Why do we feel the urge to do something while we eat, as if eating is not enough on its own? Isn’t that odd? Is eating boring? We say we love to eat, but our actions say...

Tired as you are—tired as you may be—bound by this body and its limitations, you can summon the strength to persevere through any physical ailment you encounter, even now. Your strength is found in where you focus...

This tension exists when you feel something that you don’t want to feel—when you feel something, and you don’t know why you feel it. You feel frustrated because you ordinarily feel good, yet today—or lately—you don’t. Feeling...

Only when you really love the gritty grind of it all, can you endure it happily. To know that even when you aren’t feeling happy—even when you’re feeling tired, low energy, or mood—you still are happy. You...

The negative thoughts are always there, lying low beneath the surface. They will probably always be there, popping up from time to time. They creep up in the most unexpected ways. In the most inopportune times. Don't...

Be gentle with yourself: This is a time to love yourself more. To listen to yourself more.Observe yourself silently and learn from your senses. What is it that you need? Do more of that thing. The usual...

Be selfish in your pursuit of what you need to be happy, fulfilled, and at ease. Be selfish to provide for yourself the energy-restoring necessities of your mind and body. It's the most important thing you can...

When it feels like lately it's harder to stay focused, to stay on track--it feels monotonous, strained, frustrating. When it feels like you're just going through the motions and the motion feels effortful--more than it should, more...

Instead of chasing the next thing--what's interesting and immediately engaging--choose your desires before you want them. Choose what you know you will want in the future, what you know is good for you, even if you don't...

When you have that feeling of low energy or mood, get reacquainted with yourself. Remind yourself that this me is the same one I will be experiencing later today, during my next task, next activity. This me...

It feels like swimming upstream, weighted down. It feels masochistic, deranged. It feels wrong, unnatural, and probably is, but it's essential to your happiness and survival.   To defy comfort—not all comfort, but to command comfort on your terms, when you decide,...

Each moment we are more than capable of conquering. Each minute we can handle with finesse and ease. It’s when we look ahead and behind that we become overwhelmed. If we can just slow ourselves down to...

When you want something that you don’t really want, don’t want to want, consider, what will you want one hour from now? You don’t need to look so far into the future. It’s hard to perceive the...

Consider: don't spend too much time admiring your successes. Get back to work. It can be so tempting to sit there and soak it all in. There’s nothing wrong with a healthy dose of self-congratulations and celebration....

If you could choose to enjoy anything, what would you choose? If you could choose anything you want, with no loss in satisfaction, what would that be? What would you want, ideally, if you could choose? What’s...

Here's what's interesting:I am naturally inclined toward failure, doubt, and fear. I am naturally inclined to give in and give up before a challenge is completed. What feels natural to me doesn't often serve my best interests....

When faced with a decision or choice, stop and ask yourself: what do you feel like doing? Consider: do the opposite. Do what feels hard. Do what everything in you desires otherwise.  When you do what you...

There's a new high to be found — and it's in radical, full-fledged, audacious living. It's in that bold, almost stupid propulsion toward what scares you, intimidates you. What you most want to avoid, you seek out....

Consider: you inhabit this body, oversee this mind. It's like your computer, of sorts--your sense-organ--for you to move through, experience the environment through. This being is yours alone to direct, protect, and train. It’s your responsibility to...

Some weeks go like this, feel like this—some procession of weeks do. It happens. Not every week will feel your best--and that’s OK. Remember this is how people feel sometimes. This is a human experience. To feel...

There is always something that the present has to offer that's rewarding. Even in pain: the reminder to take your time, the physical prompt to slow down and not rush, that there is more than enough time...

We’re all fallible, imperfect. We err. We disappoint ourselves—and others. Reminding ourselves of this day-in-and-day-out is not working. Focusing on our inadequacies is not working. Being angry and frustrated with ourselves is not the answer. So, what is? How do we overcome...

How do you undertake a challenge when you feel inadequate? How do you move confidently when you doubt? How do you gain courage when you need it most? You don’t have to feel courageous to experience it--not...

How often do we go about our day avoiding discomfort? Hunger, fatigue—day in and day out, we rush to eliminate discomfort, and we are rewarded in return with comfort. Yet, each time we do, we further reinforce that...

It’s true what they say: the more you give, you still gain in return somehow. The supply never seems to run out—the joy, time, resources, things. It’s only when you fear lack, it’s only when you fear...

What if without these challenges, these hardships that we experience, we wouldn’t know the pleasure of a “good” thing? The way of nature is opposites: summer, winter, light, dark. If we only existed in one or the...

When you have that feeling of absolute, zero-want-to-do-something—something you ideally would like to do, but it feels almost joke-worthy of how worst-timing it is at present. Where in the moment every fibre of your being doesn’t want...

Use this as your sign to listen carefully: when you say or think "I know." Whenever you think or feel “I already know that," listen more closely. Even when you're reading. Even the things you know well,...

You cannot love another, not really, if you don’t love yourself. “But I do” — do you? Have you been prioritizing your needs—your true needs—what works for you to keep you calm, what fuels you, what feels like leisure...

Perhaps we think of love the wrong way most of the time. We think of love as gestures, grand claims, and doing things for people—and that may sometimes be. But isn’t it also the calm, steady assurance...

Remember, with anxiety and excitement the response is the same: Slow your thoughts down; focus on the present. Even when a good thing happens--especially when a good thing happens--keep your focus solely on the present.Immerse yourself completely...

Why is it that so often we work steadily towards a goal, then somewhere along the way we find ourselves way off course? It's almost predictable. We doing great. We're succeeding. Then next thing you know, we're...

Consider, some days you feel needier than others--some days you want more, crave more, feel more. For instance, when you're tired, following a night of poor sleep; you will find on this particular day you desire more,...

How do you succeed in withstanding unhelpful wants and cravings? If what you presently want is not in line with your future desires, willpower won't work. Not for long. Willpower is futile. It's limited in capacity. It’s...

What are you telling yourself that you “have” to do? What are you dreading? What do you need to do, but lack the energy and time for? Change your language and see if you don’t suddenly gain more...

You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to keep going, knowing that your desire for better than this is enough. Your desire for more than this means that you are capable of more. It means...

It’s hardest to come back after a setback. It’s hardest to stand there before yourself and God, if you will, declaring you are worthy, ready, and able to take on the day, not to disappoint--to succeed--when you...

Notice when you have that feeling, that urge, for something—something to do or to consume—in order to feel better. When you have that restlessness, that pressing drive for comfort. In the background of your mind, you’ll find,...

You won’t feel elated 100% of the time. You won’t feel good every hour of every day. But you can choose to feel good every day. This feels like a bold statement. It feels wrong, over-optimistic, fluffy—“positive...

You will still feel down, dismayed, and discouraged, sometimes. That's inevitable. The goal isn't to eliminate unpleasant feelings, but to take advantage of them. To use them as an opportunity to create a new, better experience for...

When you feel unappreciated (and irrationally so), when you feel like you need to be cared for (even though you are), recognize that this lack of attention comes not from someone else but yourself. Give yourself what...

If you want something that you don't want to want, and you still want it anyway. If you've tried to deter yourself, and it's one of those times you know you're going to do it anyway, make...

Notice when you have that feeling of urgency, the low-level, low-lying stress, that sense of not-enough-time and overwhelm of what you need to do, what is before you. Recognize the familiarity of the feeling and stop. Choose the...

Notice when you’re rushing. Notice the sense of urgency behind your movements, the urgency to complete a task.  Why are you rushing? You have in your mind that the next action will be better: “The sooner I...

Tired as I may be, I move anyway. And it’s with a little effort, but not with force; it’s with intention, but not exertion. It’s just simple, steady action. And mostly, the only reason why I show...

Evolving means growing, stretching. It means discomfort, change. It means not doing the same thing over and over again. It means moving beyond what feels comfortable. The constant pursuit of more. It’s hard because just as soon...

When, and if ever, does it get easier, this practice of self-denial, of deferring gratification? Does daily, multiple-times-a-day practice eventually make a difference? Does it get easier over time? One thing I know is this: the intensity...

There's a reputation you build over time that your feelings learn to stand down to. Like a gentle defiance, it's subtle but strong—unmovable. It's not forceful. It's a reputation built over time and it's demonstrated by taking...

Do you want more energy? Do more—not meaningless tasks, but meaningful life work; not by other's standards, but by your own: what fills you, moves you, excites you, motivates you. Action begets energy. The more you do...

How many habits do we create from associating one thing with another? How many undesired habits do we create unknowingly, without trying? All I know is, when I consistently do X while engaged in Y, each time...

When did we stop playing? It’s the most effective way to detach, forget about winning, and learn. To laugh with missteps, roll with the ups and downs, make enjoyable whatever we are doing.  Play is not just...

When you find yourself in the crux of the struggle, when you find yourself pulled in, drawn towards that thing you want but doesn’t serve you, it’s easy to feel overcome. To not feel strong enough to...

What is the most effective way to work? What is most sustainable? Working longer, more often, doesn't work. We know this. We feel this. It leads to burnout. Fatigue. Decreased ability to focus. The question is: what...

Observe your thoughts while engaged in a task. Watch how often thoughts arise, like commentary, analyzing and evaluating the task at hand. Just notice your thoughts while you drive to work: notice the comments and the assumptions...