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Category: Living Well

Doing A Little Better

Published on February 8, 2023

When it comes to improving our lives, I think it’s safe to say that just about all of us have a catalogue of dormant ideas, insights, and strategies that would very well lead us to a better life if we applied them.

It’s like Anne Lamott said in her brilliant TED Talk: “Food—try to do a little better. I think you know what I mean.” (timestamp)

It’s not about knowing what to do.

The real game is in finding ways we can more consistently do what we already know.

Information gathering is okay—it can certainly help facilitate change.

But, don’t fool yourself—obsessing over information gathering is a distraction; it’s an excuse; it’s an avoidance.

And moreover, don’t undermine yourself when you feel like you’re “only” doing (or “only” committing to doing) a little something better.

Doing a little something better is precisely how any of us ever moves from okay to great.

Because life is a game of applying—and every little bit counts.

P.s. Here are 9 Small Changes That Have Had The Biggest Impact On My Health.

A Strategy For Tomorrow

Published on February 4, 2023

Hoping things will be better in the future is a great way to keep getting the same kind of results in the future.

If you want a better future, a great strategy to try is something new, intentional, and deliberate *today.*

P.s. It’s world cancer day. Here’s a cancer story that had a powerful impact on me.

Discipline Leads To Self-Discipline

Published on February 2, 2023

Having a hard time building self-discipline?

Commit to building discipline first.

Join a class, enroll in a course, get a coach, etc., where you’re simply told what to do and you can focus on getting really damn good at doing what you’re told—regardless of how much you don’t want to do whatever that is (in a constructive, healthy, held-accountable way).

Do your research, of course, and don’t settle until you come to an arrangement that’s aligned with your personality type and preferences; one that’s with a person or a group you respect.

Once you do (and this is the key), make the conscious choice to replace the words that come from your ego with the words that come from this new source. In other words, don’t let your inner voice talk you out of doing what you’re told to do.

Because it’s that inner voice—your ego—that’s precisely the problem.

The path is this: discipline leads to self-discipline which leads to habits.

Flex the “do-it-even-when-you-don’t-want-to-do-it” muscle enough and eventually, it’ll be strong enough for you to flex on your own. Flex it on your own enough and eventually, it’ll become an automatic type of response that your ego slowly stops fighting you over.

This is the way.

P.s. Not sure where to start? Try enrolling in a local martial arts class. The discipline I build in martial arts became the foundation for all of the “automatic” type habits I have in my life.

A Flip Of The Switch

Published on January 31, 2023

I started meditating a whole lot more once I stopped trying to do it perfectly.

What I realized is that a quiet corner, meditation pillow, and chunk of uninterrupted time aren’t required.

What’s required is an intention. Period.

Now, I meditate while walking, driving, waiting in lines, you name it…

What the intention does is declare to your mind that you’re now entering a different way of being. Without it, your mind will unconsciously continue to rambunctiously act non-meditatively—as it always does.

It’s like flipping a mind switch.

Once that switch is turned on and the light of your consciousness turns inward, you can begin to notice the urges that come up (that try to break you away from your meditation/presence), and focus on returning to your practice for as long as you may.

And suddenly, once you realize that a flip of the switch is all that’s required, meditation goes from another task you try to stressfully add to your already busy day—to an easily-intertwined-throughout-your-whole-day kind of task.

There are so many applications for this strategy in life.

P.s. When I do sit down to meditate, I use brain.fm to filter out invasive external noises. I’m a raving fan and currently on a 20-week use streak.

Kindness Travels

Published on January 27, 2023

Be kind on your way up; you might cross paths with some of the same people on your way down.

Be kind on your way down; you might cross paths with some people who might be able to help you up.

In short: be kind; always.

Lung Access

Published on January 26, 2023

Dear busy person,

Before you check your phone throughout the day, commit to taking a long, deep breath first. Remind yourself that you are more than your notifications. That your phone is there to serve you; not enslave you. That being calm and centered is available to you in each moment—in each breath—just as the internet is (worth acknowledging the weight of that statement). You just have to choose lung access instead of always defaulting immediately to thumb access.

Sincerely,

Your inner work person

Happiness via Subtraction

Published on January 23, 2023

When we remove:

  • Fear of judgment
  • Superfluous desires
  • Unrealistic expectations
  • Depressive mental environments
  • Obsessive needs to be happier *than*

What’s left is what was always there—the happiness we once knew that was slowly buried by modern and corrupt influences.

The way to add happiness to our lives isn’t via more… it’s via less.

P.s. I started uploading quotes from Will by Will Smith to MoveMe Quotes. If you’d like to read along, you can get the book here. And you can read the insights I upload for free here.