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Matt Hogan's Blog Posts

Live Unbroken [Poem]

Maybe
our real nature
isn’t to live unbroken.

Maybe
our real nature
is to continuously break down
until all that’s left
is what's real.

You Aren’t Doing Negative Self-Talk Right.

Game changer: add “up until now…” to any and all negative self-talk.

  • [Up until now] I’m lazy and gross.
  • [Up until now] My self-control sucks.
  • [Up until now] I have no idea what I’m doing with my life.

Because now, that version of you is in the past.

Negative self-talk might come from a seemingly inevitable negative reality, but the only thing inevitable is your continued negative reality if you don’t change how you talk to yourself.

You will never outperform your self-image.

Now is as good of a time as any to change it.

The Crux Of Growth

Everybody wants what they don’t have.

Don’t be everybody.

When you want what you already have, you close the loop.

You can finally focus on enjoying rather than having to constantly bear the feeling of lacking.

When you choose contentment, the byproduct is happiness.

When you choose discontentment, the byproduct is unhappiness.

Let growth come from your happiness, don’t let unhappiness become the crux of your growth.

“I’m Fine.”

First sign that you’re suppressing emotions?

“I’m fine.”

…When you’re not.

Let’s normalize saying how you *actually* feel when someone asks how you’re doing.

On To The Next

When you’re done with an application on your computer, you close it.

If you keep that program open as you open other ones, you’ll slowly start seeing a progressive lag in performance.

Especially if you leave a big program like Photoshop open.

The same is true for your mind.

Close applications before you move on to the next.

Start Seeing

Sometimes
you need to stop
seeing the good in people
And start seeing 
what they are actually showing you.

Can’t Sleep?

Wondering why your mind starts running wild right before bed?

Maybe it’s because you’re not confronting the problems your mind gets wild about while you’re awake.

Maybe you’re so distracted during the day—from the pings, beeps, bells, busyness, and notifications—that your mind conveniently forgets.

Until, finally, you turn the screens off, put your phone down, stop all conversation, and close your eyes to all of the incoming information of the world.

Of course that’s when your mind all-of-a-sudden gets wild—it remembers. And it can finally start working its way through some of those damn open-ended problems.

Mental confrontation exhausts the mind—so sleep comes easier.

Mental avoidance simply delays the mental confrontation until it can no longer be avoided.

Which is, usually (and inconveniently), right before you sleep.