Matt Hogan's Blog

7 Things You Can Learn From Flying

Published on August 21, 2021

Cruising > Accelerating—Accelerating from 0-250mph feels more invigorating than cruising at 500mph. But cruising at 500mph will get you WAY further than constantly accelerating 0-250mph.
Get The Design Right First—When the design is right, all that’s needed is forward momentum. With that and the right fuel source, planes glide. So can you. And gliding is better than having to constantly flap, flap, flap like a bird.
Perspective Matters—Life can feel awfully small when you’re constantly zoomed in on your world. Zooming out reminds you that what can feel huge, really is quite small when the rest of the world comes into perspective.
Direction Matters—Clouds won’t stop a flight. If you know the direction you need to head, but you temporarily lose sight, don’t let it stop you either. This is why knowing your direction is so important. Don’t take off until you do.
Rise Above The Storms—What’s true for clouds is true for minor storms, too. If the day needs to be picture perfect for you to fly, you’ll rarely fly. If you can fly out and rise above the resistance that comes with minor storms; do that.
Take Calculated Risks, Not Unnecessary Ones—When the weather gets bad, however, know when to stay grounded. Letting intense storms pass or settle is always a much better solution than taking unnecessary risks. Some storms simply shouldn’t be flown into.
Ego Check—You’re not the only aircraft in the sky. In order for flying to work, there has to be cooperation and clear communication with the other planes. Don’t wait for them to talk to you, reach out to them! Organize, align, mobilize, and enjoy the open sky.

Roots

Published on August 21, 2021

Don’t let the wind uproot you.
Let its best attempts
To topple, twist, bend, and break
Be the exact force you need
To shimmy your roots deeper
Into the very ground
It was plotting to yank you from.

Simplify Something (Anything)

Published on August 19, 2021

Simplifying even just one thing can have a positive impact on everything else in your life.

Why?

Because finding ways to give yourself more time, energy, and space will directly impact your overall mental state.

And when you can improve your mental state by alleviating the pressures of time, saving on the expense of energy, and opening up more space to think and be—of course everything else in your day will be positively impacted.

A great exercise: As you go about your day, ask yourself: How can I simplify this task?

And find ways that you can collect a few saved minutes here, save on some energy there, and accrue some extra space wherever possible.

What you might realize is that what you needed wasn’t more time, energy, and space after all.

What you actually needed was to just expend less.

Feeling A Creativity Dip?

Published on August 18, 2021

Get more bored.

I find that the more I force myself into boredom, the more creative I get.

Conversely, the more distracted and entertained I am, the less creative I get.

When do I get some of my best ideas? While I’m showering, driving, walking, napping, meditating, staring at a blank screen… it’s when my mind is bored and free to wander.

And it’s not even close...

When do I rarely ever get ideas? While I’m working, watching TV, playing a game, having gossip-y type conversation, or otherwise actively engaged in some thought-provoking tasks.

You might think you’re“not the creative type” or that you“lost” your creative touch.

I’m willing to bet you haven’t and that you are—we all have creative energy inside of us.

You’re just not allowing yourself to get bored long enough.

Dodging Raindrops

Published on August 17, 2021

The person who tries to dodge every raindrop gets hit just as many times as the person who walks calmly forward.

And so it is for the person who tries to dodge every mistake, error, issue, problem, challenge, obstacle, fault, slip-up, oversight, flaw, imperfection, adversity, responsibility…

The way I see it, the rain is inevitably going to come down over each of us. We can try to dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge every drop to avoid getting wet—which will only end in vain.

Or we can feel the rain and walk calmly forward.

The Deepest Form Of Loneliness

Published on August 16, 2021

The deepest form of loneliness doesn’t come from being estranged from others.

It comes from being estranged from ourself.

How do we become estranged from ourself?

The same way we might become estranged from others:

By not being friendly.
By not initiating conversation.
By not asking interesting questions.
By not surrounding ourself with people whom we might relate to.
By not doing what we say we’ll do or following up on things discussed.

The relationship we have with ourself is no different. We must:

Be kind to ourself.
Initiate and properly guide our inner conversations.
Learn how to ask better, more empowering questions.
Immerse ourself in environments and media that is constructive.
Do the things we say we’ll do and check in with ourself regularly.

When you become a kind and loving friend to yourself, how could you ever truly be lonely?

Familiar Pain

Published on August 15, 2021

Most of us will choose a familiar pain over an unknown alternative.

We gravitate towards the familiar because it gives us a false sense of safety.

And so long as we continue to cling to that false sense of safety, we shouldn’t expect to get anything different than the same old, familiar pain. Time and time again.

But, what if, what lies in the unknown isn’t greater pain, but a place where there’s better pain?

What if, it’s precisely in the unknown where the pains of growth, love, and healing lie?

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