Today I turned 35.

It simultaneously seems like I’ve been around longer than that and yet feels like I’m still a kid. Continue reading →

As I was in my living room tonight, scolding myself for not posting more on this blog, I caught a glimpse of the evening sky out my patio door.   I immediately grabbed my phone to take a picture and thought that the topic of ‘stopping to just be present and enjoy the beauty around us’ would make an excellent post. Continue reading →

Experiencing Zen Through a Barbell?  Thoughts on Mindfulness, Presence, and Strength Training.

We hear a lot about mindfulness and being present. It seems that more and more people are adopting some type of mindfulness practice. We’re downloading apps to help remind us to be present. We’re engaging in meditation, mindful breathing, body scans, etc., to improve our presence and mindfulness. We’re taking courses on mindfulness and stress reduction offered by our employers’ HR departments.

The scientific literature is exploding in breadth and depth about the effects of mindfulness training on a variety of outcomes like stress management, decision making, interactions with other people, etc. Continue reading →

Often, the best time to take action is the present moment.  Stop letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Philosophers and authors have said these things long before me. These have come to be phrases that run through my head daily. Though, until a couple of years ago, I didn’t grasp what they meant. Continue reading →

Want to improve your outlook with a simple behavior? Give gratitude journaling a try.

People have asked me for years about the single most impactful thing they can do right now to improve their outlooks, thus improving their lives. When people asked me this several years ago, I would reply with things like, “Stop being stressed out” or “Eat better.” These are incredibly naive things to say, as if you can simply turn stress on and off with a switch, and what does “eat better” actually mean anyway?

Sure, I’ve learned that eating healthfully, moving my body, and managing stress are very important and can improve one’s quality of life drastically.

But there is one behavior that has surpassed those things in improving the quality of my life very quickly, and that’s gratitude journaling. Continue reading →