Category: Living Well

Your Problems

Published on June 8, 2023

It’s the news’ job to make the world’s problems your problems.

Watch too much news and it’s no wonder you feel crippling fear, uncontrollable anxiety, and hopelessness. You are one person absorbing the problems intermittently faced by 8 billion.

No single person can face a volume of problems the size of the ocean and expect to come out afloat—let alone like they can have any kind of reasonable influence on it all.

The ceaseless influx is soul crushing. The sheer volume is paralyzing. And the overarching theme of it all is terrifying.

Hardwired into our brains is a survival instinct that watches keenly for any signs of danger—so we can safely navigate our environments and not, you know, die.

Well, the news is the channel that satisfies that instinct and gives us the sense that we better know our environment and can more safely navigate it. Only we’re getting WAY TOO MUCH information. A lot of which is exaggerated, exacerbated, irrelevant, and straight up made up so as to generate more attention from viewers.

Here’s where I land in the realm of life’s problems: I can barely stay on top of my own damn chores.

My advice? Turn off the news of 8 billion.

Come up with a solution that’s concise—no more than 5 minutes per day. Unbiased. And get the rest of your news from your immediate environment—friends, family, co-workers, etc.

Make it your job to make your world’s problems your problems.

…And focus most exclusively on doing something good in your own backyard every day.

P.s. My choice for concise, unbiased, 5-minute daily news is 1440.

Managing Unwind Time

Published on June 3, 2023

On weekends, I like finishing my days with a TV show.

It’s a great way for my productivity focused mind to unplug and idle for a while. Maybe you can relate?

Here are three rules I’ve created for myself to keep this in check, though: 1) I will only ever finish my days with a TV show, 2) It’ll only ever be on weekends, and 3) I only allow it if I’ve finished all of my other priority tasks for the day.

There are two reasons why I’ve created these rules for myself: One, they are undeniably addicting—even for a self-discipled black belt like me. And two, if I don’t get my priority tasks done because I wasted too much time watching TV, I’ll undoubtedly feel regret.

That said, there’s still the question of how to stop once you’ve started watching—which is no easy feat.

First, I always assume the episode will end with another hair-pulling cliff hanger. Another episode will never make the “hanging” better—only equally hanging off a cliff or more so.

With that mindset established, here’s what I do when the episode is actually over: 1) Don’t stare at the “next episode?” button. Clear the button and let the credits play. 2) Turn down the volume and get your mind focused elsewhere asap. Even if that means checking a social media feed. 3) Once you move your mind away from the cliff enough, you’ll eventually reclaim footing back in reality and have a MUCH easier time turning the show off.

At least this is what works for me.

I’m curious: What works for you?

When You’re A “2” Out Of “10”

Published on June 1, 2023

A student of mine returned to martial arts class yesterday after having suffered from a rough few days of food poisoning.

Having been there, I know that coming back from this is no joke.

After the class concluded, he pulled me to the side and made a comment that I thought was worth sharing.

He said, “When I came to the school, I was at a 2 [out of 10]. I was texting my wife telling her how rough I felt and how I didn’t think I’d make it to class. After an hour or two I felt more like a 3. By the time class came around, I felt like a 4. Once I was in class I was a 5. And when it was over, I was a solid 6 or 7.”

I’ve written about this before and this is no small insight.

The byproduct of doing hard things is feeling better—a bump up on the feeling scale closer to “10.” Avoiding the hard things (or succumbing to excuses like, “I’ll do it when I’m a 10”), leaves you feeling worse or, best case, keeps you sulking at the number you started at.

Don’t get it twisted: we don’t do hard things when we’re at a 10—we do hard things to get to a 10 (or at least closer to it).

Big Plans Today

Published on May 31, 2023

I have big plans for the future.

As do you, I’m sure.

And in the moments when I can feel myself wanting them to become a reality now—I remember that having them all come true now isn’t the point.

The point is in the figuring it out; it’s in the earning that comes from the journey; it’s in the having something big to aspire to.

Big plans are like the magnetic north of our lives.

…Arrive in a snap and we lose all sense of direction. Focus on following the pulled arrow of our compass and we get to take a series of deliberate steps forward today.

When you think about it like that—having a compass to follow or having no compass at all—suddenly, using our big plans for tomorrow as the vehicle that creates our big plans for today becomes the ideal path.

…Directionless is not a great place to be.

Onward.

P.s. My guide is all about how direction is more important than speed in life. If you need help figuring out your direction (and calibrating your life’s compass), check it out.

Normal and Nonspecific Moments

Published on May 29, 2023

This weekend, I had the great pleasure of looking through my grandmother’s personal photo albums which included never before seen pictures of my dad, grandmother, grandfather, aunts, uncles, and various other associated parties.

In fact, it was just this weekend that I saw baby pictures of my dad—something I had never seen prior.

It struck me how grateful I was that those pictures were taken, collected, and saved.

And what I found most interesting was how much was coming back to my dad and uncle that they, just then, thought to share—things that I suspect would’ve never resurfaced otherwise. Memories that needed that trigger of a picture—taken during what would’ve been, I imagine, seemingly normal and nonspecific moments in time—to be revived in their minds.

…Moments that I, in my life, constantly question for validity and worth.

Like, why capture this moment? Why now? Why not in the next moment? Why not stay present and as aware of the moment as I can—minus the thought of how to best capture it? How to know what’ll serve the most long term value—capturing or thoroughly soaking in?

What I don’t know is how to answer those above questions.

What I do know is that, like my dad and uncle, there are countless memories laying buried in dark corners of my mind that need but a picture to be excavated and revived…

And no picture was taken.

“Yo, ChatGPT… Write Me An Article”

Published on May 18, 2023

It would be easy for me to head over to ChatGPT, GPT-4, or Bard and ask this A.I. assistant to write a blog post for me using all of the past 1,200+ articles I’ve written as context.

And I’m sure it’d be pretty damn good, too.

But, getting an instant article based on all of my past writings isn’t the point.

The point is to sweat. To reflect. To poke around. To prod. To sigh. To grunt. To take a stab. To bleed.

The point is to play the game. Not have a game simulated at the speed of light leaving you only with the final score.

Don’t get me wrong, there are a ton of exciting tasks that A.I. can do that’ll save us a ton of time.

But creative pursuits, shouldn’t be one of them.

More time to be able to spend in creative pursuits should be the most exciting prospect of the utility and application of A.I.

Question: have you utilized A.I. chatbots in a way that saved you a ton of time in your life yet? If so, how?

Appreciation Potential

Published on May 15, 2023

Hardship is a necessary ingredient for deep gratitude.

Without hardship, beautiful things get taken for granted and a sense of entitlement can develop.

With hardship, beautiful things are seen as gifts that could be lost at any moment and that sense of deep appreciation emerges.

The greater the hardship, the deeper the appreciation potential. For example:

The person who has always had running water doesn’t have the same appreciation potential as the person who hasn’t, who has spent most of their life thirsty, and who is suddenly given access.
The person who has always had many friends doesn’t have the same appreciation potential as the person who has always struggled to make friends and suddenly has a great one.
The person who has always had access to money doesn’t have the same appreciation potential as the person who grew up poor, with no alternative sources or connections, and is suddenly making a bunch of money on their own.

This is all to say, don’t curse your hardships—understand that your roots for appreciation are growing deeper with each passing day. And what’s really happening is you’re setting yourself up to be able to fully receive the blessings that come on the other side.

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