Category: Investing In Yourself

Are you angry? Or are you overtired and just need a nap?

Are you anxious? Or are you pent up and just need to get some exercise?

Are you arrogant? Or are you distracted and just need to practice gratitude?

Are you sluggish? Or are you dehydrated and just need to drink more water?

Are you alone? Or are you expecting everybody else to take the initiative and haven’t sent out any invitations yourself or signed up for any new group activities?

Are you depressed? Or are you spending too much time on social media comparing yourself to others and just need to delete your accounts or have a screen fast?

It may not be as simple as that. But, in many cases—it is.

This is a reminder to stay on top of the basics.

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P.s. I also published: To My Daughter. [Excerpt]

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.

Inner work can be exhausting.

Like changing a car’s battery.

But, once it’s done… it provides a source of sustainable energy that far exceeds what an almost dead battery could ever provide. As it is when we introspectively explore and update/change a fundamental component of our inner workings—exhausting at first, life-giving later.

Which isn’t to say inner work is a one-and-done process.

Like a car’s battery, it still needs to be recharged—which happens, counterintuitively enough, via driving. This works the same for us when we move our bodies, minds, and spirits by exercising, writing, meditating, etc. Movement, as it turns out, is how we keep ourselves charged—not depleted—with energy.

To be clear, we still need to sleep—this isn’t the kind of energy we’re talking about. What we’re talking about is the energy you get to use inside of your days after sleep—your vitality.

And if you want to raise your vibration and engage with more enthusiasm, you’ll have to invest a solid chuck of energy upfront. There is no way around this. But, once you do, and you give yourself a full night of sleep for it take, you’ll rise with a higher baseline of energy that wasn’t accessible before… that you can use to move and recharge even more… that you can use to FULLY engage with life.

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P.s. I asked: How much awake time do you spend each day unplugged? Hoping the answer(s) might get you to have a think…

In today’s media driven world, there’s a ton of pressure to grow personal media accounts.

Which isn’t surprising because if what everybody is talking about is their favorite influencers, viral content, and follower counts—then, of course that’s what’s going to be at the top of everybody’s minds.

But, never let vanity growth take priority over interpersonal growth.

Like, when you feel obligated to consume all of your favorite creators new content, to post x new items to your socials, and to get that big project done for more revenue—but haven’t done anything for yourself…

…That’s a problem.

Maybe not immediately because maybe you can pull it off.

But, long-term? It will be. Because an absence of personal growth indicates a presence of personal atrophy.

And personal atrophy can only be hidden behind creative marketing for so long.

Eventually, people see through the shiny packaging and absorb the raw content for what it is.

And if what it is is regressing, then it won’t be long before they move to a different place where there is growth.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to influence more people or make more money.

There is something wrong with prioritizing those things at the expense of your interpersonal needs.

And not just because, you know, mental health, but because interpersonal growth IS the means to any worthwhile/ meaningful vanity growth.

So, remember, when you only have time to do one or the other, doing something for yourself should always get the priority.

Even when vanity growth seems to be the only thing everybody else is concerned about.

**Especially when.