Skip to content

Month: April 2023

Salsa

Published on April 15, 2023

When you’re out to eat at a Mexican restaurant and the casual dinner vibe unexpectedly transitions into an upbeat dancing vibe—fully equipped with a live DJ and Salsa dance instructor—you squeeze the juice out of that moment and get up and take the Salsa dancing class.

P.s. And if you can’t get yourself to dance… reflecting on why is a great inner work prompt.

A Pillar For “Good” In Your Day

Published on April 14, 2023

Every day I exercise… is a good day.

Because the fact that I exercised means that I (1) showed up for myself, (2) won the battle against my unrelenting, comfort-seeking ego, and (3) invested in a better, future me.

…And this is no small feat.

Even if all else goes to crap and I fail at whatever else I try throughout the day… I know I can at least lean on that.

…Which is no small realization.

If you agree, consider doing three things with this:

  1. Exercise every day—in some capacity. Intensity can (and should) vary. Because having a solid pillar of “good” holding up the weight of your day is always a good idea.
  2. Celebrate exercise in bigger ways. Even if it “wasn’t much” that you did. Because the difference between “not much” and none is WAY BIGGER than the difference between “not much” and “a whole ton.” (Read that again)
  3. Make exercise easier. Everything in society tells you to make it harder—because harder leads to quicker results—which is completely accurate. But, you know what leads to the best results? Exercise you do long-term, consistently, and in a way you actually enjoy. And the best way to accomplish all three of those things… is to make it easier. Both to show up for and to do.

What Gets Measured…

Published on April 13, 2023
  • Don’t measure your weight; measure the weight of your self-love.
  • Don’t measure your influence; measure the care inside your actions.
  • Don’t measure your money; measure the wealth of life inside your days.

…Because what gets measured, gets managed. And what gets managed gets your time. And what gets your time… gets your life.

Quiet Contentment

Published on April 12, 2023

Below are my answers to yesterday’s inner work prompt questions.

Who can you spend an hour (or several) in silence with—unawkwardly? This past weekend, I drove to Philadelphia, PA with my mom and grandmother to visit my aunt and her family. It’s about a 6 hour drive from where I live and one of the interesting dynamics in the car was that nothing was played through the car’s speakers for the entire ride.

No music, no podcasts, no videos, no radio, no nothing.

It was just me, my mom, and my grandma for 6 hours in the car either talking or sitting in silence. And while there were many great conversations—there was certainly more silence than chat. Yet not a moment, either there or back, that felt awkward to me.

How did you get to that place? I think it was largely through the example that my mom and grandma set. They each have this ability to sit unawkwardly in their own silence and remain perfectly content for the entire duration of a sit and it’s something I noticed and emulated. To take it a step further, I think getting to this place is a byproduct of having completed sufficient inner work.

When you don’t have to drown out an inner noise, distract upsetting thoughts, or entertain a dopamine addicted mind… sitting in presence becomes pleasurable in and of itself.

How might you get to that place inside yourself? One inner work session at a time. Every time you introspectively write, meditatively sit, and/or honestly answer inwardly pointed questions, you get closer to that state of quiet contentment.

…Which is worth every ounce of effort invested.

Towards Unawkward

Published on April 11, 2023

Being able to sit in silence with another person—unawkwardly—is an excellent sign of a strong relationship.

Same for being able to sit unawkwardly with yourself.

Inner work prompt: who can you spend an hour (or several) in silence with—unawkwardly? How did you get to that place? How might you get to that place inside yourself?

Sponging Experience

Published on April 10, 2023

Spend a little time thinking about—and writing about—what happened each day.

This one, small habit will help you absorb exponentially more life experience than only ever thinking about what’s going to (might) happen next.

…Because those who are only ever future focused do little to no absorbing at all.

Absorbing happens when you stop, look back at the mess you made (or what you cleaned) and move the sponge of your mind over it a few times so it’s cleaner/ clearer and more ready for—now—whatever’s coming next.

I can’t tell you how many experiences I’ve had that seemed clear in the moment, but were actually quite foggy and temporary until I spent a little time thinking—and writing—about them.

Sponges work best, not against some future mess, but in response to what’s already there.

On Being Helpful

Published on April 9, 2023

Sometimes the best way to be helpful isn’t to ask how you can be helpful.

…It’s to look for what needs to get done and to get to work helping to get it done.

This is as true when you’re being temporarily hosted by a family member who’s doing it all as it is when you’re being temporarily hosted by this planet who’s being exploited for it all.

P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.