Helping busy people do inner work.
“Mom we’re flying!”
—said the little girl sitting behind me on her first plane ride ever.
This being the umpteenth time I’ve flown, I opted to try and get extra sleep.
But, with that prompt, I opened my eyes and thought to myself…
Damn. We’re flying.
Sacrificing sleep to “gain” time usually ends up in more time lost than is ever gained.
Sure, you might bank an extra hour when you get 7 hours of sleep instead of 8, but what isn’t considered as readily is the time lost when trying to make up for the side-effects of sleep deprivation.
When you add up all of the time spent taking excessive (caffeine) breaks, complaining about being tired (both to others and in your own head), and trying to chop down the tree of your work with a dull axe—the mismatch can be quite eye-opening.
When asked what time she wakes up every morning, founder of The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings) and absolute legend in the writing world, Maria Popova said “Exactly 8 hours after I went to bed.”
She went on to explain that the sloth and mental cloudiness that comes from suboptimal sleep simply can’t be made up during the day in caffeine or whatever else. The bottom line for her is that she always produces higher quality work in a more efficient time when she gets proper rest.
…It’s the adding of time to sleep that can actually result in more time saved in the end.
While this isn’t exactly breaking news, here’s my reality: I’ve been trying to bank an extra hour or two by sleeping for 6 or 7 hours instead of 8 for years. And to no avail.
My body almost always forces me to stay in bed for 8. It’s stubborn as hell. Or maybe, I’m the one who is stubborn as hell and am finally starting to hear my body.
That means I’ve been writing daily for around 730 days.
Damn.
Here’s the thing: 730 days ago my daily writing streak was zero.
And there were plenty of people who had streaks much larger than 730.
Had I compared my 0 to their 1,095 or 1,825 or 3,650—I probably wouldn’t have started.
And what a damn shame that would’ve been.
I’m proud of 730 and feel like daily writing has been one of the best habits I have ever built into my life.
And I don’t plan on stopping any time soon.
What’s the trick?
Don’t compare your 0 to my or anybody else’s number.
Just write today.
Then, just write again today—when tomorrow comes.
And learn how to enjoy the act of daily writing (or whatever else it is you might be committing to).
Because if you don’t enjoy doing it—I can almost guarantee you won’t make it 730. Or any other big number.
This doesn’t mean it has to be fun, per se.
Because writing is damn hard.
And draining.
And frustrating.
And nerve-wracking.
And frustrating.
And draining.
And hard.
…But, it’s meaningful. And that’s where the real enjoyment comes from.
If you only ever do what’s fun or pleasurable, it’s very likely that you’ll miss out on meaning.
Because meaning comes from doing what’s hard. And when you do what’s hard (and meaningful to you) every day…?!
The long-term result is an ever-growing mountain of meaning.
My advice?
Don’t do it for any other reason that to make your future self proud.
And start today.
Mad respect to the woman I saw out running today…
…I have a solid feeling she’s gonna crush her goals in 2022.
What are you willing to do to achieve your goals in ’22?
After 20+ yrs of training, today is the day I got to test for my 5th Degree Black Belt in ITF Tae Kwon-Do.
As I was prepping for this day, I thought about what 11 year old me—the one who started Martial Arts all those years ago—would think if he watched me perform.
I imagined that overweight, self-conscious, always-hard-on-himself kid and I thought about everything he wanted to become: fit, confident, disciplined, looked up to, able to perform under pressure—and able to do cool moves, of course.
And it was an overwhelmingly emotional moment for me when I finished the test and thought to myself: I think he would’ve been proud.
One of my neighbors rents their house on AirBnB.
I saw the renters taking pictures of the rental, playing as a family in the backyard, and walking the neighborhood with intrigue.
It reminded me to look around with fresh eyes.
That the life we’ve become used to, someone else only dreams to have.
One of the greatest gifts you can give to another is freedom.
And I’m not talking about the kinds of gifts that are given on birthdays. I’m talking about gifts that are given with the intent of bettering another person’s life.
Freedom can be gifted to another in many forms. Some examples might include: Freedom for self-expression; freedom from obligations; freedom to explore uninterruptedly. And each is incredibly powerful.
As I return from vacation, I’m reminded of these gifts.
Here’s the thing: these gifts were given out of turn, without expectation of return, and with love. Which is precisely why they mean so much.
If you only give people gifts when you’re “supposed” to, so that you can get some type of return, and/or out of obligation—it might come as no surprise that that’s what’s reciprocated and for the exchange to feel lackluster and superficial.
Remember this as you think about the people you love most.