Fasting Week Three: Hungry for less

The third week of my fast was the easiest by far. Hunger pangs still hit me regularly, but I just brushed them off as a normal part of my days.

I also still experienced dry mouth fairly regularly, but when I did, I drank a bunch of water.

That usually got rid of it.

The most difficult part of the whole experience was the sheer physical exhaustion I felt, particularly later in the day. The same activities that I'd have no trouble doing on a balanced diet drained my energy and left me absolutely beat.

So, naturally, my sleep was been lights-out. Pun intended. My nightly goal was still the recommended eight hours, but I’d often sleep nine, ten hours or more, particularly on weekends.

When it’s go, go, go all the time, it’s tempting to think getting that much sleep is a waste of precious time. But this fast has once again reminded me of how powerful a good night’s rest can be for the mind, body, and soul.

So in this third article, I’ll touch on how my fast has changed my views on the “hustle mentality” that has taken over our collective psyche in modern America.

I'll unpack some ways we all can manage our minds and our time in ways that maximize efficiency so we can accomplish the important tasks we have to take care of in the span of one day.

After reading this article, you will gain useful insights on how you can see a spike in your productivity while actually raising your levels of contentment and fulfillment in a world that is constantly asking you for more.

Rats on a wheel

The rat race is a real thing. And it’s also really exhausting.

Hustle culture doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, though. Most of the tech we take for granted today came from people who refused to quit because they genuinely wanted to help other people.

That being said, we all know life isn’t about to slow down anytime soon.

So what are we supposed to do about it then?

1. Should we all just wear ourselves out doing what needs to get done without complaining about it?

   
   

2. Should we avoid our responsibilities altogether in the hopes that they’ll magically go away?

   
   

3. Or should we pawn our responsibilities off to AI, robots, and other people?

Wearing ourselves out every day just to feel like we’re knocking things off our to-do lists will eventually cause you and me both to collapse in exhaustion, thereby leading to costly health issues. So the first one is out.

It’s safe to say avoidance and procrastination aren’t going to help much either. They would just cause our responsibilities to build-up and eventually cause you and I to snap. Strike Two.

And of course, no one knows how AI is going to change our everyday lives. It has certainly made some things easier, but likely won’t solve the underlying issues that leads us humans to invent time-saving tools like ChatGPT in the first place.

What options does that leave us then?

Addition, multiplication, division, and...

Might I propose something that is so counter-cultural in modern America that it borders on sacrilege towards our way of life?

It's really simple.

In fact, it can be summed up in just one word: Subtraction.

Synonyms: Elimination. Down-sizing. Simplification. Rejection.

Yep, that’s right. It’s the whole “do more with less” schtick.

• It’s letting the spinning plates fall.

• It’s throwing out that old sweater hanging in the back of your closet that you haven’t worn in years.

• It’s saying no to that event you’ve had on your calendar for two weeks because you had a rough day and you’re just too tired to go.

I know. Here come all those thoughts that say you just can’t do those things.

You made a commitment. And if you back out of it, you’re flaky, unreliable. It would stamp a big, red “F” over your reputation.

But here’s an idea: Screw your reputation.

If you're facing a decision where you have to choose between taking care of yourself and/or your loved ones and trying to make your boss happy, then I think you know which choice you should make without me even having to tell you.

Of course you should do what you need to do to ensure everything is right with you before you try to deal with everyone else’s problems.

Will it cause you to have to take a step back, miss out on that promotion, and face a financial hit? Maybe.

But what’s the alternative?

You go to that thing to schmooze with your boss and leave your loved ones out to dry just so they can buy a few more diapers and ride around town in a nicer minivan?

What might change?

Look, I’m not saying you should shirk your responsibilities at home or at work. Of course that’s not the message here.

But what would it look like if you did cut something out of your life that isn’t serving you well for just one day?

Get off social media, put your phone down, and take a walk outside without anything in your hands.

 

Do that for ten minutes.

How light would you feel afterwards? How care-free and calm did you become just by doing that one, simple thing?

Now take that same concept and apply it to other areas of your life.

• Could you survive it if you deleted one of the million streaming services you have on your TV?

  
  

• Can you cancel that credit card you’ve been holding onto because you just need to have the newest LuLuLemon pants every month?

  
  

• Can you sell a bunch of junk you don’t use and downsize to a smaller house?

And here might be the toughest one: Can you tell that "friend" who’s constantly bringing you down with his negative energy that you can't keep having him around unless he changes his attitude?

Think about how those actions might make you feel after you decide to take them.

Try it for a day. Then a week. Then two weeks. Then a month.

It will definitely be tough at first.

But pretty soon, six months will go by and you’ll forget all about that thing you used to spend night after night lying awake thinking about.

Just say no

One of – if not the – best things about fasting from anything is that it’s a clean break from your “normal”.

You’re burning the ships and you’re not going back.

Honestly, if I’d chosen to do a fast where I was able to have some foods and not others instead of a complete water fast, I actually think it would have been tougher for me to keep going.

There would have been just too many opportunities to cut corners and negotiate with myself.

If I’d done a Daniel Fast and abstained from ingesting animal products, I’d probably be in the grocery store salivating over their prime rib every week instead of being thankful for the food I would have been able to eat.

As it is, when I go to the grocery store now, I head straight for the water or tea aisle, grab whatever I went in to get, and then checkout.

I’m back in my car within ten minutes. And I’m not thinking about that display of Twinkies I walked past on my way in and out.

It's not like I'm impervious to temptation, though.

Throughout these three weeks, I've spent my weekends typing up these articles in coffee shops where fresh-baked goods, sandwiches, and every type of coffee bean-enhanced water you could ever dream up was on full display.

But I can honestly say that not once did I consider walking up to the counter, handing over a few bucks, and stuffing my face with a sandwich or guzzling one of those million drink combinations Starbucks offers.

Why? Because I’d decided to go all or nothing.

And my only regret is that I waited as long as I did to try a water fast in the first place.

Wrap up

Choosing to drop something that has been weighing you down will be challenging at first.

No one who has done it in the past will tell you otherwise.

But, as you have hopefully come to understand from this blog series, those people will be more excited to talk about the weightlessness, clarity, and vision you’ll experience – not to mention the recentering around what is really important in life.

They will be excited to help you do what you didn't think you could do.

So your task is simple: Make the conscious choice to cut something you think you have to rely on out of your life.

Full stop.

No, it won’t be easy. Yes, it will be worth it.

And on the other side of it, you’ll come to know that you are capable of more than you ever imagined before.

Then you’ll look around and think to yourself, “Well, if I can do that and make it out alive, what else can I do?”

And that, my friend, is called “growth”. It’s what makes your life worth living.

Reflection questions:

1. So, what is that one thing you’re holding onto that is consuming your time, sucking your energy, and leaving you feeling dry, weary, and beat-down? Name it. And then think about what it would it look like if you gave it up for just one day. What immediate action would you need to take to get started?

   
   

2. Think about a cherished memory from your childhood. What made that moment special for you? Why does it stick out, and how has it shaped you into the person you are today? What does that childhood memory say about you as an adult?

   1. Examples: attending a sports venue for the first time; catching your first fish or shooting your first deer; going on a family vacation somewhere you’d never been previously

   
   

3. If you could create a timelapse reel of your life from birth until the current moment, would it be exciting to you? Would it hold your interest? What would stand out? What moments or scenes do you wish you could replay over and over again, and which would you like to delete altogether?

   
   

4. Create a list of 3-5 things that you are most important to you right now. Create another list of what’s least important to you but is still in your life for whatever reason. How do the lists compare? Is there any overlap between them? What might you need to do to eliminate the least important items from your life and give more time to the most important ones?

Write out your responses to these questions and keep them somewhere you will be able to see them every day for the next week. After that, feel free to leave your responses in the comments section or email them to me at tim@tboltcreative.com.

I’d love to start a conversation with you and see if I could help you craft a personal fast that might lead to some kind of breakthrough in your own life.

I’ll be back again with another article to discuss the last few days of my fast and what it was like to finally eat food again.

Here’s to your own personal growth in the new year!