The Free-Time Formula

13Crunch and Release: When Pushing Hard Pushes Back

What I am about to share with you is tough, but it is an important message that I could not leave out of the book.

I had a tough season after my trip to the emergency room. It was a season filled with more stress, anxiety, and work than I had ever experienced.

In the heart of this season, I hit a wall. I had just finished a podcast interview that I thought went very poorly.

I ended the interview with a clear sense of frustration, angst, and regret. I also knew I needed to get my feelings out of my head as a cathartic means of calming down and figuring out exactly what to do next.

I hopped onto Facebook and just started typing.

What I ended up writing truly surprised me. It was more real and open than I had ever been on a public platform.

These were feelings I had in my head, but rarely spoke aloud or shared with others—even my wife.

It was not a marketing ploy, as some perceived, but rather a public venting session to help keep me from a near certain breakdown.

I hesitated before I hit the post button.

I was legitimately scared to share some of my darker moments, not only with strangers online but especially with my close family and friends who knew nothing about what I was experiencing in private.

I am sharing this with you now for the same reason I shared it at the time, which is to make one point very clear: you are not alone.

• Whatever it is you are fighting, you are not alone.
• Whatever your struggle, you are not alone.