LAST WEEK'S BREAKTHROUGHS

In last week’s newsletter, I asked you to give yourself permission to skip one thing that drains you this holiday.

Hunter opted out of condescension:

“I actually followed your prompt this past Thanksgiving. My wife's aunt is in a relationship with a guy who is honestly pretty rude and condescending when we (me, my wife, and family) are around. We really only see this guy once a year, and I'd say it's pretty draining for all parties. I was in the middle of moving to a new place anyways, and thought, ‘I'm actually not going to go and listen to this guy's drama for a few hours this year. I'd rather be in a good mood.’ Game changer. Ended up spending Thanksgiving Day moving boxes to our new house and listened to a broadcast on my favorite radio station instead.

This is one piece of advice I will stand by! Gives the holiday season some much needed relief. Thank you for all you do!

Merry Christmas!”

Our next reader is moving beyond guilt:

“Oh boy—this one resonated. My sister-in-law is the Queen of drama. She has a victim mindset and loves to wallow in it. I have felt bad for her as she has had a number of contributing factors which have led to where she is today; however, I cannot allow myself to be sucked into it. There is nothing I can suggest or do which will ever be enough to help/save her. Nothing is ever reciprocated including the conversation—actually she prefers her monologue. I have moved beyond guilt. I am polite but I do not spend time in her circle. I have set boundaries for myself. My mental energy is mine to spend as I wish and I don't wish to spend it there.”

Finally, what’s draining our community member Erika isn’t drama, but detail:

“I'm very proud of myself today. Instead of obsessing over travel details, I focused on relationships with the people around me (I'm alone but I focused on the employees, fellow travelers etc. I was interacting with). I was able to keep this as my primary focus, and logistics (all about ME ME ME) was secondary. I could give some deeper details but long story short I feel a sense of deep satisfaction and personal power (and interpersonal power) as a result. We are only alive in this moment... future moments aren't promised. Make sure you are keeping the main thing the main thing.”

Erika’s story comes from the “Breakthroughs & Wins” space inside our Solved Membership, where members come together to share their own and celebrate others’ breakthroughs—just one of many features inside to harness the power of community to help you live a life aligned with what matters. Click here to learn more.

As always, send your breakthroughs by simply replying to this email. Let me know if you’d prefer to remain anonymous.

Until next week,

Mark Manson

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author
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