What is happening around you right now? Are you sitting next to a stranger on the metro-ride home? Are you cozying up in bed or sitting at your desk? Wherever you are, take a deep breath. Notice the weight of your body against the surface beneath you. The sounds, near…

If necessity is the mother of invention, it might also be the father of habits. — Like all species, humans have survived our ever-changing world by changing with it. It was necessity that forced us to explore new territory, develop technologies, and find creative ways to thrive in the face of difficult challenges. But unlike other species, humans have a unique advantage: we can also reimagine…

Where you work is just as important as how you work. Sounds reasonable enough, right? But as much as I agree with this statement now, it’s taken a long time to start practicing what I preach. I vividly remember the health and wellness class in my freshman year of college. We were looking at seven dimensions of health (more than I…

If I slow down to think about it, almost every worthwhile thing I’ve ever done was scary. Talking to the woman who would become my wife. Moving 1,000 miles away for college. Changing jobs. Starting three businesses. Writing, preaching, and singing in public. (And thinking I’ll look like a fool…

I recognize a pattern in my life of trying to squeeze more meaning out of everything. Instead of enjoying a relaxed conversation, I would try to make it “deeper.” Instead of savoring a sunset, I would try to craft a reflection that is just as beautiful as the sunset and…

How I learned to deliberately “generate energy” — the skill set that now powers my life — As a robustly healthy not-yet thirty-year-old, I did not expect to be facing challenges with energy for the past several years. But between worsening mental health symptoms, the chronic losses of a global pandemic, and the strain of rapid transitions (from changing homes to changing jobs, to changes in perspective!)…

“Work hard, and you will earn good rewards. Work smart, and you will earn great rewards. Work hard and work smart, and you will earn extraordinary rewards.” ~Matshona Dhliwayo Many people view productivity as a numbers game: the more hours they put in, the more productive they are. …

What should we prioritize in life? Ask anyone and you’ll get approximately the same list: family, friends, community service, health, leisure, work, and rewarding personal projects. There are two times in life when we (potentially) have the time to balance all of these: childhood and retirement. As for the long…

consciously or not, (and much more likely, the latter) you have decided to stop learning not because you know enough but because it’s easier this way auto-sharing articles with zero citations and click-bait headlines winning a few “likes” from your echo chamber of cemented opinions, a way of life that takes less computing power…