As I was falling asleep yesterday I was thinking about the “last words you write”. I woke up this morning thinking, “what are the first words I’ll say?”The first words are like first principles - they are the foundation of your mindset. Do you wake up in a bad mood? No. You wake up - hormones are released, your eyes open, and your body comes on line. That’s what happens, and that’s the moment. The moment where you get to decide:Look at the phone,Look out the window,Stretch,Pick up a book,Look at a loved one,Realize that you didn’t die and that you get another at bat; orThink that there’s got to be something more to this.Your first actions might be one of those bullet points, or maybe they are something different. What you decide to start with matters.

It’s nearly midnight, and I just typed my last word that I need for a project at work. I’m not exhausted, but in my head I keep saying to myself, “just one more word.” What will be the next word?My next and final written words for this day are for you. They are words that try to describe a concept that I have been thinking about all this year… observe -> decide -> act -> reflect. You probably realize this already, but I came to better realize the other day that decisions are the tension that creates action; they’re the fuel. Without a decision, there is no conscious action.The genesis of every win and fail is a decision. I decided my last words today are for you - because I decided that before I sleep, I should do one more thing that mattered.

Laugh.Laugh loud, laugh wildly, and laugh with all you have. Living is a comedy and a beautiful one at that.I spent some time working on a project and found out at the 11th hour that I miscalculated one thing. Ever had that moment? Who hasn’t. Instead of getting sighing and getting upset, I chose to laugh and it felt good.And here’s the thing with a laugh - it’s contagious and it’s positive. My boss and I were able to happily find a solution, because why shouldn’t life be fun?

There is no time to waste and wait. There is no time to sulk, pout, and to crawl into your hole.There is no time to avoid the things you want to avoid.There is no time to leave things open.When I’m confronted with death - loved ones, friends, or even people losing something special like a house - I’m reminded that our time is limited - it’s finite. What we do with the time we have matters.

As you ride a rollercoaster up, you will get to a point where you will stall and hang out a bit. Then, the fall.That terrifying fall that seems to bring your stomach to your throat, causes you to wonder if you’ll make it out of the ride alive, and leaves you in shock. That fall that, for some - not for me, makes you come alive. There are moments where life feels like that “stall”; where we wonder what will come next. Your job is to not to linger too long in that moment, but plunge into the fall. There is no time to wait.

This is not a vaccine post.But it’s about vaccines.One of the best ways to prepare body to fight disease is through a vaccine - inoculation. One of the best ways to prepare your mind for hardship is by rehearsing the pain in advance. Let’s say you’re in an industry that’s hit by an economic downturn - there’s a world where you might lose your job. How will you navigate that? What can you control that will help you feel safe? What behaviors can you change now so that if that time comes you can respond with equanimity? How about being the manager of a team that’s about to undergo a major change - how might you inoculate your team against the change? What facts can you share? What FAQs can you anticipate and share with the team? How can you demonstrate that you care and that you are being truthful?Inoculate yourself - get the metaphorical shots you need now so that you can be ready when things take a turn for the worse - and they always do. That’s life.

A risk is a threat to destabilize your existence, the way things are now.

As earlier mentioned, you have several reasons why you are not coming alive at this moment; your life doesn’t allow for it.

A gift is an act that fulfills a need.

To give a gift is to disrupt one’s life to show them something better. To receive a gift requires the recipient to allow themselves to be vulnerable enough to have their being “disrupted” for something better.

Quite frankly - nobody has it figured out. Working 4 hours a week?Learning to stop giving a !@#@?Retiring fancy free?Consider this - people have been trying to figure out this thing called life for centuries! Nobody has figured it out. Perhaps that’s it!?We keep searching for and writing about an ultimate answer, but we too often forget what the ultimate question is. Working less, being free, and letting thing go… what is the question that would need to be asked for these answers to make sense?Maybe it’s: How might I be unapologetically more myself?

I had a great 24th of November with my family. I enjoyed our time together - conversation, laughs, food, and fun. I also enjoyed trying to extend my patience.Like you - people stress me out. For me, it’s stimuli. Too much stimuli and I get worked up super quick. As much as I write about stilling the mind, I’m a work in progress. Well, as I was writing book notes in my journal I came across a quote from Robert Greene’s Mastery that I wish I re-read before heading to dinner:You are an observer of the human comedy, and by being as tolerant as possible, you gain a much greater ability to understand people and to influence their behavior when necessary.We are the observer. Try and try and try to put yourself (I’m saying this to me too) in the posture of the observer. Watch and see, then react. Mental toughness is not as much about letting things bounce off you, as much as it is observing things as they are - developing a stronger sense of realism. I am thankful for my family - I wouldn’t give them up for anything in the world. I am also thankful for all of the opportunities I have to step into the posture of the observer.

I lifted my keyboard today and executed poorly. I immediately felt the pain, and I cursed my decision to pursue music as a career. Then I got smart. I realized I can prevent the injury by learning how to properly lift. Then I thought of you. Is learning to lift a metaphor? Learn how to lift ourselves out of the dumps, lift ourselves up from failure, lift up others? An essential skill - physical and otherwise. A skill we can all spend more time learning how to do better.