Cross Fit for the Mind

The Hidden Cost of Familiarity

Cross Fit for the Mind The Newsletter that Changes the Minds of High Performers

By now you should be aware of the area (s) of your life where returns have been diminishing for some time. Let's discuss why, other than small returns, doing more of the same is a problem. Familiarity is the problem. Your brain f**ken loves it. Probably because it told your ancient ancestors where the food was and where the danger was back in the day. This means when you're busy, you will always revert to what is familiar and inevitably end up doing more of what you know. This is a problem because you are doing what is immediately doable and not what is important to do. You are booking that next triathlon instead of having an honest conversation with your wife or doing your taxes, both of which have needed to be done forever. Both of which create a subconscious weight in the back of your brain for you to drag around. Familiarity and the ease it affords can be a form of avoidance. Secondly, all growth comes from tapping into the unknown, the less familiar and paradoxically the more frightening. This is why doing your first triathlon created such a euphoric high. By exposing ourselves to a completely new situation, feeling the fear and doing it anyway, we created a physical change in our brain. In other words, our new experience has changed us, we are different and it only took a small effort mixed with a large dose of courage. For a small effort in a new direction we gained a large pay-off. For a massive effort in a familiar direction, we gain very little. What are you not doing that you should be doing? Peter Check out my web-site: peterfrancis.ie and email me at: growth@peterfrancis.ie

This email was sent by Peter Francis Performance Coaching, Waterford, Waterford, Waterford, X91N2D5, Ireland Unsubscribe

2020 Paris book ...

͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­

	Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Available now in Paperback – The Paris Residences of James Joyce 2020 Paris book ... MARTINA NICOLLS Jan 26   READ IN APP   My 2020 book The Paris Residences of James Joyce has been released as a paperbook. The hardcover, paperback, and ebook are available from my publisher, Cambridge Scholars Publishing in the UK, and a limited selection of Amazon websites. The Paris Residences of James Joyce is about the apartments and hotels where Irish author James Joyce lived during his nineteen years in Paris, from 1920 to 1939. James Joyce (1882–1941), author of Dubliners (1914), A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), Ulysses(1922), and Finnegans Wake (1939) never owned his own apartment, but moved in and out of residences in the heart of Paris. The Paris Residences of James Joyce, published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, includes photographs of each of his homes, with an historical account of his life and the heady times of Paris, where intellectuals from around the world gathered in a cultural collection of cameraderie and competition. Book Reviews: “James Joyce, like many Irish people before him and after him, found in Paris the refuge they needed from the oppressive and repressive social and political atmosphere of Dublin. […] Frequently short of money, the Joyce family moved between hotels, apartments, and the guest rooms of friends. Martina Nicolls has now produced a handy topographical guide to no less than twenty-three Joyce addresses, all photographed by herself, and identified with Google maps. […]For although all readers will know about Hemingway, and probably most readers will know about Sylvia Beach, as with Ulysses and Finnegans Wake there is always something new to be learned, for the book notices a great many bit-part players, all of whom are listed in an appendix […] Written in jaunty prose, with many discursions, this book, hard-covered and modestly sized, should be profitably read between walks, perhaps in the Café Flore or the Jardin du Luxembourg (the Luxembourg Garden), as a prelude to deeper immersion in James Joyce, or Paris, or both.” David Charles Rose Author, Oscar Wilde's Elegant Republic: Transformation, Dislocation and Fantasy in fin-de-siècle Paris. “Nicolls is to be congratulated on her energetic research in connection with each of the residences. The book includes a timeline showing the periods the family stayed at each address. Another table lists Joyce’s eye examinations and operations. […] If, like me, you enjoy viewing Paris through the places associated with James Joyce, Nicolls’s book is one to bring with you.” Conor Fennell Independent Scholar; James Joyce Quarterly, 59.3, 2022, and Author, A Little Circle of Kindred Minds: Joyce in Paris. NOW AVAILABLE HERE IN PAPERBACK WEBSITE: The Paris Residences of James Joyce Cambridge Scholars Publishing (CSP) United Kingdom PURCHASE CSP AMAZON USA AMAZON UK AMAZON AUSTRALIA Upgrade to paid Share MY PARIS WEBSITE AND ALL THINGS PARISIAN MY PARIS BLOGS Photographer: Martina Nicolls PIP DECKS, the fun and engaging how-to guides for business. Upgrade to paid Share You're currently a free subscriber to The Stories in You and Me . For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. Upgrade to paid   Like Comment Restack   © 2025 MARTINA NICOLLS PO Box 16 No 15975 Nobby Beach QLD 4218 AUSTRALIA Unsubscribe

Book trends of last year …

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	Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more MAKING MY PEACE … with the most popular self-help books in 2024 Book trends of last year … Jan 23   READ IN APP   In 2024, the Amazon book market experienced the following notable trends in reader interests in self-help books. Popular topics and themes included mental health, personal development, mindfulness, and building personal resilience. Mental health and emotional well-being books addressing mental health challenges, such as anxiety and stress, gained prominence. For example, Jonathan Haidt’s 2024 The Anxious Generation How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illnesstopped bestseller lists. Written mainly for parents, it sets out a plan for a healthier childhood in an era of smartphones, social media, and rapidly evolving and intrusive technology. Personal development and books about habit formations continue to resonate with readers, especially those offering strategies for managing routines in daily life. For example, James Clear’s 2018 Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Oneswas popular for its emphasis on the power of small, consistent changes, rating in the top ten of self-management self-help ebooks. Mindfulness and acceptance books show a shift towards people’s interest in accepting imperfection and finding contentment. For example, Oliver Burkeman’s 2024 Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts critiques the relentless pursuit of self-improvement, advocating for acceptance of one’s limitations. Building personal resilience and managing tough times continued to be a popular theme in 2024. For example, the 2020 book The Mental Toughness Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Facing Life’s Challenges, Managing Negative Emotions, and Overcoming Adversity with Courage and Poise by Damon Zahariades was an Amazon bestseller and still tops the charts in the “compulsive behaviour” category (affiliate link for this book). Zahariades focuses on managing emotions and self-doubt, not eliminating them. Making my peace with the most popular self-help books in 2024, I will do the following: Read more Learn more Experience more Note: I have an affiliate link for Amazon for some books on this list. Upgrade to paid Share Leave a comment Can’t see the whole article? Want to view the original article? Want to view more articles? Go to Martina’s Substack: The Stories in You and Me More Making My Peace … articles Rainy Day Healing website Upgrade to paid Share You're currently a free subscriber to The Stories in You and Me . For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. Upgrade to paid   Like Comment Restack   © 2025 MARTINA NICOLLS PO Box 16 No 15975 Nobby Beach QLD 4218 AUSTRALIA Unsubscribe