Happy Wednesday,

This past week I read Be Your Future Self Now by Dr. Benjamin Hardy. I highly recommend this book. In it, he outlines the 7 threats to your future self and threat #3 is your environment - being unaware of your environment creates a random evolution. This chapter is littered with some quote gems:

"Just like atoms bouncing off each other, our social interactions are constantly shaping who we are and what we do" - Dr. Jonah Berger in Invisible Influence

"Your input determines your outlook. Your outlook determines your output, and your output determines your future" - Zig Ziglar

"You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you met and the books you read." [My note: again your inputs] - Charlie Jones

"If we do not create and control our environment, our environment creates and controls us." - Dr. Marshall Goldsmith

"By proactively changing your inputs of information, experiences, and people, you become aware of what you previously didn't know. You see what you previously didn't notice. You seek what you previously didn't want. You act in ways you previously didn't behave. - Dr. Benjamin Hardy

I mean, I think this is great stuff! To make it short and sweet, make sure to put yourself in situations surrounded by people who are similar to what you want your future self to be.

Want to be a successful coach? Surround yourself with successful coaches. Want to be a chef? Surround yourselves with chefs. Want to be a good communicator? Surround yourself with good communicators. Want connection? Surround yourself with those that value connection.

Quick story - this is actually wild to me. Cindy, Dr. B, has been writing a book about her life, trauma, and NVC, and today in a class she shared this excerpt from her writing. This is without me even knowing what she wrote and without her ever reading Be Your Future Self Now!

"I have found that people need to stay consciously IN the process for a long time before seeing glimpses of the next stage. And what do I mean by IN the process? I think individuals begin to get consciously skilled best by attending regular NVC practice groups; weekly is ideal. Another way to become consciously skilled is by surrounding oneself with people that have and intentionally use NVC process in their conversations and meetings."

This is exactly what Dr. Benjamin Hardy is talking about when he says to choose your inputs purposefully to create the future self you want.

And this is what we're doing in the Empathy Gym. According to Blue Zones author Dan Buettner, one of the highest predictors of quality and length of life is the quality of your relationships. How we communicate determines the health of our relationships.

Come join the Empathy Gym and surround yourself with other people who are working to improve their communication and increase connection. Surround yourself with our facilitators and get exposed to more learning lessons like the one in our podcast today.

We've been revamping the Empathy Gym and we're now moving to Practice Groups where you will meet at the same time each week with the same group of people. You'll grow together and take leaps toward better communication, connection and relationships together. If you have taken our Intro to NVC training and you'd like to join our Empathy Gym, click here and fill out the form so we can get you into a Practice Group. If you haven't yet taken the Intro to NVC, please click here to learn more.

🎙️ Podcast Episode 98: Big Win with the Lawn Man

Ever have a small, inconvenient conversation that you might avoid because you have thoughts that it's not worth it? In this Episode, Dr. B and Heather discuss an issue that arose with Dr. B's lawn service and how she decided to apply her NVC skills and, consequently, reaped the benefits. We hope this playful episode will give the listener some inspiration to take on some of those scary interactions.

Click here to listen to the podcast

💪 In The Empathy Gym This Week ❤️

We are changing the weekly schedule and format. Please put in your availability here and see the email we sent on Sunday for updates.

Upcoming Schedule

8/3 Wednesday 3:45 pm EST - Routine Workout with Logan

8/4 Thursday 10am EST - Routine Workout with Jordan

8/5 Friday 12pm EST - Routine Workout with Jordan

8/8 Monday 3pm EST - Routine Workout with Cindy

8/10 Wednesday 3:45 pm EST - Empathy Intensive with Logan

Cheers,

Ryan