Skip to content

Category: Thinking Clearly

What Are You Doing?

Published on February 23, 2024

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but it’s completely OK to not be productive.

…And to just lay down or sit quietly or go for a casual walk or long car ride or dance to some bomb music.

…And just remember what it feels like—to be.

And since we’re on the topic, never forget: doing things that make you feel happy or free or help you calm down are always productive things.

…Things that you can even add to and check off your lists for the day.

Because if you’re not doing those things every day… I wonder… what are you doing?

Got Problems?

Published on February 18, 2024

…We all do.

And the ones who make it appear as though they don’t or like they don’t have nearly as many as others—still do. They just approach “problems” differently. Here’s how:

1. They solve them. It’s easier now more than ever to avoid, suppress, and distract yourself from problems… those who don’t—the ones who turn towards, confront, and attack their problems—get ahead. If you’re having relationship problems, for example, and a hard conversation is needed… the ones who bite the bullet and have it… get to move on.

2. They exchange them. Not all problems need to be solved. In fact, some problems are better off not being solved and are better off being exchanged for different problems. Why a stranger on the internet commented something nasty on your post, for example, might not be the best use of resources to try and solve. You may be better off dropping that problem altogether and exchanging it for another one… like what gift you can create and post next that’ll add a ton of value to a different internet stranger’s life.

3. They upgrade them. Too many people wait for the promotion in life before they start learning how to solve the next level of problems. When it’s often the case that learning how to solve the next level of problems is precisely how you get the promotion. Figuring out how much change to give someone all day doesn’t have to be it for you… you can start learning new/better skills—the ones your bosses have—and upgrade your way into higher and higher roles… the ones that have better, more interesting problems for you to solve.

Question Your Limitations

Published on February 16, 2024

If you don’t have time in your day to:

  • Exercise
  • Eat Right
  • Read and/or Write
  • Bond with Friends/Family
  • Enjoy Some Down Time / Just Be

…You’re too busy.

And while I’m sure you can argue your case for why you can’t do some or all of the above things… hold that thought and read the next line carefully:

Don’t argue for your limitations.

Put your argument energy to better use and ask yourself a better question:

“What can I eliminate, delegate, automate, or reduce… so that I CAN have time to do the above things every day?”

Because what I think you’ll find is that the more you argue for your limitations—the more of a reality they’ll continue to be… and the more you question your limitations, the less and less they’ll be.

P.s. I sip on coffee while I write these. If you enjoy these posts, you can support my future work by supplying me with one of my next cups of joe here.

Hunting For The Best In Life

Published on February 13, 2024

Each day, at some point, I go hunting for quotes.

I curate picture quotes, capture insights from books, and save ideas from emails.

I aim to upload five fresh insights per day to MoveMe Quotes.

What I was thinking about today was how my mental state affects my hunt.

When I’m groggy, anxious, distracted… I find myself skipping over a bunch more material than when I’m alert, calm, and focused.

…There have been times when I’ve hunted for upwards of an hour and couldn’t find a single quote worth uploading.

…And there have been times when after a few minutes I found myself uploading close to ten.

Generally speaking… the material I hunt through each day is equally saturated with insights.

What’s interesting for me is how lack of sleep, lack of screen discipline, lack of clarity in priorities can affect my ability to see and capture insights that are floating right by my face.

…And I suspect the same affects us all in many of the same ways as we go about our days and beauty, grace, opportunity, love, and yes, insight… floats right by our groggy, anxious, distracted face(s).

P.s. I finished uploading quotes from Freedom From The Known by J. Krishnamurti today. You can read my 32 captures here.

Interrupting Vibe Killing Thoughts

Published on February 12, 2024

Today Amazon delivered a package of mine to the wrong house.

Not only that… but, it was a house that was 20 minutes away from mine.

And the picture of the package proved it.

Once I realized this, I felt a wave of annoyance arise pretty quickly.

Feeling it continue to bubble up, and knowing if I didn’t do anything I would feel waves of annoyance for the indefinite near future, I decided to control what was in my control and just drive to the house—with as little hesitation as possible. I didn’t want there to be any wasted time or energy in annoyance if I could avoid it.

So I went.

Once I got there, the package was no longer on the porch.

So, I rang the doorbell and a gentleman answered. I explained the situation, and he told me that Amazon took the package back and was going to re-route it to me.

…And before I let another wave of annoyance arise from feeling like I just wasted a bunch more time and energy driving to this person’s house to find out the package wasn’t even there—I quickly interrupted the thought with another.

I told myself that the situation had been handled and that I saved myself hours and even days worth of annoyance and vibe killing emotions.

…And that a little car ride with loud music and droning thoughts was long overdue anyway.

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

The Most Surprising Realization I’ve Had From 1,500 Days Of Daily Writing

Published on February 11, 2024

One of the most surprising realizations I’ve had from 1,500 days of daily writing is that daily writing makes me better… at everything.

It makes me better at:

  • Speaking
  • Listening
  • Coaching
  • Reading
  • Relating
  • Being (Present)
  • Strategizing
  • Healing
  • Helping
  • Meditating
  • Sleeping
  • Exercising
  • Taking Risks
  • Taking Ownership
  • Taking Aim
  • Building
  • Breaking Things Down
  • Solving Problems
  • Prioritizing
  • Relaxing
  • Simplifying
  • Optimizing
  • Living… My best life…

And these were just the things that came to the top of my mind in a matter of minutes…

…I simply can’t think of a single area of my life that hasn’t been improved from daily writing.

And maybe… if improving every aspect of your life sounds like a good thing… you could try it, too?

P.s. Hat tip to Craig for inspiring this post. Thanks for all of your support.

Day 1,500

Published on February 9, 2024

Today marks day 1,500 of daily writing…!

And in honor of this huge milestone, here are some pivotal moments that shaped this journey:

January 1, 2020: Day 1. The day I overcame imposter syndrome. The day I took a quote, wrote a few paragraphs, numbered the bottom: (1/365), and posted it to FB. The post that eventually became this article.

January 3, 2020: Knowing I didn’t want these posts to be owned by FB, I created “Beyond the Quote” where they could be housed for peace of mind. Here’s Day 3’s post. This carried on through Day 414.

December 10, 2020: Throughout year 1, I felt like I had something to prove… and the length of my posts showed it. Here’s an example of the length I was trying to crank out each day… it was mentally exhausting.

December 24, 2020: I took a road trip that completely changed my perspective. It helped me realize I had nothing to prove and marks the day I started writing drastically shorter posts.

January 1, 2021: Day 365/365…! Mission complete! …And my thoughts.

February 3, 2021: Created a FB group so that readers could get notifications. Posted there from Day 400 – Day 1,092.

February 18, 2021: (Day 414) Created https://matthogan.blog. Felt like the words I was sharing deserved their own house and audience outside of MoveMe Quotes.

November 2021-ish: Gave myself a formal constraint: No more than 280 words allowed.

January 1, 2022: 2 Year mark… and my biggest takeaway.

October 30, 2022: Day 1,000… and the 25 biggest lessons I learned up until that point.

February 9, 2024: Day 1,500… systems in place… pace established… and no signs of fatigue in sight.