Men on Mental Health & Adventurous Women

In this issue we learn about the importance of cultivating emotional intelligence for success, how accomplishing goals requires establishing habits, and personal stories of people using movement (get dirty) and creativity (stay curious) to combat anxiety and depression. Also thrown in are some adventurous women for inspiration and a tiny home to get us thinking about consuming wisely.

We're stoked for what the new year holds. Stay in touch with us and share your stories. We want Dirty Good Company to be as much a community of like-minded folks driven to live adventurously and vitally — as a resource with ideas and insights on how to live outside common.

When You Are Depressed, Make Something
Mental Health + Creativity // The author shares his struggle with depression and how he found his way through by being creative and curious.

"And therein lies depression’s greatest trick. It masks itself as circumstantial sadness. It makes you feel like you are weak because of your current plight. It makes you hate yourself because you’re supposed to be stronger. It puts you in an ongoing cycle of doubt and voids you of self-love.

And most importantly… it takes you away from the present moment."

The World’s Most Adventurous Women 2019
Adventure // Meet the new adventure icons. From rock climber and mountaineer Emily Harrington Opens a New Window. scaling massive caves in China to big-wave surfer Maya Gabeira Opens a New Window. staring down a 68-foot wave in Portugal, here are 17 of the most adventurous women in the world who are redefining the limits of what’s humanly possible.

Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds are changing how we talk about men's mental health
Mental Health + Men // Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, Michael Phelps, and Kevin Love all share one thing in common, and it's not their fame. Instead, each of these men has done something once unthinkable: They've talked publicly about their mental health struggles.

This Mobile Tiny Home Cost This Couple Only $30K to Build—And It Rocks
Consume Wisely + Minimalism // When Robert and Samantha Garlow moved from Buffalo, New York, to Yakima, Washington, they decided that rather than choose a standard permanent dwelling, they wanted something mobile. But not a van. Not an RV either. A small, simple, and sturdy home designed for full-time living, not a vehicle that can be lived in comfortably for short amounts of time. A tiny home, and one built with mobility in mind.

Emotional Intelligence: the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.

18 Signs You Have High Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence // Decades of research now point to emotional intelligence as being the critical factor that sets star performers apart from the rest of the pack. The connection is so strong that we know 90 percent of top performers have high emotional intelligence.

"Research conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, shows that the more difficulty that you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout and even depression."

Signs I recognize in myself were curiosity, the ability to embrace change (though a continual learning process), and an appreciation for what I have. I could work on many of the 18 listed but particularly self-confidence, saying "no", giving and expecting nothing in return, and negative self-talk.

The Simple Guide to Creating Habits for a Great Year
Curiosity // The best way to do that is not by making resolutions, but by creating habits that will stick for the long term. If you want to run a marathon, form the habit of running. If you want to write a novel, form the writing habit. If you want to be more mindful, form the habit of meditation.

Key takeaways for myself to work on are be consistent, set up accountability, and don't try to change or expect to adopt significant habits overnight.

How running cured my anxiety – and a broken heart
Mental Health + Running // Bella Mackie, author of Jog On, shares her story with The Guardian. After her marriage collapsed, she realised that a lifetime of anxiety and mental health issues had left her unable to cope. She started jogging and found a better version of herself.

"Anxious even as a very small child, I had let my worries fester, take control, and dominate my life. Mental health problems had stunted my own growth, leaving me too scared to take on challenges. I quit things when they got hard. I turned down opportunities that would push me, or give me independence. I preferred being small.

But two things were becoming clear. The first was that when I ran I didn’t feel quite so sad. My mind would quieten down; some part of my brain seemed to switch off, or at least cede control for a few minutes.

The second thing, which was even more valuable, was that I noticed I wasn’t feeling so anxious."

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