In the midst of particularly hard days when I feel that I can’t endure, I remind myself that my track record for getting through hard days is 100% so far.

On my birthday many moons ago, when Google and I were both a lot younger, I Googled “how to change your life when you’re burning out” to see what would come up. I had been feeling hopelessly trapped in a cycle of busyness—like I was racing around in circles every day without any meaningful progress. And it was time to find a better roadmap because I was literally getting depressed with the same old grind.

Granted, I was working 60+ hours a week, struggling with a failing business, and coping with the recent deaths of two loved ones. The stress and pace of life just seemed to keep me busy from sunrise to midnight every day without much time for self-reflection or mindfulness, and deep down I knew the head-spinning, circular path I was on wasn’t sustainable.

As I scrolled through Google’s search results I was fascinated by the [Read more…]

Too often people overestimate the significance of one big defining moment and underestimate the value of making good decisions and tiny steps of progress on a daily basis.

You’re probably familiar with what’s known as the Serenity Prayer. It goes like this:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

There’s an important lesson here—one that’s very often glossed over…

When a chaotic reality is swirling around us, we often try to relieve our anxiety by exerting our will over external things we cannot control.

It helps us stave off one of the most dreaded feelings: complete powerlessness.

With that in mind, I have good news and bad news.

The bad news is that generally speaking, almost everything is [Read more…]

We waste our time waiting for a path to appear. But it never does. Because we forget that paths are made by walking, not waiting. And we forget that there’s absolutely nothing about our present circumstances that prevents us from making progress again, one tiny step at a time.

So, let’s cut to the chase today: What we truly need to do is often what we most feel like avoiding. This is a harsh reality, even in our present times.

Because, if we don’t go after what we want, we will never get it. If we don’t ask the right questions, we will always get the wrong answers. If we don’t take a step forward, we are always going to be standing in the same exact place.

Life is a journey comprised of small steps. The key is to take these steps, every single day, even during harder times that require us to be extra resourceful.

To an extent, we know this already, right?

Yet how often are we stuck in a cycle of worry, fear, and other forms of over-thinking? How often are we aimlessly distracted? And how often do we hide from our problems, or procrastinate? [Read more…]

If it entertains you now but will actually hurt you someday, it’s a distraction. Don’t settle. Don’t exchange what you need in the long run for what you kinda want at the moment. Study your habits. Determine where your time goes. Delete the toxic distractions.

Taking small steps can make a big difference, especially in tough times, but there’s no getting around the fact that taking these steps is often incredibly uncomfortable. That’s why so many people often don’t do it—at least not initially. But we have to catch ourselves, and remind ourselves that just because it isn’t easy doesn’t mean it isn’t worth it. The key is to remember that it’s okay to feel uncomfortable, because that’s where human growth and healing begins.

In order to get something in life, we often have to give something up. In order to change our situation for the better, we have to take some action that’s not necessarily going to be easy or fun. Life is the opposite of perfection. It can be beautiful, of course, but it’s obviously quite messy and chaotic at times. Too often we shy away from taking the next step because we’re afraid it might not be worth the discomfort. It’s scary and uncomfortable to upset the status quo, even when it’s in service of something better.

It all comes down to a single question: what is worth suffering for right now? Is the change you’re wanting to implement—finding a new job, reinventing yourself or your business, ending a relationship, or something else—truly going to help you move toward the life you want to lead in the weeks and months ahead? If so, then it’s a sign that it’s time to step forward, and it’s probably worth enduring some extra pain and discomfort to get there. You can also rephrase the question to help you think through it: How important is moving forward to you? And what are you willing to sacrifice, in the short term and long term, in order to be happier in the long term?

By questioning your situation like this, you’ll realize that there are great reasons to step out of your comfort zone and to suffer. Changes of this magnitude do not come easily for any of us—especially as we collectively deal with the realities of COVID-19—and we understand that. But once you start to [Read more…]