Matt Hogan's Blog

It’s Time To Rebel

Published on April 20, 2022

Modern day culture isn’t set up to make people feel good about themselves.

It’s postured towards comfort, speed, and clicks.

It’s important to point out that the byproduct of such a culture isn’t meaning, inner peace, and happiness.

The byproduct is pain, busyness, and distraction.

Which is why “going with the flow,” “fitting in,” and “keeping up with the whoevers” can be so detrimental (and is to countless people in our society).

Those who surrender to the flow of the culture quite often get carried away into the sewers which are composed of garbage thoughts, shitty feelings, and crap relationships.

This is all to say: being passive in today’s culture is a shitty option. Pun definitely intended.

And worth pointing out: this means that meaning, inner peace, and happiness are each (and need to be treated as) acts of rebellion.

You need to rebel against the call to comfort and confront positive pain.

You need to rebel against the aggressive demands for speed and deliberately create more space for stillness.

You need to rebel against the urge to constantly click, follow, like, swipe, and subscribe—and spend more time exploring, experimenting, adventuring, connecting, and building.

Don’t expect society to carry you along gracefully to the most fulfilled version of your life.

It won’t.

In today’s world, living the most fulfilled version of your life is straight up, an act of rebellion.

And it’s time to start treating it as such.

The Impact of Inner Peace

Published on April 19, 2022

Acquire a sense of inner peace and you’ll save thousands of others.

When people are in times of conflict, even more important sometimes than words of advice or helpful actions is simply a peaceful presence.

A solid boulder that can slow the raging river. A brick house that can protect against the ravaging storm. A clear mind that can cut through the invasive fog.

See, a person who has acquired a sense of inner peace brings peace with them everywhere they go. Their impact is made constantly without any specific efforts on their part.

…And so it is for the person who carries conflict with them everywhere they go.

If we care about the impact we have on others, what we have to remember is the lesson that Maya Angelou so wisely shared: “At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.”

Which means: what people feel from our presence is where the real impact is made.

Focus less on always having to say or do exactly the right thing. A lot of times, the stress and anxiety produced by this desire becomes counterproductive to the very message we’re working so hard to get right.

Focus on being instead.

Being intentional. Being compassionate. Being mindful. Being grateful. Being calm.

Being at peace.

Our impact outward will ripple in proportion to the impact we’ve made on ourselves inward.

Keep Refining

Published on April 18, 2022

New rule I’m toying with: no work past 10pm (not even side-hustle work).

Here’s why: nothing past that time (for me) seems to give a higher ROI than sleep.

By that point my focus, energy, and creativity has been generally depleted to the point where the time I invest produces diminished returns—at best.

I’m better off going to sleep and doing the work in the morning when I’m replenished.

This might only save me 5 – 20 minutes.

…But, multiply that by the number of days I have left in my life?

THAT is the power of refinement.

The Pre-Req To Connection

Published on April 17, 2022

The solution to loneliness isn’t exotic destinations.

…It’s connection.

And connection happens when you say to the world: “This is who I am.”

Rather than waiting for the world to notice you and, at best, say: “This is who you’re going to be.”

Because how can anyone else connect with you if you aren’t first connected with yourself?

What Are You Measuring?

Published on April 16, 2022

Inches?
Pounds?
Followers?

Have you ever considered measuring things like:

Connection?
Presence?
Laughter?

Because here’s the reality: what you measure is what’ll get your focus.

And what gets your focus gets your time, energy, and attention.

…In other words: your life.

So, the more focused you are on measuring any one particular thing, the more of your life that one particular thing will consume.

And if that’s true then I’m sure you can already see where I’m going with this.

Measure your life in how you would most love to live it—and let your time, energy, and attention flow into those things as much as you can afford.

Because a life measured in measuring tapes, scales, and social media clicks certainly isn’t equal to a life measured in deep connections, belly laughs, and moments of presence.

Don’t Skip Leg Day

Published on April 15, 2022

Today was heavy squat day at the gym.

Family travel, however, interrupted the normal routine.

So, after driving 6 hours and settling in to my destination location—I got creative.

I ran an elevated pace mile, did 100 jump squats, and 50 lunges.

This is a good example of what “firm in resolve; flexible in approach” looks like.

Life will happen.

Find other ways to make your top priority tasks happen when it does.

Playing To Win

Published on April 14, 2022

Nobody sets out to lose.

Winning is—in some way/shape/or form—the goal for all of us.

Ironically enough, not winning is often the best means to winning.

It challenges us, humbles us, evokes curiosity, and introduces us to grit—if we channel it.

If we don’t, not winning can lead to discouragement, self-doubt, and result in surrender.

And what most people will say with this insight is: never surrender; persevere; don’t give up; channel losses into fuel; ignore self-doubt etc.

Worth considering, however: if you want to start winning more, maybe the trick isn’t to force yourself to ignore feelings of discouragement, self-doubt, and surrender.

Maybe the trick to winning more is to define for yourself a game where the natural byproduct of “not winning” is humility, curiosity, and grit.

Because what you need to always consider is that you may be playing the wrong game.

When you align your aptitudes, abilities, and interests with the right type of challenge/ game, the question of “how can I motivate myself to keep going” dissolves.

And the question that quickly appears in its place is “how can I stop myself from playing this game so much so that I can eat food, interact with humans, and get more sleep.”

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