What do you obsess over?

If you had to categorise your top three most recurring thoughts, what would those categories be?

This is a question I’ve enjoyed asking recently. It’s unclear to me to what extent people notice what they are thinking about and can categorise them neatly. But every time I have asked the question it has helped me to better understand the person I am speaking with. 

For me, it feels pretty straightforward. I think about my partner, TCLA, the gym (and protein intake), and family. I’ve been surprised that most people I have told laugh at the gym and protein comment. But it is genuinely true! I think about the gym a lot, whether it’s playing videos of weightlifting during my downtime, thinking about the times I am going to go, how much I am eating, my need to get my protein intake in, my technique and whether I’m making progress towards my lifts.

For me, making a goal top-of-mind is a necessary step. I know that if I wasn’t intentional in thinking about my goals, I wouldn’t make progress. I’m sure I’d still go to the gym, but it would be pretty mindless, and it would be easy to trick myself into thinking I was improving.

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A post shared by @j_sutton94

A recording of my birthday lifts...still a long way to go!

This brings me to the point of obsession. I think it’s easy for me to talk about this topic because to build a business you inevitably become obsessed with what you’re building. It’s pretty fair to say I think about TCLA almost all the time. Although less common, when I wake up at night, my first thought relates to TCLA.

This is a good and bad thing. For some people, I’m sure it comes across as a little sad to think about something so much. But I also put it down to making TCLA a success. Those millions of thoughts over the past 6 years have helped me to cultivate a sense of confidence and taste in what I am building. This is probably the first-ever year that I have felt a deep sense of self-confidence in what I am doing and where I am going. But it took a long time and many recurring thoughts to get to this state.

Perhaps what I am most proud of is that I am finally taking more risks. This has been scary and added to my stress levels. But I have also found that the biggest risks I have taken have led to the greatest rewards. I simply have to get used to this new feeling. 

Most recently, we hired a new creative agency to help us craft films for our law firm partners. What an uncomfortable feeling it was to not be in control! But I am glad I took the risk on a company that I could trust. They run the socials for Lego and have shot for Red Bull and Lululemon. I had a strong gut feeling that this was the right decision, even if I initially baulked at the price. 

Behind the scenes of filming last week

We’re also working with many more law firms and organisations than we ever have before. This has led me to hire twice the number of people we normally do, get a new office, and hire for the production of another film to market the new dashboard we are building into our forum.

I’m finally understanding what it means to invest now for our future growth. It took me a long time to learn this, but I’m glad I did this at my pace, because I know that we are there financially. I’m sure I’ll be a little more stressed this year, but it’ll allow me to keep building on this success year after year.

I leave you with this excellent post by James Clear:

“Dreams are fun when they are distant. The imagination loves to play with possibilities when there is no risk of failure.

But when you find yourself on the verge of action, you pause. You can feel the uncertainty of what lies ahead. Thoughts swirl. Maybe this isn’t the right time? Failure is possible now.

In that moment—in that short pause that arises when you stand face to face with your dream—is the entirety of life. What you do in that pause is the crucible that forges you. It is the dividing line between being the type of person who thinks about it or the type of person who goes for it.

When I really think about it, I want that moment to be my legacy. Not that I won or lost. Not that I looked good or looked like a fool. But that when I had something I really wanted to do, I went for it.”