Category: Archives

The full collection of explorations.

Whole Ordeal? Or Happy Opportunity?

Published on September 26, 2023

My neighbor is a retired florist with several decades of experience.

She now makes arrangements out of her house as a side gig.

…And they’re outstanding.

One Saturday, I got a call from this neighbor asking me if my mom was still going to be picking up an order that was placed. After speaking with my mom, it quickly became obvious that I got the dates wrong.

The arrangement was supposed to be made for the following weekend and there she was, waiting with an arrangement on the current weekend.

So, what did my mom do?

…Went and picked it up. Paid for it in full. Said nothing of the confusion on my part. And said to me, “This is perfect—I’ll give them to Marvin (her partner) as a just-because gift.”

And what could’ve been a whole ordeal turned into a happy opportunity.

Food for thought for the next time you’re going through a “whole ordeal” yourself.

Make Daily What’s Always A Good Idea

Published on September 25, 2023

I take my dog for a walk every night—regardless of how I’m feeling.

…Even if I’m sick or sore or the weather is crappy.

I walked her when I had COVID, on the days I ran marathons (and the mornings after), and when we’ve had torrential rain.

In fact, over the course of the last five years I’ve had her, we’ve only ever missed when I was traveling or as a result of rare extenuating circumstances (like the Buffalo Blizzard of ’22).

So long as it’s safe—going for a walk outside is almost always a good idea.

…The fresh air; the natural elements; the time apart from screens; the low-impact movement, the neighborly interactions; the time to think and let the mind settle; and so on.

Things like this—the things that are essentially always good ideas—should be kept as top priorities in our lives.

As obvious as this sounds you have to ask yourself how often you do the things you know are good for you… and how often you let yourself talk your own self out of doing those very things.

Daily is the key. Don’t go for occasional or “when you feel like it.”

Make daily what’s always a good idea.

Pro-tip: if following through is hard for you, you could always try getting a dog… once they’re in routine, they’ll keep you accountable better than any app, quote, or coach. Of this, I’m sure.

Slow Chores

Published on September 24, 2023

When doing chores, what I notice in myself is that the more intense my desire is to be done and get on with something else, the less enjoyable the chore is.

The antidote then, that I’ve been experimenting with in my own life, is to reverse this innate response to be done with it asap—and to take my time doing the chore instead.

This isn’t the type of advice you might be used to hearing.

In our modern world, the conversation is focused around hustling, automating, outsourcing, delegating, optimizing—and we hear stories about eliminating busywork, taking full control of your calendar, living life on your own terms, and so on.

…Which typically becomes the predominant thought process precisely when we’re kneeling down on our already sore knees, touching other family members’ undies, folding and organizing a seemingly endless mountain of clothes, all while trying to uncover the floor before the next series of obligations begin.

…It’s no wonder chores are such a misery for so many of us.

But, when you take away the rush, when you eliminate the asap, when you detach yourself from all those preconceived notions and focus on just doing the task as it is—suddenly, the intensity softens, the discontentment fades, and the irritation clears.

The secret to contentment in the “here” has less to do with removing irritating tasks and more to do with stopping the ceaseless desire to be somewhere else.

Give it a try.

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

The Luck In Being Prepared

Published on September 23, 2023

For the martial arts demo team I coordinate, our next performance opportunity was scheduled to be six weeks from now.

…Until I got word that there was another opportunity next weekend.

Many of them, for the past six weeks were focused on other things and were waiting for good ol’ procrastination to kick into effect—even though I’ve been encouraging each team member to have something ready sooner.

Lo and behold, when I announced the opportunity, only a handful of them were ready.

And the handful that have been putting in the work are going to get to capitalize on the opportunity.

This is what “luck” is—when preparation meets opportunity.

The prepared team members are going to get “lucky” with the experience they’ll gain from this last minute opportunity whereas the procrastinating team members won’t.

Don’t wait for the opportunity to arise to start preparing. By then, it’ll be too late. Start preparing now and jump ahead of the procrastinators by capitalizing on opportunities the second they come onto the radar.

Mind-Wandering ≠ Meditating

Published on September 22, 2023

Yesterday, I had a client tell me they do their meditation while they shower.

Other times, I’ve had people tell me they meditate while they walk or drive the car.

I’ve even had people tell me that household chores are meditative for them (they’re also probably on the brink of enlightenment).

…And the truth is: everything is and can be meditation.

Because meditation is the act of returning to the present.

The problem is, the second we start acting—be it showering, walking, driving, doing chores, working, etc—it usually isn’t long thereafter that we forget we’re trying to meditate and start mind-wandering instead.

And to be clear, mind-wandering and meditating are not the same thing. There is certainly nothing wrong with mind-wandering and the act itself can feel quite good—especially considering how overstimulated our minds are on average in our modern world. A break from the screens where you can just let your imagination do it’s own thing can feel quite liberating.

But, the value received from meditation is something different.

It’s less about unconsciously watching the movie your imagination plays on the walls of your mind and more about consciously choosing time and again to walk out of the imagination movie theater and back into reality—where you can once again notice the here and now.

Your mind will keep trying to bring you back in to watch the movie of your ceaseless thoughts.

But, every moment you remember to leave—regardless of the tasks you’re doing when you remember—is a moment you get to embrace fully.

…And is a moment worth celebrating, indeed.

Serious About Solitude

Published on September 21, 2023

“Without solitude, no great work is possible.”
Pablo Picasso

As I sit here and reflect on some of the great works of my life—it is undeniably true that solitude was present in each of them.

For every assignment I was proud of in school—solitude was present.
For every martial arts performance I still love to rewatch on YouTube—countless hours were spent in solitude training.
For every article I share with pride—including these short, daily pieces I email out daily—solitude happened.

And my guess is, if you’re having a hard time producing work that you feel is great—you’re probably also the type who’s having a hard time finding solitude in your day.

But, let it be known, if not from me then from Picasso himself—solitude is a necessary ingredient for great work.

And if you’re serious about wanting to produce great work, then get serious about prioritizing solitude into your days.

Be it by waking up earlier, eliminating excess screen time, deleting unnecessary tasks, rearranging the tasks of your day, or buying a pair of over-the-ear headphones that you can start wearing around the chronic distractions—be like Nike and just do it.

And for every excuse that follows and prevents you from building more solitude into your days, remember, it’s you who’s arguing against the great work potential of you.

…And what a shame to be the reason for your own withheld potential.

“Life-ing” vs Living

Published on September 20, 2023

Busy happens when you’re here and you can’t stop thinking about being there.

It’s the byproduct of planning too much into your day, too closely in a row.

…Or, maybe worth considering, it’s the byproduct of simply not being able to be here.

What I’ve noticed is that the people in my life who regularly define themselves as “busy,” tend to be that way on every single one of their days—regardless of the number of tasks they have to complete. And those who never make mention of being “busy,” tend to follow the same pattern.

Now, this might very well be because “busy” people have an increased overall average number of tasks to complete.

…Or it might be because “busy” people have an increased overall tendency to pack their days with tasks so they can intentionally invoke the feeling of busy so as to distract themselves from the here.

My challenge for you, dear busy person, is to challenge “busy” and bring to question how you’re filling your days. Are you really as busy as you’re making yourself out to be? Are there tasks you can delegate, delete, or automate to add more downtime and in-between time? Can you make more of a deliberate effort to be where you are throughout the day and focus less on the next place you need to be?

What a shame, after all, to be so busy getting to the next task that you never have time to be present for the current one.

…What a shame, after all, to be so busy “life-ing” that you never have time left for living.