Skip to content

Category: Thinking Clearly

Busyness Battlefield

Published on August 6, 2023

The busier I get, the more protective I get over my down time.

When you approach “busy time” with the same attitude you approach “idle time,” all of your time slowly gets infiltrated—because the easiest way to get more done is to fill more open time slots.

But, that’s not the way.

All busy and no idle makes us anxious, exhausted, and underperforming human beings.

Increasing busyness requires a proportional increase in boundary strength. For the way to get more done isn’t to try to sustain battling harder for longer.

…It’s to do what’s required to sharpen the sword of your mind before stepping foot onto that busyness battlefield—so that you’re maximally focused, energized, and prepared to slay each task that comes up along the way.

Be like the warrior when planning your schedule: the more intense the upcoming battle, the more that’s done to focus the mind.

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

Practicing Frustration

Published on August 4, 2023

This morning I caught myself practicing frustration.

I was literally envisioning my enraged facial expressions, body language, and word choice if the shirts I ordered came in late, didn’t fit, or were poorly made…

…What a waste of time.

Arrogance as a Superpower

Published on July 29, 2023

The thing about arrogance is that it allows people to perform without a throttle—they have an undeniable belief in themselves and little to no perceived limits.

This can be a superpower when channeled correctly.

The problem with arrogance is that, ironically, it is usually build upon a foundation of lack. There is no throttle and there is little to no limit because what they are trying to prove has little to no limit.

And what they are trying to prove is that they do, indeed, have worth; that they are respectable; that they are competent; that they are “good;” that they can be “successful;” and so on.

And when you have something to prove—that is based on the perception of others—you can either 1) stand out from the rest by straight up being the best or 2) tear everyone else down until you’re the best that’s left.

But, the idea of building other people up becomes a fundamental threat to the arrogant person because it means they’ll move further into the crowd; the averages; the “unseen” masses.

The key to turning arrogance from a “weapon of mass destruction” to an ultimate superpower is to remove the idea of competition with others. When you can task the arrogant person with a mission that has nothing to do with outperforming or beating others, there is no limit to the amount of good they’ll attempt to do.

…Task an arrogant person with becoming the best fighter and there’s no limit on how many people he’ll (try to) beat down.

…Task an arrogant person with becoming the greatest philanthropist and there’s no limit on how many people he’ll (try to) help.

The Real Prize

Published on July 28, 2023

Tonight, the Martial Arts Association I’m a part of hosted a try-out tournament for first-timers and beginners.

As I was watching one of my younger students perform his pattern of moves, 7 years old maybe, I saw him turn towards the audience, notice his dad, and freeze.

Ready for moments like this, I took a breath, and just as I was about to call out what the name of the next move was to help him out, I saw him point to his eye…

Then to his chest…

…Then to his dad.

And then pick up right where he left off and finish the last few moves with full power, take a bow to the judges, and walk off stage nonchalantly.

…As if that wasn’t the most correct incorrect series of moves ever done in a form before.

It’s so easy to forget, but we don’t do tournaments—or competitions of any kind for that matter—so that we can show others a pattern of moves… we do it for the life experience.

And tonight, both that young boy and dad had an experience in that moment that was worth more than any trophy or medal. Just as every other student who walked out of that tournament with a boost in confidence, a strengthened resolve, an improved self-image, a renewed sense of motivation, or a new focus for their training… walked away with far more than a trophy and a medal, too.

The real prize is never the prize itself.

The real prize is who we become in pursuit of the prizes themselves.

Aligned Problems

Published on July 18, 2023

This is your reoccurring reminder that there is no escaping problems in life.

Problems only get to be exchanged and/or upgraded.

So, the next time you find yourself complaining about a problem, ask yourself:

  • “What kinds of problems would I rather be solving?”
  • “What kinds of problems make me feel equal parts challenged and excited at the prospect of solving them?”
  • “How can I reverse engineer my way towards those problems and start exchanging some of my current ones for those ones?”

Those who live more fulfilled and enjoyable lives don’t live that way because of fewer problems per se—they live that way because of more aligned problems.

P.s. You might also like this 2-minute piece I published: The Problem With The Problem-Free Life

Overstimulating Pixels vs Uncomfortable Quietness

Published on July 15, 2023

Overstimulating pixels vs uncomfortable quietness is THE modern day dilemma.

So many of the negative symptoms people experience in our modern world have to do with this boiled down and plainly stated challenge.

And as is true with any negatively experienced symptoms or illnesses in life, we can’t work to fight what we can’t name or don’t understand. It’s only after we understand what it is we’re up against, that we can start to work strategically to fight back.

With the awareness of the challenge laid out in front of us, hopefully more people can move into that uncomfortable quietness and get, what I consider to be, a taste of the antidote to the overstimulating pixels.

…And see how, with regular doses, their lives may start feeling less agitated, insufficient, anxiety-inducing, depressing, lonely, nerve-wracking, etc.

So many of our modern day problems can be solved with this, almost too easy, ancient and yet timeless solution—quietness.

And as much as you might want to consume more and more pixilated videos and articles explaining to you how to reduce anxiety, stop overthinking, improve self-image, etc… consider the idea that it’s the pixels themselves that are at the root of the cause of the negative symptoms.

My prescription to you is this: practice making uncomfortable quietness, comfortable again—and watch as your life slowly starts to improve and feel better.

P.s. Thank you to Samantha who inspired this post. Your email reply was refreshing to read.

Preemptive Pockets

Published on July 12, 2023

Being surprised when something comes up is not a good strategy.

Better might be to expect surprises and set aside a designated time each day or week or whenever—when the things that inevitably come up can be addressed.

  • This works for work: Maybe you designate one hour each week for pop-up tasks and surprise assignments.
  • This works for relationships: Maybe you designate 30 minutes after dinner each night to touch base and address daily challenges, buds that need to be nipped, and important topics that could easily get swept under the busyness rug otherwise.
  • This works for chores: Maybe you designate one weekend each month to a different house maintenance category. (e.g. Week 1: Deep cleaning; Week 2: Fixes & Repairs; Week 3: Landscaping; Week 4: Other).

The difficulty with not having these preemptive pockets is that each surprise task that comes up becomes a stressor. Not just because of the additional problem(s) they present, but because of the strain on the schedule they represent, too. Now, you have to find more time when you already didn’t have enough time to do this thing when you already have too many other things to do…

But, if you have preemptive pockets of time set aside for the inevitable daily surprises, then the problems get mitigated almost as fast as they’re created or recognized. And suddenly, surprises won’t shake your day how they used to.

Eventually, your biggest surprises every week won’t be the annoying ones (because those are planned for and expected)—but will be the times if/when you enter your preemptive space and nothing needs to be addressed at all.

…And what a pleasant surprise that’ll be instead.