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Category: Living Well

Maybe Just See What Happens?

Published on June 11, 2026

If you have social anxiety or feel nervous about showing up to an event solo that you want to go to… because you feel like you need your family or friends there with you at all times… maybe just try showing up and seeing what happens?

If you feel tired or like you’d rather be lazy… or feel like you need to be motivated or amped up before going to a workout class or exercise based activity… maybe just commit to showing up and seeing what happens?

If you are a planner and get invited to a trip with friends, but don’t have details on where you’ll be staying… who you’ll be staying with… modes of transportation… etc… all that’s confirmed is the round trip plane ticket… maybe just commit to the plane ticket and trust that you’ll figure out the rest as it unfolds…?

Maybe instead of needing to know all of the exact details ahead of time… or needing specific criteria to be met… or needing to feel a certain kind of way before doing or trying something…

Maybe just commit to showing up and seeing what happens from there?

Evolution Comes From Pressure

Published on June 10, 2026

A parent got upset with me about how one of our martial arts programs was presented.

I’ve been thinking about the interaction a lot. And, consequently, how our programs are presented.

It’s lead to some intriguing conversations with my associates and some new ideas on how we might restructure and proceed. In, what we hope will be, a better way.

And if I (we) can continue to channel the emotional energy we might feel from harsh criticism and heated feedback into constructive brainstorming and actions for improvement… then, in some sense, we should be thankful for harsh criticism and heated feedback.

…Because evolution comes from pressure, not comfort. And if what comes unto criticism can withstand the flames, then it comes out on the other side better; more tested; more polished.

And if it can’t… then it’s a good thing it was brought to your attention and burned.

…Because otherwise, you’d be left peddling a lower, less evolved thing from a lower, less evolved version that has a lower, less evolved experience and understanding.

…And nobody wants that.

Don’t Blame It On The Discipline

Published on June 9, 2026

Being disciplined is impressive.

Living aligned is like being consistently disciplined… only without as much effort.

Being disciplined is not eating a cookie when there’s constantly a bowl of them in front of you. Living aligned is not eating a cookie because there aren’t any cookies for you to eat.

Being disciplined is forcing yourself to get through a grueling workout. Living aligned is getting your workout in via your favorite sport/activity.

Being disciplined is working hard on a project that bores you to tears. Living aligned is looking up at the clock after having worked really hard on a project and being shocked at how much time has gone by… and wanting to keep going to complete more.

If you find yourself wondering how the best are as disciplined as they are… it’s not because they have a superhuman amount of willpower… it’s because they’re excellent at aligning what needs to get done with their circadian rhythm/schedule, aptitudes/abilities, interests/curiosities, identity/self-awareness, home/work environments, and so on.

Don’t blame it on the discipline… blame it on the misalignment.

Envy Not

Published on June 4, 2026

Envy not the person who has what you don’t have or who has gone where you haven’t gone…

Envy the person who thinks not of what they don’t have or where they haven’t gone…

…And instead focuses solely on what’s here, what’s now, and where they have arrived.

For joy and gratitude in the current step is an excellent strategy for evoking more of the same in the next step. And the step after that.

And so too for the person who steps with envy. It only evokes more of the same. No matter how much you acquire or how many places you’ve gone.

Want More Energy? …Don’t Save It.

Published on June 3, 2026

Your body adapts to the demands of its environment.

Sit at a desk all day, take the elevator, use valet, consume passive entertainment on the couch, skip your workouts… and what you’ll effectively be telling your body is: all of that beautiful life energy you gifted me… isn’t needed.

And your body will reduce how much it produces in the future. Until you get to the point where doing even the most basic of tasks is exhausting.

Do the opposite and use it all up though? And your body will find ways to not only produce more, but increase your future stores.

The people with the most energy aren’t the ones who have saved their energy the most… they’re the ones who have used it up most consistently.

Remember this when you’re on the fence about showing up to your workout or playing with your kids outside or going for a walk around the block… because you’re tired.

…Yes, there’s a line that needs to be honored and rest could very well be the better decision if you’re truly fatigued.

But remember that what you agree to as being your energetic limit is what your body will adapt to from there. And if you’re being dishonest with yourself, then your energy stores will iteratively shrink. And if you’re being honest, then they’ll iteratively grow.

And why lie to yourself about something that can so drastically affect your life? Life energy is one of the ultimate life currencies… and the good news is that you get to spend all that your gifted each day and you’ll be fully replenished, plus some, the next!

Hope you have an exhausting day ;)

Who Should I Think About As I Write?

Published on June 3, 2026

If I think too much about who’s on my email list, I have a really hard time settling on a topic.

Should I write for the parents?

Should I lean more towards business casual or drinking buddy language?

Should I bear in mind the people I’ve met through martial arts or music or social media or education or travel?

But then I come back to my mission statement: I help busy people do inner work.

…And I can focus again. Because I’m not writing for any one person on my list. In fact, I’m not even writing for the entirety of the people on my list.

…I’m writing for me. Because I’m busy. And I need to keep finding ways to do inner work.

Because I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: daily writing that’s inner work based is one of the best things I’ve ever done for my mental health, healing, and personal growth.

And if I can help some of the other busy people out there via the work I’m doing for myself… or help them build a practice that’ll guide them forward in the same way my practice has guided me… then that’s a pretty incredible bonus.

Life Is Unfair?

Published on May 28, 2026

Do you realize that, in an incalculable number of ways, you’re living a life of already answered prayers?

Think about it.

How many times were you terribly sick and prayed for health?

How many times have you feared for your life and saw things through to the other side?

How many times have you prayed for good news and gotten it?

How many times was a deal made where if the universe/higher power delivered “A,” you would offer back, “B”—and the universe delivered?

How many times have you prayed for a person? To heal? To find their way? To like you? And it came true?

…And how many times have we immediately moved on with our lives after an answered prayer… filling the universe only with multiplied additional prayers rather than even an ounce of gratitude?

Maybe one of the reasons we feel like life is unfair, is because for every one answered prayer, we ask for ten additional prayers to be answered… and we quickly forget about all that has already been fulfilled.

…But if you flipped that formula, and responded with 10 times the gratitude for every one answered prayer, maybe life being unfair wouldn’t be so bad after all.