thoughts

Everything is a process

Want to build mental toughness? Enjoy the process—the good, the bad, the ugly.

Why can’t this be easier? Why can’t this be faster? Why can’t things just go away? Why am I complaining?

Enjoy the suck. Don’t hide it. Embrace it. Everything is connected. And you just might come out the other side a tougher, stronger, and wiser person.

Just say no

‘No’ is one of the shortest words in the English language yet one of the hardest to say. What if I told you these two letters could be the answer to a well-lived life? It’s an art—the of saying no.

It’s okay to say no—especially to things that don’t give you joy—à la Marie Kondo. It allows you the space to say yes to the bigger things in life—the things that do give you joy. ‘No’ could be the most powerful word in the English language—the word that could open up doors for you to say Yes to that thing, that opportunity, or that person who could change your life.

Writing clearly is thinking clearly

“Writing clearly is thinking clearly.”

How is it that I’m inspired more by 5-letter quotes than the words coming from my own mother? (I love you mom)

For someone with thoughts running on a 24/7 cycle, this really resonated with me. It’s been a lifelong affinity war in my head—bullets of anxiety whizzing by, a shower of “What if this doesn’t work out?!” raining down, enemy soldiers from Chores I Have to Do Like Taxes creeping on the embankment, and a wary army fatigued from fighting an imaginary army of thoughts. Welcome to my mind.

I’m a natural-born thinker with a penchant to overthink, and releasing these thoughts onto paper, words, or with the outward release of a long breath has been a lifesaver. Seth Godin has been writing a post every day for the longest time—a feat I quite admire—and I yearn to get to his level of consistency. Because with every new thought released onto paper, it wipes the slate clean. I can think clearly again. The enemies have retreated—they will be back—and the battle begins anew tonight, but I know what I can do to win the war. Writing them all way—day by day.

Reframe your situation

Every situation in life can be reframed.

Fear of ____? What’s the worst that could happen? What’s the best? Think about a time you did something similar and succeeded…how did you do it?

COVID is taking a toll on life? Acknowledge the suck. Now think…what have I learned? What are the positives that have come from this situation?

We fear the unknown. We fear not being good enough. We fear being judged…

But when you reframe the situation, it may not seem all too bad. In fact, more often than not, there’s a window of opportunity waiting to be opened. It may be the best thing that could happen to you—if you choose to reframe your situation.