Getting Old Quickly

In Episode 54, Billy Donnelly examines the fine line that seems to exist for him between success and failure, and how it has often acted as an obstacle in moving ahead on a number of ideas, projects, etc. He discusses his history of failure and how that has fostered such an extreme dichotomy between the two sides, and he ponders why exactly he hasn't been able to get over the hump of bouncing back...

In Episode 53, Billy Donnelly explores questions of worthiness after finding some difficulty in receiving compliments from others. He tries to figure out why we find these interactions awkward and often downplay the praise that surfaces within them. He discusses ideas of hero worship and putting people on pedestals, while also talking the conflict that exists between his need for validation and af...

In Episode 52, which marks the 1-year anniversary of Getting Old Quickly's launch, Billy Donnelly looks at the various lessons, discoveries and takeaways he has managed to find in the first year of doing the show. 

In Episode 51, Billy Donnelly explores the dangerous game of comparing yourself to others and the toll it can take on your mental health. He discusses why we do it and what contributes to that type of mindset. But he also takes it one step further by raising a different level of comparison that he's struggled with lately, and that is of comparing against his potential and the best version of himse...

In Episode 50, Billy Donnelly discusses how valuable other people can be in teaching you how not to do something. He talks about the various ways he tries to observe others and, in doing so, gets a better feel for who he doesn't want to be, how he doesn't want to act and how he doesn't want to behave, so he can forge a path forward that is more aligned with what he does want. He talks about how we...

In Episode 49, Billy Donnelly discusses the idea of individuals as brands and the mental health toll it can take in eyeing yourself as a company rather than just as a human being. He explores the purpose of a "brand," in relation to a company's goals, and how that often runs in contrast to how we behave and act as people. He talks about the commodification of people and the problems that occur as...

In Episode 48, Billy Donnelly opens up about his difficulties finding joy and happiness as of late and wonders where exactly his once-present ability to laugh, smile and generally have a good time has disappeared to. In talking through his feelings on the matter, he further dives into struggles of wanting to be liked and accepted as well as his own worries about how others perceive him as he navig...

In Episode 47, Billy Donnelly travels back in time 30 years to revisit a period of his life playing Little League baseball and relay a particular story that he believes serves as a source point for a number of future struggles. He examines how issues of self-confidence, self-belief and self-doubt may have been created in one decision made by someone else when he was 12 years old and how it all fac...

In Episode 46, Billy Donnelly discusses the negative impact social media has had on his mood and mindset as of late, laying out his history with platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram over the years. However, recently he went ahead and did a thing: creating a TikTok account, and has found an incredible amount of positivity and enjoyment in both using it and creating on it that he hasn't fo...

In Episode 45, Billy Donnelly goes in-depth on three core emotions he has been battling as of late: feeling alone, feeling lost and feeling frustrated. He talks about his mindset after realizing he is very rarely asked what he needs. He details his lack of response when actually faced with that question recently, in addition to the feelings of isolation he has by not wanting to burden others with...

In Episode 44, Billy Donnelly stresses that, no matter what struggles or issues you are working through right now, you are doing the best you can. He talks about the various things that keep popping up and sticking him in a negative thought space, but he implores you (and himself) to keep fighting, keep trying to find progress, keep putting in the work needed to be better overall. It's all about p...

In Episode 43, Billy Donnelly welcomes director Nick Bilton to the show to discuss his HBO documentary Fake Famous, which attempts to turn three individuals into "famous" social media influencers. Through their talk, Billy and Nick dive into the idea behind the film's social experiment, lessons learned about why people seek fame through social media, the dangers of relying on social media platform...

In Episode 42, Billy Donnelly talks about some recent reflections that have him stuck in negative thoughts of feeling like a loser. He discusses his feelings that the universe is working against him and that, no matter what, he can't seem to catch a break, and the impact that has on self-esteem over time. He dives into his frustration of seemingly and repeatedly ending up back in the same bad endi...

In Episode 41, Billy Donnelly details another recent bout he had dealing with his validation struggles. This time around, he discusses how an absence of Words of Affirmation and a lack of outside validation feel an awful lot like rejection. He talks about how the structures of social media and their algorithms factor into feelings of irrelevance, in particular when posts/tweets/photos are met with...

In Episode 40, Billy Donnelly talks about the curse of self-awareness and the emotional toll that comes with recognizing and acknowledging your feelings. He discusses the burden that results in traveling down the rabbit hole of your mind for a better understanding of your emotions, experiences, etc. He recognizes the short-term pain that results to find longer-term gains of growth and self-improve...

In Episode 39, Billy Donnelly talks about turning 41 years old this week and some of the emotional baggage that comes with never really having had a big deal made out of his birthday. In addition, he talks a little bit about his fear of a coming colonoscopy, namely worries about the procedure itself but also anything that might be found wrong with him as a result. 

In Episode 38, Billy Donnelly attempts to express and process his emotions surrounding the riots and insurrection in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Capitol. 

In Episode 37, Billy Donnelly discusses his trip home for the holidays to see family, which included an agreed-upon plan to quarantine and have everyone in a good position to gather for Christmas. However, with a potential Covid breach compromising the whole situation, he lays out all the changes that went into effect, in addition to the last-minute scenario that put immense pressure put on him to...

In Episode 36, Billy Donnelly says farewell to the awfulness of 2020 (Good riddance). However, he also looks at all the positive things he can take from the year as we move forward into 2021, while setting proper expectations for what the turn of the new year means and surely what it doesn't. 

In Episode 35, Billy Donnelly responds to his recent viewing of the film IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE by examining James Stewart's character George Bailey in it and the standards for his fictional life that we should aspire to have in our own very real ones. In addition, he talks about why this year's watch of one of his annual holiday traditions hit him a lot harder this time around, detailing the vario...

In Episode 34, Billy Donnelly discusses his lack of confidence and how, when stacked with fear of failure and self-imposed pressure, it creates a three-headed monster of struggle for him to try to overcome. He talks about what his lack of confidence is rooted in and why it's so difficult to shake loose from it to get the confidence tide flowing in the other direction. 

In Episode 33, Billy Donnelly looks at the amount of pressure we put upon ourselves and how, for himself, it often feeds off his fear of failure. He talks about unrealistic expectations of perfection we place upon ourselves and discusses a recent situation and the accompanying breakdown that occurred with it afforded him the opportunity to examine how much pressure he had been putting upon himself...

In Episode 32, Billy Donnelly starts examining his very own fear of failure. He tries to figure out where it started, going back to his days as a student in a gifted program and not having the tools to handle things not always coming so easily to him. He details a number of situations over the years where he did put himself out there in the hopes of creating opportunity, only to be met by rejectio...

In Episode 31, Billy Donnelly decides to reflect upon a number of things he's grateful for in an otherwise difficult year. With Thanksgiving upon us, he chooses to give time to the positive rather than dwelling on the negative, showing love to the various parts of his life that have meant a lot as he's struggled and dealt with all emotions of the pandemic. In addition to calling needed attention t...

In Episode 30, Billy Donnelly details a number of contributing factors in his life that is leading him to feel burnt out as of late. He discusses the come down he's feeling from having worked so intensely on the Presidential campaign and what it feels like when the stop hits so abruptly. In addition, he talks about the mental exhaustion that still exists on a daily basis with the less-than-ideal s...