Category: Living Well

Sub 100%

Published on August 16, 2023

Another day I rise… another day I didn’t want to exercise.

My body was sore, my eyes were heavy, and my energy levels were low.

And yet, today was another day when I exercised anyway.

How?

I gave myself permission to workout at sub 100%.

I showed up sore, heavy, and low. Gave myself an extended warm-up and mobility session. Took a mile and a half jog at my ~50% pace. Then, spent 30ish minutes deep stretching.

And now I feel great.

Being sore, heavy, and low aren’t excuses to skip top priority tasks—they’re reasons to adjust your pace so you can keep your top priority tasks at the top.

Remember: consistency over intensity every day of the week.

Petting Mushrooms

Published on August 14, 2023

…Oh, and one more thing I noticed from the kid I wrote about yesterday.

After our final interaction and after having walked a few sidewalk blocks away, I glanced back over my shoulder and saw him squatted in his front lawn petting a mushroom.

It was so small that his tiny, three year old hand could have held and crushed five or six of them together with ease.

But, there he was—petting that baby mushroom and giving it a level of undivided attention and care that I’m only used to giving my highest level tasks.

And if I’m being honest, while I was on that walk, I’m pretty sure what I spent most of my time thinking about was my highest level tasks. I didn’t notice the mushroom or the million other present-moment miracles on my path because I wasn’t all the way there.

I was somewhere else. As is often the case with so many of us in life.

Will petting mushrooms add a ton of value to my life?

…That’s the wrong question.

How can I get myself into a space where I’m able to notice, with full present awareness, what’s right in front of my eyes—like that three year old child?

Now that’s a question worth chewing on.

P.s. I’m going back to Burning Man this year! If any of you lovely readers will be, too, shoot me a reply! I’d love to try an arrange some meetups.

Curiosity and Response

Published on August 13, 2023

There’s a little boy who lives down the street from me, 3 years old maybe, who runs up to me every time I walk my dog past his house.

“Hi” he’ll yell excitedly as he runs up to us—carefully staying outside the range of the leash as he’s still apprehensive of my dog.

“What are you doing? What’s your dog’s name? Where are you going?”

Are the three questions he asks in quick succession each time.

“Walking my dog. Stella. Back towards home.”

Is how I’ll quickly reply.

He’s always just as excited to find out as he was the last time he asked.

What I love about this little boy—and with many kids at this age—is that magical mix of courage and curiosity.

There is zero hesitation in his excited yell. There is no gap between his curiosity and his response. And there’s no self-consciousness or self-limiting beliefs that keep him reserved and quiet as a spectator in the background.

How… I wondered to myself as Stella and I continued home… do I unlearn my way back to such a pure and valuable state?

How… I wonder now as I write this for you to read… can we unlearn our way back to such a pure and valuable state as a society?

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

On Doing “Good”

Published on August 11, 2023

One of my martial arts students pulled me aside the other day, with an upcoming tournament on his mind, and told me his main motivation to compete comes from the idea of inspiring his son—who also trains martial arts.

He told me he wanted his son to see him do “good” so that he’d be inspired to do good, too.

I asked him what doing “good” meant to him.

He said, “winning.”

I asked him if winning was what was most important to him when it came to his son’s performance… because I could put him with a group of white belts if that’s what he wanted (he’s a red belt).

He thought about it for a minute and said, “No.”

He then described how he would want his son to show courage, have fun, try his best, demonstrate good sportsmanship, and use the experiences from the tournament as fuel for his future training.

I told him that if that’s what he wanted his son to prioritize… the best thing he can do is prioritize those same things, too.

P.s. If you’d like to read along, I’m going to start uploading quotes from Think Like A Monk by Jay Shetty to MoveMe Quotes in the upcoming weeks.

Copiers

Published on August 9, 2023

When you’re scared to share out of fear that what you know will get copied or taken… it means you don’t have a sufficient personal growth / learning system in place.

The formulas are simple:

When learning/growth < what’s shared ➜ Fear of getting copied / ideas taken
When learning/growth > what’s shared ➜ Joy in having people copy and use your ideas
When learning/growth = what’s shared ➜ Mixed feelings towards different copying / idea-using situations

Lesson: Always disproportionately prioritize time for learning and personal growth over what you have time to share and you’ll never fear getting copied or having ideas taken—in fact, it’ll only bring you increasing joy to see people act from your influence.

And to those who maliciously copy and steal your ideas in an attempt to selfishly make personal gains—report them and take the appropriate actions, but remember, ideas superficially understood quickly crumble under even the slightest stress test.

Authenticity and an internal understanding of what’s shared are what stand strong against the relentless tests of time. Believe it.

Intentional Slowness

Published on August 8, 2023

Here’s an idea: Wake up earlier—not so you can get more done—but so you can move slower throughout your day.

…Move slower from bed to shower; from one exercise to the next; while eating; while driving; while walking; when speaking with people; when arriving back home and reacquainting with family; while cooking dinner; while reading; while writing; while watching the sun go down.

We’ve been brainwashed to believe that rushing is the key to productivity.

…It’s not.

If anything, rushing is the thief of presence. It steals away from us our connection to the present moment and has us constantly refreshing our awareness of what needs to happen next, next, next. So much so that there’s no awareness left for where we are—physically or mentally—throughout the day.

And so our day slips away. Time and again.

…And how much time does rushing ever really save us anyway?

I’ve rushed to work and I’ve casually commuted and the difference—at max—has only ever been 1-3 minutes. I’ve rushed to get tasks done versus got them done with full presence and have often lost more time than gained in silly mistakes and errors. I’ve scarfed down food and I’ve sat and enjoyed a meal—and maybe 15 minutes were accounted for.

…But is time gained from rushing really time gained?

My argument is that what’s “gained” from rushing is lost in presence. And the loss in presence is the far greater loss in comparison. Which is why, for those used to rushing, sprinkling 30-60 additional minutes throughout the day for intentional slowness could result in a pretty significant and noteworthy gain.

Pure Harmony

Published on August 7, 2023

While food shopping, I saw a can of meat branded as “Pure Harmony.”

Branding like this really ticks me off because pure harmony is the exact opposite of what’s in that can.

As consumers, it’s important to be aware of the impact of our purchase decisions. Whatever we buy increases demand. And so long as there’s a demand, so, too, will there be a continued supply.

Mind you, Pure Harmony, in this instance, is for dog food and I’m not advocating you turn your dog vegan (mine’s not).

I am, however, encouraging you to be mindful of the decisions you make for yourself and your family—modern day marketing can by tricky! Happy cows, dancing chickens, brands names like Pure Harmony, etc… I didn’t make the connection between my food shopping choices and the world at large until I was in my mid-20’s.

Making simple changes like switching dairy milk to a nondairy substitute, or practicing “Meatless Mondays,” or cutting out red meat altogether can have a disproportionately significant impact. One that’s beneficial for the animals, the environment, and your health.

And if nothing else, think of the real step towards harmony you take when the food you eat doesn’t cost an animal their life…

But, I digress.

P.s. If you have any questions about eating less meat or dairy, send a reply to this email.