Getting Old Quickly

In Episode 104, which marks the two-year anniversary of the show, Billy Donnelly reflects on the journey of Getting Old Quickly. He discusses the podcast's beginnings and the uncertainty of how long he'd even want to do it, and the surprise he's gotten over time that he's still doing it to this day. He reveals how he recently thought about bringing the show to a close and discusses what re-energiz...

In Episode 103, Billy Donnelly takes a look at how his life isn't exactly what or where he expected it to be, and explains a bit about the mid-life crisis that he finds himself in as a result. He discusses the facets of his life that he's good with, but also elaborates further on those he still hasn't figured out and the strain that comes with that uncertainty. He talks about the dangers of expect...

In Episode 102, Billy Donnelly centers a lot of his discussion around WrestleMania. First, with the event having just passed, he talks about his history attending the popular wrestling event and how having chosen not to go this year made him realize just how much he missed be around the entire atmosphere of it. However, he also opens up about the downside of going to such experiences, namely strug...

In Episode 101, Billy Donnelly discusses the importance of speaking up with your feelings. He talks about some of the impediments one might throw up in order to keep things to themselves - be it fear of judgment or mockery or not wanting to cause a problem or confrontation. However, he dives into where the benefit rests, and why you being open about how certain words, actions and/or behavior make...

In Episode 100, Billy Donnelly brings you up to speed on his whereabouts the last couple of weeks. He discusses his desire to do the things that he's comfortable doing these days, and tells stories about his recent trip to Orlando for wrestling and back up to Washington D.C. In addition, he talks about having to fight past some limits and restrictions he was putting up for himself, and how he foun...

In Episode 99, Billy Donnelly takes a look at how the expectations others place upon us can negatively impact the ways we see ourselves as we constantly try to level up those relationships. He discusses the need for reasonable expectations in how we operate but also in how we see others, in order to minimize our disappointment when outsized ideals are not met. He once again talks about being one's...

In Episode 98, Billy Donnelly reflects upon a lost weekend of trying to connect with his 12-year-old preteen son and having it go awry pretty quickly. He explains the difficulties, frustrations and hurt feelings he faces with just trying to communicate and bond, only to wind up dissociating in order to protect his own mental wellbeing. 

In Episode 97, Billy Donnelly actually wonders if he is doing the best he can, or if that's an convenient excuse to try letting himself off the hook for not meeting his own expectations. That's the dilemma explored on this show, as he looks at the lack of grace and forgiveness he grants himself, holding onto all his shortcomings and mistakes as punishment for not hitting the marks he believes he s...

In Episode 96, Billy Donnelly stresses the importance of open and honest communication - communicating your wants and needs, communicating your feelings, communicating your thoughts, etc. He takes a look at the various reasons why we are often too afraid and/or reluctant to talk with others, whether it's avoiding feelings of discomfort or worrying about being judged, while also examining how detri...

In Episode 95, Billy Donnelly explains how he doesn't have much to talk about this week as he privately deals with a number of issues in his life while feeling numb to just about all of it. 

In Episode 94, Billy Donnelly talks about his struggles with ulcerative colitis. He discusses how he became diagnosed with this chronic condition and the frustrations he's felt since then, including feeling embarrassed to talk about it and feeling like a burden to those around when in a period of flare-up. However, he talks about the revelations that came to light when he recently discussed prep f...

In Episode 93, Billy Donnelly talks about the recent announcement of the When We Were Young music festival. He discusses the initial wave of excitement surrounding the show and all the bands tapped to play, and then he dives into how that optimism quickly turned to cynicism and doubt about how and when the other shoe would drop on it. He ponders how and why we have become so pessimistic in all are...

In Episode 92, Billy Donnelly recounts his recent birthday - turning 42 - and what the age number actually means to him. However, he does talk about the wealth of Happy Birthday wishes and sentiments that came his way as a result and discusses how they carry so much more meaning and impact than we'd readily admit. He discusses what it feels like to be seen on this special day and why we should try...

In Episode 91, Billy Donnelly talks about the birthday surprise he received this year for his 42nd, in the form of an out-of-town visitor. He discusses how the feelings that accompanied this surprise ran counter to how he felt last year (which can be heard in full on Episode 39: Turning 41) when his birthdays felt overlooked and under-celebrated. He also dives into the importance of both showing a...

In Episode 90, Billy Donnelly stresses the importance of doing the things you like, regardless of other people's opinions/judgment. He talks about why we need to find those things that bring us joy or allow us to express ourselves or give us the opportunity to try something new, and how the unsolicited opinions of others can be detrimental to that process. He ponders why people feel the need to ru...

In Episode 89, Billy Donnelly rings in the New Year by laying out his case against New Year's resolutions, particularly why they mostly don't stick and are set up for the bad kind of failure. He discusses how identifying aspects of your life that you want to change are a good thing, but it's all about how we go about implementing those improvements that makes all the difference. He points out that...

In Episode 88, Billy Donnelly bids farewell to the year that was 2021 and talks about making it through the struggles of this particular year and how it was a different sort of difficult from the horrors of 2020. He also emphatically talks about the pride he has in the growth, learning and progress he's made in a number of areas this year as well. 

In Episode 87, Billy Donnelly talks about his plans for the holidays this year, including the annual road trip to visit family for the holidays. He revisits what happened last year during the pandemic to make things less than ideal (you can hear it in full with Episode 37 - Home for the Holidays ), and hopes that things go a lot smoother this time around, with less worry and concern plaguing him a...

In Episode 86, Billy Donnelly starts feeling a little bit better than he has in recent weeks and discusses how important finding the slightest bit of motion in his life may have helped in that. He talks about how setting minor goals for himself and getting them done led to incredible feelings of accomplishment, which in turn had him feeling good about himself. He touches upon how just finding some...

In Episode 85, Billy Donnelly talks openly about some recent struggles, but really hones in on how quickly things can turn negative for him emotionally/mentally with the introduction of some unforeseen trigger. He discusses how easily it is for his mind to travel down a rabbit hole while trying to make sense of any situation, where the conclusions still almost always end up with him placing blame...

In Episode 84, Billy Donnelly talks about his latest road trip: hitting up a family wedding leading up to Thanksgiving. After wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, he discusses his apprehension about being in a situation surrounded by lots of people, with his COVID fears still very prevalent in his mind. However, he talks about what helped him get to a certain place of comfort with his decision t...

In Episode 83, Billy Donnelly hits the road again, this time for a wedding, but, in doing so, details a lot of the struggles he's faced in trying to return to "normal" and get back out there doing things in the outside world again. He talks about the worry, anxiety and fear he deals with on a daily basis as he tries to keep himself and his family safe from COVID. However, a recent tweet thread he...

In Episode 82, Billy Donnelly decides he wants to talk about all the judgment and outrage he's been seeing exhibited by people more and more over time. He tries to examine where all of this judgment towards other people is coming from and why people as a whole refuse to acknowledge of accept any sort of nuance or the complexity of the human condition. He ponders on why some insist on perfection fr...

In Episode 81, Billy Donnelly has a few things he wants to get off his chest. He starts on a positive note by giving a bit of a recap on his recent road trip to Michigan and the relief it was to do something new for a change. However, he also speaks on the regret he has sometimes that the podcast isn't more uplifting and fun and can often feel like a bit of a bummer, given his mood and headspace....

In Episode 80, Billy Donnelly lets us all know he's not actually here at the moment. Instead, he's on a road trip for the Halloween weekend, but brings us up to speed on where he's going, what he's doing, why he badly needed this time away from home and how important it was for him to have something to look forward to as of late.