Ask Yourself "Why?" Starting a new habit can oftentimes feel impossible. You’ll have a few good days, but then all of a sudden the momentum is gone. This week, I explore how asking yourself “why?” might help keep those new habits running by better understanding your core values.
The Japanese Secret to a Happier Life Ikigai is a Japanese concept that loosely translates as "the happiness of always being busy." It's an idea that promises a lot, but it might just hold some key ideas for finding purpose and living a more fulfilled life.
"Peacemaker" and the Importance of Accepting Our Mistakes While not perfect, Chris Smith’s journey in "Peacemaker" Season 2 is incredibly moving and makes me think on the importance of owning up to our mistakes as well as embracing those who try to help us. This week, I am exploring both of those ideas as I look back on the completed second season.
J. Cole's "Love Yourz" and the Secret to Happiness It’s easy to find ourselves thinking that if we get a little more of something we’ll finally be happy. In J. Cole’s “Love Yourz,” the rapper reminds us about the trap of wanting and to reconsider what will actually bring us fulfillment.
On the Love of Fridays Few feelings seem to match the quiet joy of Friday afternoons, when work ends and freedom begins. In this post, I explore how The Cure's "Friday I'm in Love" captures that magic and why even Aristotle would approve of its celebration of leisure.
The World Needs to Be a Little Goofier This week, I'm reminiscing on the 1995 cult classic, "A Goofy Movie," a film that reminds us that beautiful things can happen when we try to meet someone where they are.
What Happened When I Cut Back on Social Media I cut back on my social media usage and noticed some surprising changes in focus, cravings, and happiness. Here's what happen when I started to log off more.
How to Have a Better Relationship with Social Media This is the second post of a miniseries about rethinking my relationship with social media. These are some of the tools and habits I've been using to reset that relationship, and they've started to make my time online feel lighter and more intentional.
Why I'm Rethinking Social Media: Dopamine, Negativity, and the Attention Trap Lately, I've been noticing how social can shape my moods, my habits, and even how I spend my evenings. The more I learned, the clearer it became that what feels like harmless scrolling might not be so harmless after all.
Why Tools Matter More Than Dreams for Success and Fulfillment We've all been told to chase our dreams, but what if the better path is building tools that carry us forward? Inspired by a Hank Green vlog, I explore why focusing on tools can lead us to places we might never have imagined in our wildest...dreams.
The Wheel of Life: A Simple Exercise to Find Balance and Purpose It's hard to know what to work on if you don't have a good idea of where you are. The Wheel of Life is a fairly simple yet powerful tool that helps you step back, see the bigger picture, and figure out where to focus your energy next.
The Secret to Beating Procrastination? Start a Timer When you're in a rut, sometimes the hardest part is just getting started. I've found that something as simple as starting a timer is one of the more effective tools that gets me moving in the right direction.
You Should Track Your Emotions Knowing what you're dealing with is often a good first step to make a change. Emotion tracking is a tool that's helped me spot patterns in my own life so that I can make tiny improvements over time.
The Lord of the Rings: Why Doing Good for Its Own Sake Matters There's a reason we read fiction. It teaches us more lessons than we can possibly learn in one life. This week, I explore 'The Lord of the Rings' and Tolkien's message on the importance of doing good.
What If Life Were Easy? Lessons from Billy Joel's "Vienna" I used to think that only the hard things were worth doing, but lately, I've had a change of hard. This week, I write about another way: what if things were easy?
Kindness Is The New Punk Rock: A 'Superman' Review Last weekend, I saw the new 'Superman' in theaters. Then, I saw it again on Wednesday. This movie reminded me what it meant to be human, so I thought I'd spend some time breaking down what made the movie so special to me.
Forget Perfection: Try “Dailyish” Habits I’ve recently found myself enjoying the writings of Oliver Burkeman. Burkeman first popped onto my radar with his book Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals. He positions himself as a sort of alternative to the traditional productivity guru. Instead of finding ways to maximize your week to do
The Zibaldone: A Journal That’s Changing How I Capture Ideas I've been experimenting with a new kind of journal that's less structured and surprisingly fun. It's called a zibaldone, and this week, I'm breaking down my experience with it so far.
What Robert Frost Taught Me about Making Hard Decisions Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" might be one of the most misunderstood poems in American literature. For years, I thought it was about diving into the unknown, until I realized it's about something much more profound: the simple, powerful act of choosing.
How a Fantasy Book Helped Me Find Presence What if we focused more on the process than the outcome? In this post, I explore presence, Stoicism, and a fantasy quote that helped me cement the idea of embracing the journey.
Starting (or Getting Back Into) A Morning Routine When I'm good about doing a morning routine, I feel good. The problem is that when I fall out of that routine, it feels so hard to get back into it. This week, I explore some tips on starting up some new (or old) habits.
Can Apps Help You Eat More Healthfully? I've always wanted to eat more healthfully, but in recent years, I've struggled to find things that stuck. This week, I explore a couple apps that have helped me nudge myself in the right direction when it comes to food.
How We See Ourselves Identity is at the core of what we do and who we are. We spend so much of our lives thinking of it as a fixed thing. In this post, I discuss how we might take steps to change how we see ourselves for the better.
The Zen of Espresso-Making When I purchased an espresso machine in early 2024, I didn't expect it to become a mindfulness practice. In this post, I explore how making espresso became a sort of ritual that helps me be present.
Staying Present Meditation has been something I've done on and off since 2018. This week, I break down how meditation helps me and some ways you might consider trying it yourself.
