You don't need a hypnotherapist

I’m embarrassed to admit that I watched Office Space for the first time (ever!) last week.

I’ve watched clips here and there over the years, and I don’t have a good reason it took me so long to watch it, so please forgive me for arriving late to the party. (If you haven’t watched Office Space, I beg you to stop reading, watch it, laugh out loud a few times, and then come back to read the rest of today’s newsletter.)

There’s a lot to love about this movie. Despite debuting in 1999, much of the work-related pain the characters express still feels applicable (or perhaps even more applicable) today. It brought me back to my 2016 cubicle days:

While watching, I couldn’t help but think about how Peter Gibbons began chasing an intentional life to replace his soul-sucking, work-centric one. He reclaims his power and takes control of his mindset and time after visiting Dr. Swanson, a hypnotherapist who helps Peter find a newfound sense of confidence and honesty about his life. (Spoiler alert: Peter is stuck in the hypnotic state after Dr. Swanson has a heart attack during the session.)

He misses a Saturday shift at work and sleeps in without fear of punishment. He asks a woman named Joanna on a date and invests more time with her. He decides he doesn’t like his job and doesn’t want to go anymore. Ironically, Peter receives a promotion during a reorganization after being blatantly honest about his lack of motivation. Then, he partners with his coworkers, Michael and Samir, to…commit a significant crime after they lose their jobs.

I won't spoil the rest if you haven’t watched the movie yet. But by the movie’s end, Peter is creating a life that feels more intentional to him. However, there was one minor detail that jumped out at me.

Unlike Peter, you don’t need a hypnotherapist to save you.

There will always be moments where we feel stuck in circumstances and situations beyond our control. Your life might feel like it’s running on autopilot or void of meaning. But you don’t have to rely on anyone else to take the steps necessary to change that.

You are in control. You can create a life filled with the community, environments, value-driven decisions, and anything else that enables you to feel more intentional and find more joy in your one precious life.

Don’t wait for someone else to permit or convince you to change your life.

Time Well Spent: Weekly Roundup

1. Bookstore visits are one of my guilty pleasures for a quick dopamine hit. I’m not opposed to retail therapy, nor will I stop visiting bookstores and picking up new reads occasionally. But I am also thinking about consumption and how I might enjoy my belongings more rather than reach for new ones. My friend Mara inspired me to accessorize my Kindle in ways I hadn’t considered before. I have a handful of accessories that I can rotate to make my Kindle and reading experience feel new. I swapped my case (I’m using this gorgeous pink one*) this week and plugged in this adorable disco dust plug charm. I also grabbed my free Amazon First Reads for the month.

2. I cut my screen time by 18% from last week. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been doomscrolling and reading too much unhelpful news. There was a subtle shift in my behavior (I’m talking virtually no screentime during two weeks of holiday vacation, followed by a slow but steady uptick throughout January). So, I used the start of the new month to reset and am resisting the urge to grab my phone and read unhelpful information as much as possible.

3. I listened to Ep. 334: Hallmark Movies and the Deep Life with Cal Newport during one of my walks. In it, Cal explains how he watched Hallmark Christmas movies after reading How I Aged Into the Bad Christmas Movie by Amanda Hess in The New York Times. He then argues that these movies appeal to people due to the portrayal of lifestyle-centric planning, heavily focused on leaving behind a stressful job, building community, spending time outside, falling in love, enjoying the snow falling, visiting coffee shops, and cultivating a meaningful life. I’ve been known to watch Hallmark movies occasionally, but this also got me reflecting on my favorite television shows, books, and other media. As it turns out, many of them follow lifestyle-centric planning plots. I imagine this resonates with me so much because I value intentionality. I’m going to continue exploring this idea.

The Takeaways

• Can you invite more intentionality into your life using your current belongings?

• What sneaky yet subtle habits are robbing you of intentional time? What baby steps can you take to address these habits?

• Is there an opportunity for your media consumption to shed light on what matters to you or what you want your intentional life to look like? What captures your attention, and why do you think so?

Time Intentional 🕰️ Reader Love 💞

• Thank you to my dear friends Lauren, Jody, and Brenda, who have taken the time to share positive feedback in person with me about Time Intentional over the last couple of weeks. It’s always such a warm and thoughtful surprise when someone mentions my words when I see them.

• Tiffany Parry has been a big supporter of this newsletter from the beginning! Thank you, Tiffany, for your ongoing support and reposting this LinkedIn post.

Are you still here? If so, good news! The first reader to reply to this edition will receive a $10 Starbucks gift card under one stipulation: you pinky promise to pay it forward this week (any act of kindness counts). And I won’t make you prove it, but of course, I’d love to hear about it if you want to share because we all could use more feel-good news.

I’m Alyssa Towns, and this is Time Intentional, a newsletter exploring what it means to spend our limited (and precious) time intentionally. Only you can decide how to spend your time in a way that feels intentional!

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In addition to writing Time Intentional, I’m a freelance writer and content creator who enjoys partnering with brands to build better workplaces (because we spend a lot of time at work!). Learn more about my areas of specialization on my website!

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