Why Holidays Make Everyone Doomscroll
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Summary
Happy Holidays! In this episode, we're joined by our friend Sim from Screentown, Ontario, Canada, to talk about how technology has changed the way we experience the holidays and how it affects us.
Transcript
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well it's an iphone it's a samsung it's a google phone it's a whatever it's smartphones and basically
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they're an extension of our hands and our arms now well it wasn't that long ago when you went
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to the holidays you didn't have a phone in your hand now everyone does and everyone wants to
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check out everything going on aka doom scrolling talk more about it thrilled to be joined by our
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friend sim from horizon within horizonwithin.ca and that is one thing that's become part of
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these holiday get-togethers sim there's people all of a sudden you look around and everyone's on their
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phone looking at different things absolutely i remember like you know before the ad the smartphone
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yeah um christmas eve get-togethers were kids were out on the out yep either you were having a snowball
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fight yes with your neighbors or you were playing ice uh road hockey or right you're doing something
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or the other you weren't inside and then everybody kind of like had your roles and you came back in
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right before supper ate supper either home alone was coming on or diehard was coming on depending on
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which tv channel you were like some board games some board games and there was no um
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people running away from each other yes right and one disadvantage of having this technology come
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into whether it was the ipads because i think the ipads came much a little bit sooner yeah yeah yeah
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right because smartphones did come but there was not that much of data so the app it wasn't
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app friendly um but you know before you kind of understand like why people doing scroll there's got
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to be an understanding of what happens to our mind and why we go to the phone because holidays are
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overwhelming and you're gonna like how you know we talked about in one of our previous podcasts about
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this over realm of hosting or the over realm of um visiting the the brain can only take so much stress
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and what passive schooling gives you is it gives you a way to disassociate without it asking anything
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back and it's giving you small bursts of dopamine right like without any consequence to it and now
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all of a sudden becomes this mindless experience where you don't have to think and then time's passing
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by but it's just you're you're just burnt out you're right okay so that's your cause and effect
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what happens is that now this is becoming a more of a resource tool to replenish than it was before
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so what i try to do especially on christmas day is the only time i respond to my phone is if i'm
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getting a dm or a text from someone like wishing me a greeting and i respond oh hey thanks happy
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holidays merry christmas so if it's a family number or a close friend other than that i don't i really
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really try not to look at the phone whatsoever on christmas day and that's to be honest with you
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it's getting harder and harder you're like oh yeah what's happening there let's check the weather
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remember you don't think you get sucked in yeah i like how you you position not because a lot of us
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depending on where we fit in the generational bracket or really determines what it's giving us
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back so when we look at it from like an observer's lens and you're like well everybody's doing scrolling
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or everybody's doing mindless scrolling but it's actually an if you look at it through each generational
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lens there's actually a nuance that's unique to them so imagine that you know you know you have a
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griswold family dinner right and now everybody's in the living room and you have gramps at 82 and
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then you have the young griswold at like i think seven yeah so in modern time if you bring them to
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2025 you've got everybody right you've got the boomers you've got the xers you've got the millennials
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you've got the z's and then you got the alphas right and so you know if we go chronologically and
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go all the way to the oldest and go to baby boomers well for them it's passive scrolling
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right they're the facebook people like you know working at the feeds right the it's not requiring
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animated stimuli right because it's not changing the reels don't change
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and they're not into reels they're more into like oh look you know somebody posted merry christmas and
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then they're like my car made a goose yeah comment comment comment right like so so for them it's more
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of just passive restaurant okay interesting right and but everybody's replenishing right like
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everybody's just tuned out and they're trying to get energy come to the gen generation exodus this
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generation is the one that's carrying the weight because they're hosting they're carrying they're
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running the stuff and all of that for them it's a way to just i need a minute to because i just need a
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minute because everybody may have shifted to the living room and they're all settling in the xers
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either putting stuff away or they're like prepping the dessert or they're putting the but there's still
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a command that they have to run or remember or like do so for them not a facade and this becomes
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two minutes of reprieve right because there's no escape right and they need to reset because it's
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the switch is still on now you come to the generation y right for them it's on a like okay
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uh what is going on just a lot of inputs so for them it gives them a sense of control it gives them
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a place where they don't have to engage they can politely dissociate right and the it becomes a shield
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it becomes a shield right because now all of a sudden we're looking at a physical interruption
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right if somebody's got their headphones on you're not going to interrupt them right now you go one
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generation over to gen z so gen z it's like so how's school or so you know gotta go from here right like
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the typical like dating anyone like because they are in not that 20s bracket right and or you know
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so if you decided where you're going to major right like so for them it becomes the sense of
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like okay how do i not right because remember we've all had dinner you've already experienced
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overall so where are you going for recovery you're going to your phone but each generation now
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is going for very different reasons but from an observer's lens look at that what happened to the
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love of family christmas and like sitting by the cracking fire and turning on the radio boomers
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yeah right right yeah xers all right um you know because you probably got either a hockey stick
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yeah skates yeah mittens something that you can put on and go outside and and you've been kicked out
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yeah right because the street lights are on you're outside or somebody on the street has made a rink
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in their backyard and every all the kids are there well the first big generations didn't have to worry
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about it right the gen rise they were like the guys in the middle because they still had the nostalgia
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because technology hadn't taken over it was just getting introduced and they were at the tail end of
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it they were at the start of it oh but the tail end of the nostalgia morphing into the technology
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right the xers were more on the tail end of it because even though the internet came on it was
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still dial up right right yeah or yeah the the web pages were very like my spacey kind of thing yeah
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it's the xers where it became much greater in demand so now that need to go on the content change
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the style of delivery change so most of y still had that right because
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even though it was on cable my home alone aired on the air on ctv or on global right so it was still
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there right the alphas for them it's it's it's that's what they've grown up on right they are the
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ipad generation the ipad they are the genuine ipad generation so for them that's all they know right
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so for them it's it's a digital pacifier right because and it's not a fault of theirs right it's
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not like oh you know no it's you can only take in what you have in your environment and if that is
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your digital pacifier for us it was the idiot box on a saturday morning on you same thing this is just
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more intimate it's more imaging and the span is a lot shorter because our cartoons many tunes ran for
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three to five minutes right these run for 15 to 30 seconds always see the need to feed is more
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so one of the simplest ways to understand dune scroll and energy replenishment replenishment and
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rather than worrying about it and and critiquing yourself or burdening yourself the way i suggest
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for you to look at it and cdt is wonderful because cognitive behavioral therapy what it is about is
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it looks at how you process information cognitively right and it's about reframing and reframing is
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basically looking at it in a different way there's no science to it it's just genuinely looking at a
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different way so a new or a different way to look at this is how you would have your macros for
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nutrients right your carbs your free proteins and your fats look at your way of how you get energy in
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so verbs are your like cards right they're quick they're easy but they burn you out faster right
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so social media is a card okay i now a full disclosure or even this daughter has a mini dachshund and now
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we've been sharing these stupid ai videos of the oxen's driving trucks and playing sports and cooking
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stuff and i find them hilarious is that a carb it is because just like in carbs you have simple carbs
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and you have complex carbs this is really simple right so it's very easy not to understand because
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you're not measuring um content you're measuring the energy it gives your dopamine rush right because
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it doesn't make me laugh and smile but it's short-lived yeah right so you eat a bag of chips
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yeah you're gonna get a spike or you eat a candy bar like you know your what do they call it the
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afternoon crash yes right yeah yeah or the two o'clock crash that's officially called yeah and then
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there's a whole thing like oh you can grab a protein bar or you can grab a kitkat bar right yeah and the
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argument now is simple carb kitkat bar you get the energy but in 45 minutes later you're like oh right
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versus a protein bar right it's still in or sorry a fruit nut bar yeah right yeah whatever granola
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whatever the point is this is that complex bars will give you a spike it'll last a little bit longer
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but it's not going to sustain you and you're going to drop right and just like how when you're eating a
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meal you're going to balance it out you know you're not going to be a carb heavy plate because you know if
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you're you may love carbs often videos are it well guess what if your plate is only full of mashed
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potatoes and very little protein who's not going to have energy same thing right if you if you have
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a lot of simple carbs where your dopamine boosts are always going to be narrow that's where doom scrolling
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is feeding itself right because you're only feeding on simple carbs you're not passing judgment the the
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whole objective when you're doing cognitive reframing is you're not taking your action you're
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observing your action and by looking at it from such a filter what it's giving you it's giving you a way
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to then look at it and go okay i understand that okay now moving to proteins well what are proteins
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proteins are something that will sustain you a bit longer right i equate proteins to something that requires
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some kind of movement it could be a hobby of do you like to color it could be i like word searches it
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could be a like knitting it could be anything you like it could be i'm going for a look right it could
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be i'm going to go do the dishes right it's an activity as long as you enjoy it and it's not a chore
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it serves that a protein fats right these are more where you need longer time to not only um digest
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but the effects of it take longer right like if you need half an avocado it'll give you sustained
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energy but you can give it to you 30 minutes later right as opposed to that kit kit bar which gave it
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you energy but it is good for you the avocado absolutely but what i'm saying is because you're
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looking to replenish your energy right right because remember we're sitting in a post griswold christmas
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dinner uh watch national lampoons christmas vacation okay right it's not all christmas movie
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um so you've already depleted yourself and remember from your generational lens each one has it so like
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for a generation xer right they may need a dachshund video you know why because they've got to put the
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coffee out and the pies really up yeah and they're burnt out okay fine all right i got my energy boom
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now everybody's done dessert we're all chilling now you have a choice do i go for a complex carb
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because i still need to clear up the plates and go in there and i add a little bit of protein so maybe
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i'll do an activity you know what guys i'm gonna go for a 10 minute walk because we have a dog so that's
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my excuse to take the dog for a while so there's your protein right there oh oh okay there's your protein
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right there right because you did an activity okay right it's not what i'm saying is it you're you're
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looking at it through how you would eat a meal so if you know you still need energy now you're
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replenishing accordingly right so so you could be like okay you know what i don't want to i don't
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want to do some video i want something a little bit more okay you know what watch a uh true paternal
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podcast that's a complex carb why because it's engaging the mind it's not you can listen
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right and more preferably my podcast well yes then that is the perfect complex
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and i for me i know like especially after the big heavy holiday meal taking the dog around the block
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the fresh air too just being outside i find that very very invigorating but when you come back you
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have energy oh yeah very much that's protein yeah it's like eating it's eating meat right because if
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you eat meat you don't get you don't crash fast because right you're it's it's just like that it's
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what i'm saying is you're matching it to that and by making sure that it's an activity the keyword is
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activity and it's based on your abilities right if doing the word search is an activity for you
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it's an activity because you're engaging your mind not through the digital lens if reading a book
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that's an activity listening to something on the radio listening to music that you enjoy
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they are all activities because you're engaging your mind to get energy from a different source
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so would this be considered a protein something my partner started a few years ago always um we take
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a a little bit time over the holidays and we do we call it crafty corner we do like a group family
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craft of something just so we're not on the phone and not doing anything with electronics so would that
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be a protein because we're doing a craft you're actually doing two things simultaneously you're doing
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the protein fat combination oh because you've created a communal activity so that's the self-care
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part because now you're creating this family experience right okay that's a kind of like a
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fact because right and at the same time because it's an activity that's your protein another good
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one is um playing an i spy movie yes game yes and say you're watching um die hard right of course
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coincidental is it a christmas you know which means it has to be played every christmas
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right to me it does so you can have this um sheet with 10 items that you got to find on it oh great
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and now you've made it an activity and you're actively watching you're watching but you're
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collectively watching okay you've changed the thing versus doom scrolling soul and grandpa doom
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scrolling scroll and grandma doom smart because generationally remember we're going to replenish but
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for different reasons and it has different value just like that simple carb metabolizes differently
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for a six-year-old versus a 35 year old versus a 45 year old versus an 80 year old versus an athlete
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now we can get into the variations right that's where it becomes a personal conversation the idea of
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this is that it prevents you from becoming a soft critic and putting yourself in a situation is i need better
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resources well this is a way for you to have better resources because then you can take a step back
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and go okay i need energy these things give me energy i've put it on my website as well there's an
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article and it breaks it down a bit okay uh same thing with i have an activity guide that you can
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download and on it there's about nine movies you can pick from for the i spy movie i've got it's a
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great concept there's ghostbusters on there there's toy story oh right elf shrek uh die family movies
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love actually oh love actually is a great movie it's a classic movie yeah you know jerry mcguire's
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on the okay so because the idea is then you know if you want to have somebody an activity they want
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to bring everybody together you want to involve somebody because that's the whole point of coming
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away from this but you're giving them something to build on right something to congregate around you
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could have somebody that doesn't want to there's i have three to five different word searches games like
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from easy all the way to difficult i have five sheets of drawing um color paper or coloring um
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images right there's a little bit something for everybody and then there's a section on hot takes
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where if you just if you're like one of those families that loves debates right um a good one
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that's on there is um who would you rather have as a boss the grinch or the scrooge oh who's a better
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sidekick plus light year or the donkey the donkey right right right that goes without saying right
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i mean what's it far and beyond like i don't what is this up and away or whatever to infinity and beyond
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so i wanted to tie into a previous podcast we did sam because not everyone is going to understand that
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it's okay to take a few minutes to be on your phone someone's going to get through
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is this where they go back to it is what it is and not get stressed that some people are on their
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phone after the dinner can you walk me through this a bit like someone's doing something after the
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dinner they're not on their phone and they're getting a little rest that everyone's on their phone
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after the meal so instead of letting the stress get to them just it is what it is twofold to their
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answer first i feel that it is you not you you but you you yeah right that is the the one that is
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kind of orchestrating and you're wanting to create this family experience so having that frustration
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yes use the santa technique and what it is is you know for the listeners here it's santa stands for s
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you see the environment right so in this scenario you're like okay we just had a good dinner everybody's
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kind of hanging out why are you on the phone okay you want to ask what is it i'm feeling so you know
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feelings of it'd be like annoyance or frustration name them i mean sorry um explore them right and then
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name your reaction to those feelings so with this one you'd be like getting angry yeah or you know
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frustrated i'm gonna lose it right yeah so now you've named your reaction because you need to name
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the reaction not the feeling because by asking what you're feeling you've technically named it okay
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now that you've named your reaction now you can take a breath and go okay it is what it is
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now that that doesn't mean you're going to let it be because you're starting to resolve it now you take
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an act which is the last part of santa with connection so now you're saying when the going
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gets tough the tough get going okay what does that mean what that means is that having everyone together
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is important that's the tough part great growing means how do i find a resolution that needs both so
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while you're seeing you're also seeing the age bracket of that so if it's somebody that's a boomer
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right then make sure that you're not watching diehard because there's no connection right well for them
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they're like i'm not watching in an hour it doesn't connect to me well guess what you go okay i don't
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want you on the phone i want you more protein right but you can't go for a walk you can't right you know what
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what about a word search so you find because there's five different ones and you go hey would
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you mind like and they're all christmas works right or here's a couple of crayons and the
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the art you can give it to a five-year-old or you can be 80 years old it's christmas art you know it's
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tree ornament there's no age to christmas art so you find them there right or you then could be like you
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know what i don't also need to watch the movie i'll spend time here so there's a solution to
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everything if it's generation y or generation z there's a better negotiation right right right
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i think that's a fair ask because now you're not imposing your beliefs or your views because that's
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not what it's about and you're saying hey look you know explain to them carb protein fats they'll
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understand it because everybody understands it's very simple right you're not becoming technical and
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you're saying hey look i understand that you're looking to replenish your energy right why don't
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you try this for 45 minutes why don't you try this for the first 10 minutes of the movie why don't you
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try this right and if you're not enjoying it we'll have a conversation if you still still feel you need
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some private time now we can put a time limit on it but what you've done is you've not created friction
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bingo that's what i was thinking because by doing that by the negotiation empowering the younger person
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you're respecting them i would think they would appreciate that but you also understand where
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they're coming from right because now if it's a gen z they're coming from a sense of control
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right well you could be like okay uh oh they don't want to be bombarded with 80 questions that's why
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they're avoiding you're matching it because now you're you're able to instead of interrogating them
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you're you're able to have awareness and go okay that's what it is because you might be the relative
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they haven't seen them all year so now you're filled with questions how about this how about
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that and i like easy whoa stop and it still happened to us yeah right so not like we didn't experience it
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no absolutely there's no uh warming i i think it's just it it is what it is it is what it is on all sides
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i'm not saying you know we have to tolerate it it is what it is doesn't mean that you have to tolerate
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discomfort it is what it is is saying look this is my reality what can i do to work with it to get
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what i need now i'm not doing scrolling i'm making sure you understand about the christmas activity pack
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on his website horizonwithin.ca so you are ready for the holidays yeah absolutely and it's a uh it's
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an easy download you just go on in and and it'll just take you right to the page and you can take
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whichever activity you like and and that's the beauty thing about it is maybe it's just one or
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two things you utilize but that could be the difference between having a frustrating holiday
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experience and a more enjoyable holiday experience and that's what it's about an enjoyable holiday
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experience hey sim i'm jim thanks for watching thank you