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Like Pavlov’s Dogs

Years ago I read Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants To Be by Steven Pressfield.

Today, I was reminded that when I sit in my work chair, my mind modes to work; when I sit on my couch, my mind modes to relax and unwind; and when I sit on my home office chair, my mind modes to reading, writing, and meditating.

The premise of the above mentioned book is exactly this: create a sacred space where only one type of task or theme of tasks happens. Then, like Pavlov’s dogs, all you need to do is sit your ass in that space and your mind will mode accordingly.

…An excellent strategy if you are hours deep into a mindless couch slump and you need to get some work done. Just tell your mind you’re just going to sit in a different space and see what happens. And if you’ve done your conditioning correct, the rest will take care of itself.


P.s. Here are 10 of my favorite quotes from Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants To Be.

The Same Tasks Done At Different Times Does Not Produce The Same Results

Reading books calms my mind and tires my eyes—that’s why I read at night. Scrolling through my phone stimulates my mind and wakes my eyes—that’s why I use it in the morning.

I tend to be more introverted in the morning—that’s when I do most of my class planning, writing, curriculum designing, event planning, and strategizing. I tend to be more extroverted in the afternoon and evening—that’s when I do most of my teaching, phone calling, hanging out, communicating, and interacting.

Recording notes on my phone can be done quickly, hands-free, and copy/pasted/shared seamlessly—that’s why I do it when I’m on the move or at a business conference. Recording notes on paper with a pen/pencil elicits zero distractions or stimulation—that’s why I do it when I’m meditating and am trying to clear my mind.

If I did all of these things the opposite way (i.e. read books in the morning and used my phone at night or did my extroverted tasks in the morning and introverted tasks at night) the results would NOT be the same—they would be negatively affected—even though the time allotted would be equal.

This is the power of alignment. And this is a power you should consider and seriously consider yielding to in your own life.

Gigantic Intention

Do you know what’s better than cursing the litter? …Picking up even just one piece of trash.

Do you know what’s better than judging those who are out of shape? …Going on even just one walk with one of them.

Do you know what’s better than watching algorithmic content that triggers you? …Deliberately watching even just one piece of content that inspires you.

Do you know what’s better than being endlessly too busy? …Reprioritizing and making even just one block of time work in your favor.

Do you know what’s better than being a perfect role model who falls short sometimes? …Being an imperfect role model who continuously seeks improvement and shares lessons learned along the way.

Do you know what’s better than gigantic intention? …Even just one small action completed.

Take Care Of Your Pennies

I don’t know about you, but I like my water carrying buckets hole-free. And while you might agree, you might be surprised at how many holes are in your money-carrying buckets that you’re either consciously ignoring or blind to see.

Things like delivery fees for food you could’ve gotten for a fraction of the cost at the store or picked up yourself… credit card charges for goods and services you should’ve paid off right away or could’ve done without… subscription services for entertainment apps you haven’t used in months… high utility bills because you’re careless and use way more than what you really need… insurance on your house or car that’s jacked up in price because you haven’t shopped around or have been too lazy to participate in rate reduction programs or courses…

See what most people don’t understand… or maybe just want to be too bougie to have to worry about… is that patching leaks is an excellent strategy for keeping more water in your bucket. And while, yes, putting more water in your bucket can also result in you having more water in your bucket… it can also lead to bigger and more exacerbated leaks. Especially if you never pay any mind to them and let them deteriorate, rust, and crack unchecked and freely.

The mindset is this: take care of your pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.

IRL Video Games

I was reminded yesterday of where all the time came from that was required to build my quote website

…And it came from all of the time I might’ve otherwise played video games.

See, I had two experiences with video games that essentially made me quit cold turkey. One was from an inception-like experience where I played for 16+ hours straight and got stuck in a nightmare that night for what felt like a year. The second was when I saw a stat tracker that said I had been playing this other game for 13+ days in total time.

After that, I recommitted this freshly available time into the creative act of building MoveMe Quotes.

“…And so you worked full time and then came home and kept working some more, huh?” …Is what this person asked.

But, that’s not how it felt at all.

Building this website was like a video game in itself. I was trying to create this beautiful user experience that felt like I was building a home on SIMS or an amusement park on Roller Coaster Tycoon.

I was trying to maximize my organic marketing and SEO exposure to build an army of dedicated followers—like if I was playing Dynasty Warriors or Age Of Empires.

I was selling digital products and even built a merch store to offset the costs of running this popular website and maybe even make a profit—like if I was playing any business oriented game like Lemonade Tycoon.

The point is, I wasn’t working: I was just playing a different game—one that was IRL oriented.

…And maybe there’s a similar perspective you can adopt, too?

Hating Your To-Do List Isn’t A Good Strategy

Exercise isn’t something you ever complete.

Maybe after a session, sure, you can check it off your daily to-do list.

But, when tomorrow comes or maybe the day after that, guess what? …There it is again.

Understand this and maybe you’ll stop exercising in ways that make you hate exercise.

…Understand this and maybe you’ll stop doing all things that can’t be completed in ways that makes you miserable about doing them again the next day.

W. W. J. D.

…Stands for, What Would Jesus Do—and is a powerful framework for decision making that is/was practiced by millions… maybe even billions.

The idea is simple: when thrusted into a situation that makes you angry, upset, frustrated, etc., you pause for a moment and ask yourself, “What would Jesus do in this situation?” …And then you use that framework to guide your decisions forward.

It’s very helpful to use people as points of reference when we’re in need because while they might not have ever commented on how to handle each and every specific situation that comes up in your life… what they offer instead are embodied values and principles that, maybe we’re still working to embody, but can borrow from.

And it’s through this process of borrowing embodied values and principles that we embody them ourselves. It’s simply a matter of casting enough character and identity votes so as to tip the overall ballot into our default and ongoing behavior.

My challenge for you today is this: pick someone who can be this guiding light for you. Or maybe even better, do a deep visualization of who you are at your highest version and use that as your guiding light.

…Because trying to figure out specific answers to very specific problems can oftentimes only exacerbate the problem.

…But visualizing what Jesus, or Gandhi, or Mother Teresa, or Nelson Mandella, or your highest version would do—can oftentimes give you a clarity in a heartbeat that you might feel you so desperately need.