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Are You Building A Life Or Escaping One

Are You Building a Life or Just Escaping One?

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Are You Building A Life Or Escaping One

Feeling stuck, busy, or always saying “someday”? In Episode 1193 of The BIGG Success Show podcast, The Professor and Mary-Lynn ask a simple but powerful question: are you building a life you love, or are you just escaping the one you have? Click the player to listen now, or read the summary below.

[Podcast Transcript]

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Escape.

It comes in many forms: scrolling on your phone, binge watching a TV show, fantasizing a future. Sometimes, it can be healthy to escape. Or it may be unhealthy. And sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart!

George is a fan of daydreaming. “When I get stressed, I like to cope by dreaming about the future. But I know I have to be careful, because psychology tells us that – if you get really good at visualizing – it becomes ineffective because your brain thinks you’ve already achieved your dream.”

Of course, daydreaming can be a negative as well. Especially if you spend an inordinate amount of time on “someday”. The world marches on, but you get stuck in place. Even if you feel you’re making progress!

So, we’re going to talk about building a life by escaping those things that are holding you back.

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5 Research-Based Ways to Add More Happiness to Your Life

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A new study shows happiness is a key factor in success. So, we found 5 ways – each backed by research – to get more happiness in your life.

Click the player to listen to this episode of The BIGG Success Show Podcast. Below is a summary.

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Does success bring more happiness to your life, or does happiness bring more success?

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The Downside of Finding Your Passion

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he Downside of Finding Your Passion blog post image

This BIGG Success Show was inspired by a study on finding your passion to be published in Psychological Science.

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The research shows people are led astray by the advice to “find your passion”. It makes it harder to discover one’s passion. So you get stuck. In fact, that’s a conclusion we came to years ago here on BIGG Success.

Fortunately, there is a better way…

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How to Be Less Happy and More Anxious

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Image of a person holding a smart phone with the blog title: How to be less happy and more anxious

Is your smartphone making you less happy and more anxious? George & Mary-Lynn discuss a study that says it does on The BIGG Success Show.

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Thanks to smartphones, we are constantly connected to our friends, our family, and our work. As a result, we are less happy and more anxious.

A  Kent State University study of college students shows those who spend hours each day online, texting or talking on cellphones are more anxious, less happy and get lower grades. The students who were “less addicted” to checking their phones were better off.

Speaking of addiction, another study shows that many people suffer from anxiety if they lose or forget their phone, even if only for a few minutes. That rush of anxiety and fear some feel once they realize their disconnected is called nomophobia -as in no-mo(bile) phone-phobia.

How do we break our addiction to technology? It won’t be easy.  People are checking them everywhere: while watching TV, at the movies, at the dinner table, in church, in bed, and while driving.

How to Feel Happier and Less Anxious

Do we really have to talk, text,  or post so much? No we don’t.

Andrew Lepp, one of the researchers in the Kent State study says, “You need time to be alone with your thoughts, and recover from the daily stressors in a way that doesn’t involve electronic media.”

Ways to Disconnect:

  • Meditate
  • Go for a walk without your headphones
  • Read an old-fashioned hardback book
  • Do some household chores
  • Journal with pen and paper

Quiet time lets your mind rest. Stress diminishes, attention and memory improve, endorphins are released. Your creative process is allowed to work. You can explore meaningful thoughts which can provide important direction in your life.

Use this time to refresh, and realize it will take practice to achieve. To get started, try to dedicate at least fifteen minutes a day for quiet time. Keep track of the days you do this. Pay attention to your stress levels on the days you unplug, versus the days you don’t.

It’s your choice! You can be constantly connected and feel less happy and more anxious. Or, you can disconnect for a short time every day to feel happier and more at ease, which leads to BIGG Success!

Will you commit to disconnecting daily? What will you do with your quiet time?

Direct link to The BIGG Success Show audio file | podcast:
https://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/01152-052924.mp3

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Putting the Thanks in Thanksgiving

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Image of family holding hands in prayer at dinner table with blog post title: Thanks in Thanksgiving

It’s important to put the “thanks” in Thanksgiving for more reasons than you think!

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This time of year, we are reminded of all we have to be thankful for. Not only is it good for the soul, but new research shows it is good for your physical and mental health!

Be thankful for the benefits


Robert Emmons, a Psychology professor at the University of California Davis, did a study to determine if there are benefits to being grateful.

He divided the study’s participants into three groups:

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