September 10, 2024 - Read Online It is possible that we have more options of what to do with our time today than at any other time in human history. In many ways, this is a blessing, but it also makes life complicated. It means we have to make choices all day long, and this can be exhausting. More than that, the fact is, our choices effect the world around us. They effect the people around us. Often in ways we cannot see. It is hard to know the right thing to do. So, how do we figure it out?...
3 months ago • 2 min read
August 27, 2024 - Read Online It took me a lot of work and self-examination to realize I was blaming other people for my lack of self-mastery. It is so easy to miss. I remember back in 2017, we had a brand new baby at home and I was planning to go on a run on a beautiful Saturday morning. My wife had been up most of the night with our one-week-old and felt wholly exhausted. When I said to her "I am going on a run," I could see immediately, in her eyes, that she did not want me to go. And I...
4 months ago • 2 min read
August 20, 2024 - Read Online The reason most of us develop self-discipline is to achieve some sort of goal in our lives. To have success in one area or another. Examples: People diet and exercise because they have the goal of preventing heart disease. People study and practice in their work because they have the goal of advancing in their career. People go to therapy because they have a goal to enjoy life and they don't want to lose their relationships. I could keep going. We all have areas...
4 months ago • 2 min read
August 13, 2024 - Read Online We were in the middle of a roadtrip across Kansas toward Colorado. I had (foolishly) buried our cooler of pre-packed lunches deep in the back of the van. It was unreachable while driving. We were at the beginning of a 45-minute stretch of highway with no stops on it. No Gas stations. No rest stops. Nothing. My wife and I had decided that, when the stretch was over, we would stop at a park and eat lunch. It was at this moment our 2-year old said, in a desperate...
4 months ago • 3 min read
August 06, 2024 - Read Online "You don't want to look like your heroes, you want to see like your heroes." - Austin Kleon, "Steal Like an Artist". Anyone on the pathway to becoming better can think of someone who does what they would like to do. I have friends that workout daily. I would like to be that consistent. I have colleagues that are very organized and disciplined. They are productive day after day after day. Meanwhile, for me, it is a struggle to stay focused and motivated (even on...
5 months ago • 2 min read
July 30, 2024 - Read Online Everyone has beliefs and passions. And everyone knows someone that they wish could understand their beliefs and passions. It's easy to think "everything would be better if he/she saw things the way I do." It may be something as simple as your roommate understanding how to do the dishes your way. It may be your spouse understanding how you organize your closet. It may be your parents understanding why you wish they would go to therapy. It may be your boss...
5 months ago • 3 min read
July 23, 2024 - Read Online I grew up on a steady diet of Pixar films. I was six years old when the first "Toy Story" premiered in theaters. And I made my parents take me to it more times than any other movie. It was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before on the big screen. So I was heartbroken when they took it out of theaters. I remember it feeling like an eternity waiting for the home video release. Then, on Tuesday, October 29, 1996 my dad went out and bought a VHS copy for us. I...
5 months ago • 2 min read
July 16, 2024 - Read Online Judd Apatow's documentary "May it Last" is in my top ten list of films. It documents The Avett Brothers as they write and record their 2016 album "True Sadness". The band's frontmen are two literal brothers (Scott and Seth), so "Family" is a major focal point. Early on in the film Scott talks about how protective he was of his little brother Seth when they were kids. Every time his mom took young Seth on an errand, Scott would insist she take him along too. This...
5 months ago • 3 min read
July 09, 2024 - Read Online In the middle of the Lord's Prayer stands the famous line "give us this day our daily bread." We have all heard this phrase before. If I were to ask you what "give us this day our daily bread" means, what would you say? Until only recently I would have said it meant that we were asking God for the stuff we need to live. Asking for the essentials. But there is a deeper, more profound meaning here. More than asking for essentials - this simple line reveals a way to...
6 months ago • 2 min read