's character he's like
00:16:35
David Isaacs
You as kind, you as smart, you as important.
00:16:51
Brian Leithead
I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.
00:16:56
David Isaacs
The help is just such a good movie too.
00:16:59
Brian Leithead
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Wasn't that where, um, like what's her name was kind of like taking off point for her career?
00:17:08
David Isaacs
Uh, just, just good chess thing.
00:17:11
Brian Leithead
No.
Self-Improvement Techniques
00:17:11
David Isaacs
Or, um, God, what's the, uh,
00:17:15
Brian Leithead
Oh, yeah.
00:17:20
Brian Leithead
um uh... uh... the old days okay
00:17:28
David Isaacs
Octavia Spencer, I don't, I don't know, really. I mean, it, everyone's great in it. I think they all went on to do a lot more after that.
00:17:40
Brian Leithead
yeah
00:17:40
David Isaacs
It kind of doesn't help that you have Chastain and Bryce Dallas Howard in there because, and Emma Stone, but luckily they all had different hair colors, I think.
00:17:47
Brian Leithead
and so
00:17:50
David Isaacs
So maybe it was easier to tell them apart, but most of the time I have an issue.
00:17:55
Brian Leithead
or Sissy Space, a little bit more, <unk>c yeah, this was, I haven't seen this maybe a long time, but I'll add it to my list. But yeah, anyway, you know, if self-affirmations work for you, then go for it. um Personally, again, I kind of just like get maybe caught up in them, in my own head on them and just make it, turn it into a funny rather than a, what it's actually supposed to do and make you feel better and positive.
00:18:22
Brian Leithead
um but Yeah, I think it's just having, it's definitely about mindset though. You know, you have to have the focus and, you know, I had my, my end of the year review, um, a couple of weeks ago, uh, I got a raise, so that's cool.
00:18:40
Brian Leithead
Uh, from a, from my new job and one of kind of one of the, some of the feedback that that my boss had and we kind of agreed to, it was like my, my time management at work.
00:18:40
David Isaacs
Hell yeah.
00:18:50
Brian Leithead
It's just, I'm a little bit behind on some projects just because I'm. being reacquainted with being on the data side of of tech. I spent the last you know almost a year and a half and doing coding. So that's kind of where my mind automatically goes and wants to go. um you know So worrying about data models, worrying about attention to detail. These are all kind of things that I've had to take slower. And unfortunately, I've just fallen behind on my own things. But um you know now that i've kind of it's been verbalized to me and that I have that feedback,
00:19:24
Brian Leithead
Now I can change my mindset. Now I can kind of get that snowball effect going of, what kind of what's like the low hanging fruit that I can get done now? Or you know um how long you're asking a coworker, like if you were to do this, how long do you think it would take you? And you know kind of use that as like gauging certain things. So um you know I need to not only do that at work,
00:19:49
Brian Leithead
I also need to do that in my personal life and kind of just like, uh, you know, use, even if it's Google calendar, just to carve out time in your schedule. Um, you know, just micromanage your own day a bit, but, you know, not make it so overwhelming.
00:20:07
Brian Leithead
So, but yeah, ah or or whatever, whatever app, whatever, if you want to write it down in a journal, because
00:20:07
David Isaacs
Yeah.
00:20:14
Brian Leithead
Again, I don't know the percentages, but I do know that if you write things down, you'll remember it better. um You know, something we've kind of gotten away with, with typing and voice to text. So.
00:20:26
David Isaacs
Yeah, alarms.
00:20:26
Brian Leithead
oh
00:20:27
David Isaacs
I have alarms set on my phone. It's more towards like, later on into the night, just like vibrate. The first one's kind of like a decompress type thing around nine o'clock to just start like maybe be doing some slower breathing, a little bit of mindfulness.
00:20:47
David Isaacs
I've honestly meditation is I wish I could get to this point. I think they're lying about like the sensor bond or seeing like the astral plane or whatever the fuck it is. But I have gotten I've gotten close to like a good sense of relaxation meditating. And I wish I could commit more time to it. But it's for me, it's really tough. And that's probably something else that might be a goal I set for February, at least like meditate for A certain amount of time each day, but yeah, time management. I'm not wanting to talk about with that because I'm terrible with it too. But but at least with my job, I have, I'm not motivated to really do anything. So I'm not incentivized to do more.
00:21:32
David Isaacs
And I really think it is not only negatively affected my life. Again, to the people that are unemployed out there, I'm sorry. I hope you find a job soon, but it's not always greener on the other side. I'm sure I would have a lot more of an issue without having a job. So I'm very grateful to have one. That being said, there's always going to be things about whatever you're doing in a given day that you're not going to like and working for a company where I'm underpaid, underappreciated.
00:22:00
David Isaacs
not really incentivized to do more, that i I'm kind of being conditioned into being unproductive. And I think that's really affected other aspects of my life.
Battling Procrastination and Perceptions of Success
00:22:13
David Isaacs
So trying to find other ways to do do things outside of work that are productive as far as the gym, as far as um trying to get these painting contracts or,
00:22:19
Brian Leithead
Thank you.
00:22:28
David Isaacs
slight contract or contracts of doing carpet or whatever it is. Like I really need to be doing something. And one of the things I realized is if I'm not doing anything, then I just kind of push things off. And that's something I'm looking to work on, but.
00:22:43
David Isaacs
Again, you know, your mind, your body, they just work against you so often. Like it is easy to sit, lay in bed or sit in your computer chair on the couch, just scrolling on your phone and next thing you know, two hours have gone by, which could have been a workout at the gym. It could have been, you know, meditation plus cooking, and doing the dishes or whatnot. So it's really coming down to just my own motivation and trying to find a way to be able to get that back and I think the issue and the like blockage like I think a lot of people can kind of realize that they have a problem in doing something but there's only so much time in a day and they can't really commit to what they want to do or like knowing what it's going to take to get there because the journey is like the hardest part like it's it's very easy and I actually did a
00:23:35
David Isaacs
a study on this and it's been studied in psychology ah in recent years, but the idea of daydreaming that's kind of lifts people's motivation.
00:23:36
Brian Leithead
Thank you.
00:23:46
David Isaacs
And I think the the theory is that Imagine your ideal self, you know rich, ripped, having whatever you dream of. It kind of relaxes you to a point where you lose that sense of motivation and working that it takes to get there because you don't associate all the work that it takes to get to a point like that. You just imagine what it would be like to be that person. And I think social media is,
00:24:15
David Isaacs
really skewed people's minds in that because we we really only see like the best of the best of people if they're on vacation or if they just got engaged or just bought a house, you know, we're not and unless we're friends with them.
00:24:28
David Isaacs
We don't really know the struggles that they deal with every day, ah the work that it's taken them to get to that point, the money it' saved and they had to save to get a house or plan for a wedding or be able to go on vacation or anything.
00:24:36
Brian Leithead
Let me, I'll clean up. Once all this stuff is cleared out, we want to cover it.
00:24:44
David Isaacs
So just really, I need to educate myself a lot more on you know what it takes to have a good diet, what it takes to have better time management and really it's a lot of trial and error like we had talked about ah trying to find a way that works well with you because we all have different personality traits and yeah maybe writing things down works for you maybe alarms work for you or what have you but yeah it's just like you got to keep going you got to keep trying you know if there's a
00:25:08
Brian Leithead
Yeah, there was a girl. There was a girl talking on the phone.
00:25:20
David Isaacs
something out there to remind you that you, you can do it. And maybe if you're not doing so well, maybe it's time to change something about it. Cause like, just trying to go to the gym every day and failing at doing that. It's like, no, you haven't failed at it, you know, but you have to learn. Okay. Well, maybe I need to be not going as hard at the gym. It takes some weight off, takes some of the reps off.
00:25:49
David Isaacs
you know, just like trying to get into, at least that's what I did when I first showed up. um Just trying to get to a point where I'm not going to be too sore coming in the next day, because I know I want to come to the gym the next day. But now the next step in doing that is like, how do I get past this mental block? How do I up the weight? How do I work in my nutrition, I need to be getting more protein in me to build these muscles up more, but that takes me going to the grocery store and picking these things up and actually cooking them and then cleaning the dishes and putting
Flexibility and Accountability in Goal-Setting
00:26:28
Brian Leithead
from
00:26:29
David Isaacs
chicken, broccoli, and rice in a microwave and eating it instead of door dashing the subway or something.
00:26:37
David Isaacs
You know, so there's a lot more steps when it comes to it and yeah, it's a lot harder and the world has kind of worked against us and selling us on convenience. And it sucks, but that's just the nature of it. It is a lot harder to cook your own meals, to not spend money on things outside of your necessities, to take time to get into the gym and develop these routines and these habits. But even just scratching the surface has been so rewarding.
00:27:09
Brian Leithead
Yeah proof is definitely in the in the planning or proof is in the pudding whatever whatever the saying is but and I think um Taking the time like step taking a real step back kind of looking at it maybe from a different perspective um like kind of like what you're alluding to with going to the gym and don't necessarily want to push here push it to the limit, especially on your first day going back because they're just going to get burnt out quicker. um Yeah, there's definitely always going to be trial and error with ah new things, but I think at least having maybe and an an initial plan and then kind of adjusting to
00:27:56
Brian Leithead
how your, how things are going and how things are feeling. Um, I always like having setting up a plan, like when we're traveling, um, doesn't mean that we have to stick to it, to a T, um, cause everything's going to change people's moods are going to be different depending on how the day goes. So, um, I think little bit of test test planning at the beginning and then just adjusting as you're going along. Cause maybe there's going to be a day that like, you're going to want to go to the gym and like you're feeling extra, but like, you know,
00:28:24
Brian Leithead
to kind of compensate for the days that like you don't feel like going so um you know and then if you have a partner and we're just having communication because it's like you know it's like hey babe can I go to to the gym I haven't been in a couple weeks you know um it's really just not necessarily internalizing everything but just kind of outlaw outwardly projecting your feelings if it's writing it down in a journal or you know, putting it into a schedule, talking to your partner. I think as the kids say, ah ah putting it out into the universe is kind of like own it's its own meditation in it itself. um and it I'm an outlet talker. if i If you hear me talking to myself, um I am.
00:29:17
Brian Leithead
And just can't maybe go with it, but I like to verbalize these things because it helps me remember them better So I'm just kind of want to look my like quirks, but it helps Yeah, it's a start right you gotta you gotta adjust
00:29:29
David Isaacs
So you think daddy's going to go throw some weight around. I'll be back when I feel like it. You think that's, you think that's sufficient for, uh,
00:29:42
David Isaacs
you got a plan and adjust. Yeah. It's like, uh, everyone's got a plan to go to the gym until you not get punched in the face, but you wake up the next day feeling like you got punched all over.
00:29:53
Brian Leithead
You did, yeah.
00:29:54
David Isaacs
Yeah. And that's just what it is. You know what? It takes time. It takes patience. It takes mental fortitude, not only to get up and do it, but to be able to stick with it and understand these things. And, you know, I'm speaking this out in the world, but also kind of like speaking it to myself as well, because yeah, like you're not going to be 100% perfect all the time and all these people that are able to do these things like yeah it sucks but the more you ingrain it into your daily life to do these things and sometimes it just becomes second nature but
00:30:35
David Isaacs
It's really easy to fall off of it. I mean, we always have these roadblocks, me getting sick or, you know, maybe you go on vacation and it's harder to get back into these habits or maybe something else, you know, that happens, but it's just, uh, yeah, it'd be lucky if you have a partner that supports you and your journey and everything.
00:31:01
Brian Leithead
Yeah, I'm looking to have that. But for you know for those who don't, maybe it's a little bit harder. Maybe you work better independently. And it's kind of knowing yourself. um you know That's a lifelong process. But um just having something to kind of echo back to or um is, for me, is maybe my key takeaway.
00:31:27
Brian Leithead
Um, you know, even if it's like a family member or, you know, one of your buddies from like Xbox live or steam, um, you know, like, Hey, you know, ladies, man, two and four seven. I got to go to the gym.
00:31:38
Brian Leithead
Like I'm gonna, you know, go on this coast streak and then I'm gonna go kill some reps, you know, whatever.
00:31:43
David Isaacs
you watch Watch me dab on these these pods and then I'm gonna go We go pick things up and put them down. I'll be back Shot collars
00:31:51
Brian Leithead
Right. Um, yeah. And that's.
00:31:59
Brian Leithead
i Maybe you're making your own accountability system. I'll put it that way Not even accountability. Yeah, see yeah, we need at least we're that's one of our plans for the podcast So you stop saying um, we definitely need to get that going No,
00:32:16
David Isaacs
We are the knights that say, um, yeah, no, I, well, that's kind of like what I need.
00:32:20
Brian Leithead
we are no longer the nights who say anywhere that Nika you come by you sweet
00:32:28
David Isaacs
And that was the. The whole thing behind but the boot camp too. So I tried teaching myself code and i it's hard when you can literally do anything on a computer. So if I had like so if i had a ah like Dwayne The Rock Johnson just throws me into a ah room at a computer and the only thing I'm able to do is Go on leak code or course era and I have visual studio code and like that sit on a computer and I'm locked in there for like two hours a day like that be great but. Fortunately I don't have that and I don't think most people do either so.
00:33:07
David Isaacs
Yeah, it just comes comes down to you and your own motivation and everything and then we talked about atomic habits a lot with I believe James Clear is the author um Could be wrong
The Power of Small Improvements
00:33:17
David Isaacs
about that. Maybe I'll have to fact-check that but Yeah, he talks about You know, you're not setting a goal, but you're trying it's ah wanting to set a new identity.
00:33:30
Brian Leithead
in house.
00:33:30
David Isaacs
And i I really like the story that he had about the British cycling team who got a new coach and previously like they were terrible historically.
00:33:44
David Isaacs
But the coach just focused on like 1% trying to get better in certain ways, like better clothing, better nutrition, better bike chains, better tires, ah you know, things that he would consider like that make it 1% better and that it stacks up, you know, with interest and everything.
00:33:46
Brian Leithead
one
00:34:03
David Isaacs
So not only like trying to do something that's drastic right away and trying to get into these very crash type habits, but just taking things slowly at a time. And I think that's what I'm trying to do, at least with these challenges to see, you know, what are what did I deal with the most in trying to do that? How can I adjust to make it better? So January with being just spending money on basic necessities, bills, groceries, gas, things like that.
00:34:41
David Isaacs
not not ordering out any food or going and doing these things. And yeah, I mean, the the challenges I'm gonna face is like trying to having to turn people down because I, I, like most people need social interaction a lot of times. Like you can try to supplement it by being on discord or Xbox live or whatever else and talking to people, maybe like trying to like trying to get a little too personal and the, the Google means that my job or something like just that I have some more social interaction, but you can't really
00:35:20
David Isaacs
Excuse me. um Can't really supplement it too much with like, hey, we're going to go do this or we're going to go watch this movie or we're going to go to get something to eat here. And yeah, I mean, it's going to be tough, but that's just kind of the nature of something in that I can control. And I don't remember who had said it, but I seen I seen it on some like brain rot tick tock a while ago, but it basically goes like If you can do something about it, then don't worry.
00:35:50
David Isaacs
If you can't do something about it, don't worry. And that's kind of where my mind is at or hoping that it's cemented into my brain as we get into the new year.
00:36:02
Brian Leithead
That is the Dalai Lama.
00:36:05
David Isaacs
Really.
00:36:07
Brian Leithead
Yeah, at least that's what Google. If you can, uh, if you can do something about a situation, why worry? And if you can't do something about a situation, why worry that is, yeah.
00:36:16
David Isaacs
Hmm. Yeah, very, very insightful, very insightful individual.
00:36:22
Brian Leithead
Yeah. I like that.
00:36:23
David Isaacs
Yeah. I liked it a lot. It's stuck with me throughout all the other brain rot videos I've seen.
00:36:29
Brian Leithead
Yeah. ah And James Clear did write atomic habits tiny changes remarkable Results an easy and proven way to build good habits and break bad ones.
00:36:41
Brian Leithead
I'm actually gonna buy that Well, yeah broke already broke my rule of not spending money, but you know well Yeah, ah yeah
00:36:43
David Isaacs
Yeah. I was going to assign that as your homework for this week.
00:36:51
David Isaacs
And then we got six hours. Let me visit Sky Mall real quick and just buy everything.
00:36:59
Brian Leithead
yeah
00:37:00
David Isaacs
So I, I get the, you know, scratch the itch. I'll just set the delivery date to each day of January. So I've, I've cheated in a way. Um, but yeah, you were, you were talking about what you're, uh, like 12 denominations or something like that for the new year.
00:37:08
Brian Leithead
All right.
00:37:16
Brian Leithead
Yeah, um, I wanted to lose 120 pounds this year. Uh, I don't know if my goal is to get to that. Um, however, if I don't get there, I also have to give myself grace of ah trying in the journey. Um, but.
00:37:36
Brian Leithead
I don't want to kind of set myself up for failure before I even start. um My goal is to lose a lot of weight. My goal, my actual numeric value is 120 pounds. um And then for, I started ah kind of a side business for, cause I can't get a real job coding anymore. Grass isn't always greener. Had one wasn't great, but I enjoy coding. I enjoy the problem solving. I enjoy,
00:38:06
Brian Leithead
designing things, uh, professional looking websites. Um, you know, I had a few paying, a few paying gigs in the last six to nine months that I've started. Um, I've done a lot of freelance, like volunteer work for a couple of local, a couple of local businesses and charities. Uh, so I have those out there under my portfolio, but I'm looking to do $12,000 this year.
00:38:37
Brian Leithead
and and sales so um And I haven't even really advertised any like even on like a Facebook group or like LinkedIn, you know professional platforms This has just been all word-of-mouth stuff so far.
00:38:37
David Isaacs
Nice.
00:38:50
Brian Leithead
So I've got a few kind of paid gigs going forward um So I'm set up early to kind of succeed in in 2025 almost said 2012.
00:39:03
Brian Leithead
I don't know why So I gotta start there and build that foundation and just keep that going. Cause if I hit $12,000 way before my sale, I'm just going to keep going. I'm like, you know, I'm not one done. I'm pushing to exceed that sales goal.
00:39:22
David Isaacs
Yeah, nice. Yeah, I think it's good to have a specific goal in mind. And then, you know, plus or minus whatever that you like felt good about it. Because I think with business and even like losing weight, like we had talked about, there's certain roadblocks that come up that make something not as possible, but feeling good about The journey that you're on is, I think more important than tracking things and like numerical values, but it's good to have that as like a guide
The Journey of Continuous Self-Improvement
00:39:58
David Isaacs
or a reference. Right.
00:40:02
Brian Leithead
Yeah, absolutely. Uh, cause like you were talking about earlier, you know, especially with social media, it's, it's easy to see the end result of something, uh, kind of judge based on that. Um, you know, it's like reading the Lord of the Rings and going from the start and the shire to the end where he just drops ring and Mordor that like, that doesn't sound interesting at all. And.
00:40:29
Brian Leithead
Then when you you know watch like the extended editions, now you got like the full story, the full universe building, and now you have more appreciation for that beginning and the end. So um it's definitely good to have a goal, but yeah not always to be results-driven. um You want to be give yourself grace and time to figure it out, because I'm sure I'm going to stumble on, like I know with ah You know, I was working on Eric's website. I was just like, just failed to check in. Like I, and I told him I was going to do that and I didn't do that. Like he was understanding, like it wasn't like a a big deal. Uh, Eric's a client, mutual a mutual friend of ours or a client. That's a friend of David's that I worked on a website. I completed in three weeks. I said it would do it in two, but just time and communication. I didn't do that, but I learned I'm learning from it. So I can take that into the new year and momentum of.
00:41:26
Brian Leithead
Like, okay, I failed at this. I need to, you know, have that attention to detail and that time management. Yeah. That I got in my one-on-one and just use that and put that into my everyday life.
00:41:39
Brian Leithead
You know, starting with my side business or starting really just with me.
00:41:39
David Isaacs
Yeah.
00:41:44
David Isaacs
Yeah, I'm, I'm kind of like a terrible person when it comes to realizing when I can get away with things and being more lazy or extending. Like if I don't have to do something or I can push something back, like I'll try to like finagle a way to
00:42:05
David Isaacs
just get more time to not do it and then eventually do it. So I yeah i don't know if that's exactly what you were saying, but I know it's a ah issue of mine too that I'm looking to at least adjust on. And yeah, I mean, i I've started and stopped it like a lot of these things.
00:42:22
David Isaacs
um like journaling I did for a little while and yeah, just never really went back to it. But yeah, I mean, there's so many different roads, so many different paths, you know, even with like the Lord of the rings, like some people think it's just a movie about walking or a trilogy about walking. And yeah, I mean that, but That might be like the general idea behind and like most of these people, like they find the journey boring and maybe it's harder for them to reconcile like the actual journey with getting to where you want to be. But it's not like they didn't have roadblocks when it came to getting to the end of that. And I'm sure Frodo would have thought like he would have had the, he was the person that was needed and he would have just threw the ring into the fire right away, but it's not exactly what happened. And I'm sure he didn't plan on losing a finger either.
00:43:16
David Isaacs
So it's never always going to be perfect.
00:43:16
Brian Leithead
Yeah.
00:43:19
David Isaacs
It's never always going to be easy. You know, there's going to be things that you overcome and there's no one that's going to be there. That's like, Oh, wow. You, you know, you overcame all against all odds and you've gotten to this point.
00:43:31
David Isaacs
No, I mean, it's. it It should be more about your own personal sense of responsibility and your own um feeling of accomplishment. And sometimes people need to have that external validation.
00:43:46
David Isaacs
for the things that they're doing. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but yeah, there's so many different facets of just personal improvement and it never stops. So even when you get to, like you said, even when you've lost that amount of weight or you've made that amount in sales, like not going to end there, you know, but that's the benchmark for where I want to be.
00:44:13
Brian Leithead
Yeah, you have to set a goal and at least aim for it. like
00:44:21
Brian Leithead
Frodo's, obviously, his end destination was Mordor. It wasn't just to take an eagle and fly to the end and be done. It was you know the personal anguish, the the character building, the, I don't know where I'm going. I need help. um right So asking for outreach to kind of point you in the direction. I know sometimes personally, I'm like a wind-up toy where I just keep going and then eventually hit a wall and tip over.
00:44:44
Brian Leithead
Sometimes maybe, you know, I'll need external help, um you know, to kind of correct things. But yeah, it's about it's always about the journey.
00:44:55
Brian Leithead
um You know, the endpoints nice, um but you find more in doing than thinking about the end.
00:45:05
Brian Leithead
So yeah, I mean,
00:45:08
David Isaacs
Yeah, you know, it's it's like a team.
00:45:11
Brian Leithead
and we're acting since they were dan at the end of 2024 here and I have grown a lot in 2024 but I'm looking to spring more than 2025 but that's that's it for me as far as 2024 goes
00:45:12
David Isaacs
oh
00:45:28
David Isaacs
Yeah. And no, I think that's a good point to realize too. It's like trying to get better at these things and you never want to be, you want to be at least 1% better anytime you can, because the same thing happens if it's, and like what James Clear says, if you're negative 1% each time, then you're just compoundingly getting worse.
00:45:50
David Isaacs
But I think it's harder for people to look and realize about the things that they were able to accomplish because our I think our brains are just so negatively pilled to focus on like the negatives of what has happened to us and it's harder to really look and see the positives and the how we've grown throughout this year.
00:46:10
David Isaacs
And yeah, there's a lot of motivation.
00:46:11
Brian Leithead
know, yeah, yeah.
00:46:14
David Isaacs
There's a lot of um feeling good about going into next year and all the things that we're going to want to change. But it's The reality is it's, it's tough and it's going to continue to be tough, but you just got to keep going and, um, you know, believe in yourself and yeah.
00:46:32
David Isaacs
So I think that's pretty much where we'll end it here and we'll keep you updated on the goals that we had set throughout the year, um, in each episode and probably add more to them, not only, you know,
00:46:44
Brian Leithead
when he brought him, I thought that that was it. He looks like him. He goes, yeah.
00:46:49
David Isaacs
kind of where we're at, but also the struggles we're dealing with, how we plan on overcoming them, what we've learned, and so on and so forth.
00:46:53
Brian Leithead
He's like, okay, that makes sense.
00:46:58
Brian Leithead
Yeah, sounds good. I can't wait to keep everybody updated and, you know, kind of hold each other accountable, even if it's through this podcast. So I'm excited for our 2025.
00:47:10
David Isaacs
Yeah, me as well. All right. Thanks, everybody. Thanks, Brian. We'll talk next week.
00:47:14
Brian Leithead
Yep. Bye. Bye everybody.