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Matt Hogan's Blog Posts

Day 1,000

Published on September 28, 2022

Today marks 1,000 days of daily writing. (!)

And what an incredible journey it has been.

The most important lesson I have learned along the way is how beneficial daily writing is for my mental health.

Each day I would sit to write, I gave myself permission (and the space) to process feelings, clarify thoughts, and reflect on experiences.

Pre-daily-writing I didn’t have this.

And now, I can’t imagine my mental state without it.

If you don’t already have a space in your life for processing feelings, clarifying thoughts, and reflecting on experiences, I can tell you right now, your mental state is being affected.

The benefits I have received have changed my life and I’m convinced that if you start a practice of your own—it’ll change your life as well.

This doesn’t have to be as committed as my process is (although, it certainly could be). It can be simple, private, pen-and-paper, and just a few minutes each day or week.

Don’t underestimate the power of daily writing.

It could very well be the answer you’ve been looking/ hoping/ waiting/ searching/ praying for.

P.s. I shared on twitter 25 Lessons Learned from 1,000 Days of Daily Writing. Enjoy :)

Lacking direction in life?

Published on September 27, 2022
  1. Close your eyes
  2. Imagine the full realization of your potential in exquisite detail
  3. Write down what you see

There. Now plaster that on the forefront of your mind and focus your time/ energy/ and attention on manifesting it until it’s what you see in reality.

I have been making a daily effort to do this and it’s having a noticeable impact on how I think, feel, and act. Which is precisely how the process starts.

Sharing Your Creations

Published on September 26, 2022

Sharing something you created with the wrong people will lead to disappointment.

Sharing something you created with the right people will lead to joy.

Neither outcome matters as much, however, as the fact that you shared something you created.

For creating is the ultimate joy and anything that stops you from creating is the ultimate disappointment.

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

Bored vs bored

Published on September 25, 2022

Lowercase “bored” is the lame kind.

It’s how you feel when you’re laying on the couch, with the TV playing in the background, as you scroll mindlessly through never-ending timelines on your phone… only to say to yourself… “I’m bored.”

It’s the kind of bored that’s mostly privileged and wasteful.

The other kind of bored however… the “uppercase kind” is quite the opposite.

Capital “B” Bored is the humbling, life-giving kind.

It’s how you feel when you’re meandering in your thoughts on long walks and car rides. It’s how you feel when you stare at a blank page and can’t quite figure out what to write. It’s how you feel when you have a blank canvas and don’t know what to paint.

…It’s the kind of bored that leads to introspection, healing, and art.

When we create space in our lives for more “Boredom,” we allow feelings and ideas to arise that would otherwise be suppressed by the constant influx of information that pours in through our senses.

By allowing our minds to wander undistracted, we tap into a creativity and playfulness that we once knew as children. The kind that builds kingdoms from foam blocks; dynasties from action figures; and galaxies from toy shuttles.

When we allow ourselves to be Bored, we allow our imaginations to stretch their legs. To dance around and play with everything we’ve thrusted at them since the last time they were given space.

But, if we constantly bombard our minds with the lame-kind of bored… I’m afraid we’ll only continue to suppress that life-giving gift.

And what a tragedy that would be.

P.s. I also published A Short Story About Calming The Mind today.

Building Dreams

Published on September 24, 2022

The person who builds their dreams for 2 hours / day will realize that dream 6x faster than the person who builds for 20 minutes / day.

…And ∞ times faster than the person who builds for 0 minutes / day.

Saying this for me as much as anybody else.

End Before You’re Done

Published on September 23, 2022

Being “done” signifies completion.

And while this isn’t inherently bad… when it comes to the things we can never really “complete”—maybe this isn’t exactly good either.

Think about health, introspection, and connection.

These things are never “completed.”

And so if we can teach ourselves to “end” before we’re all the way “done”—we’ll essentially be learning how to create open loops that our mind might want to “close” in the future.

Some examples:

  • For exercise: Finish when you’re 70% fatigued. Leave unfinished business at the gym. Keep that hunger for continued growth alive vs. completely exhausting yourself to a miserable pulp.
  • For writing: Leave some ideas unexplored. I use the notes app to capture ideas whenever I have them and now have well over 100 unexplored ideas. This gives me launch points for each of my future writing sessions vs. having to stare at a blank screen each time because I finished exploring all of them at the last one.
  • For conversation: Don’t exhaust all of your questions and curiosities. Leave some room for mystery and exploration for the next conversation or for follow up messages. A conversation a little too short is probably better than a conversation that went a little too long.

When you create an open-ended process for the things that compound in value over time, you give your future self a hat-tip that makes the start of the next session easier.

And anything that makes starting easier should always be considered.

What’s Missing?

Published on September 22, 2022

Outside of material items, what are you missing from your life?

Take a minute to really think about it.

…What are you missing?

Now… are you missing it because others aren’t giving it to you or because you aren’t giving it to yourself?

In most cases, what we feel like we’re missing has nothing to do with other people.

P.s. In case you missed it, here’s the replay of the LIVE chat I hosted today on Twitter about Embracing Adversity. My co-host had an incredible story and there were a ton of gems shared. Start at the 5 minute mark.