The full collection of explorations.
Remember as you PLOW into the first week of 2022: The beginning of all things is weak and tender.
Treat your tasks (and self) with care.
Too aggressive and you’ll kill your baby plants (habits). I learned this through experience.
Too passive and they’ll wilt and die from neglect.
You have to goldilocks the shit out of your tasks (and self) for the next few weeks.
Carry a tender awareness with a loving heart and you’ll do just fine.
…You little plant grower you.
Always have something planned that you can look forward to.
It’ll act as a magnet that will pull you excitedly forward through your days.
Without it, the days will feel like all push.
Most people plan their goals with their best self in mind—the self that is well rested, in a good state, on-time, and excited.
This is a mistake.
Goals should be planned with our worst self in mind—the self that is tired, in a bad state of mind, late, and unmotivated.
Because it is in these moments—when we are feeling our worst—that we decide the fate of our goals.
If this “worst self” version catches you off guard, and you weren’t prepared for life’s curveballs—failure is almost inevitable.
Because if there are no other guarantees in life, I know this one to be true for sure: life will never unfold perfectly. There will be curveballs galore, obstacles like mad, and times when—for no apparent reason—you’re just not feeling like doing what you know you need to do.
Be ready for those days.
Have backup plans, a flexible mindset, and reliable systems in place.
But, above all, make sure you are doing what you are doing for the right reasons—strong, intrinsically motivated, deeply felt reasons.
Because the stronger the why—the easier it will be for you to continue forward despite the frustrations that are thrown your way. And the weaker the why—the harder it will be.
Don’t fool yourself—frustrations will be thrown at you.
The only question is… will you be ready?
Inspired by Jessica via Twitter. Thank you.
Take a day off work every now and again—it’s good for you (and your work).
Never take a day off learning—growth should happen every day of your life.
“Exercise should be a celebration of what your body can do. Not a punishment for what you ate.”
Dylan Thacker, Twitter
Most people try to “punish” themselves into being fit.
They “kill” themselves at the gym. Sign up for military-like bootcamps. Pay personal trainers to scream at them when they’re fatigued. There’s a whole lot of self-induced torture going on in the exercise world today.
And then those same people are surprised when they’re miserable and hate the idea of exercise. And it’s no wonder!
I’m here to tell you this doesn’t have to be your reality.
You don’t have to torture yourself into good health. In fact, this shouldn’t be your path towards good health—it’s an ugly path. As Dylan says above, it should be a celebration.
So, how do we celebrate exercise? By aligning ourselves with forms of movement that we enjoy doing (at least more so than others).
Because let’s not make exercise into something it’s not—it’s always going to involve work. It just doesn’t have to involve torturous work. Some ideas:
There’s a million ways to move. Experiment and find what works for you.
Don’t be like most people—celebrate your way to being fit instead.
This includes your greatest joys (embrace them).
And your greatest pains (keep attending to them).
Remember this as you gracefully move forward throughout your day and into your new year.