https://www.instagram.com/p/B0mH9o-Ho-C/

Stay hard.

Weekly Challenge: Personal Project

Far too often I find myself with enterprising ideas, or notions of something I'd like to pursue. 
Far too infrequently I fail to make time to properly invest in any of them, and allow most to slip through the cracks without giving it a fair shake.  This does not seem to be an uncommon experience among folks in modern society.

Weekly challenge, should you choose to accept it:
Make 30 minutes of time in the morning to sit down and dedication to a pursuit of your choosing.
Could be an area of study, and small project, the beginnings of a larger project, writing, reading, stretching, etc.  Get after it and see what progress can be made in dedicated 30 minute intervals regularly.

Weekly Challenge: Bestowing Grace Upon Others

Very recently I've been finding myself with an uncharacteristic lack of patience, and a persistent irritability towards circumstances and other people.  I don't much care for it, and my great theory is that a good chunk of this stems from a lack of perspective.  For my money, grace and perspective are two of the greatest antidotes to cynicism and bitterness.

My challenge for the week, to myself and anyone else who might be feeling a tad overwhelmed or short-tempered, is to make it a priority to bestow grace upon other people.  Esteem others and serve them first.  Look for opportunities to go out of your way to help or invest in those around you. 
See what happens, and please feel free to let me know of any results.

good

Tycho and Outdoors

https://www.outsideonline.com/2143711/hiking-obsessed-nature-lover-behind-tycho

Tycho is one of my favorite musical artists of all time.

Often when I go on longer trail runs, I start my warm-up at the beginning of an album and finish my cool-down at the end.
Please read the above article.  Knowing that my dude would not only appreciate the act of listening to his beats while enjoying nature, but may perhaps have had that express intention in mind makes the enjoyment all the greater.
I get a real kick out of diving in to the things I enjoy headfirst and learning as much as I can about them.  This extends to music, hobbies, philosophies, physical conditioning, etc.  I'm highly encouraging of others to deeply explore what they enjoy, understand why they enjoy it, and find a deeper sense of personal satisfaction and development through that.

To be honest, I got to this point in the post and wasn't quite sure where I was trying to go with it.  You may be in the same boat.
I suppose the takeaway is that I enjoy running and music, and like when two good things can coincide.

Discussing the general concept with a good friend of mine who also takes great pleasure in fully exploring that which gets him fired up, he coined the phrase "richness of a healthy obsession".
In a time which everything seems intrinsically fleeting and fast-paced, it can be fulfilling to stop and gain a full measure of something.  I said that was perhaps a tad too "meta".  He replied that "maybe we don't get meta enough".  Completely fair.

Anyway, listen to Tycho and go for a run.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg9gjQnSCAw

Be The Chill

I have a new phrase that I'm trying to live by:
Be the chill that you wish to see in the world.

This is 50/50 serious/joking.

I have a theory that we, as humans in an increasingly connected world, tend to fall ever more in to an emotional echo chamber. Over the last maybe 7 years or so I have felt like the societal trend has been towards a very sarcastic, cynical, and honestly downright negative vibe.

Despite a vast abundance of positive stories and amazing accomplishments of our fellow man, we have a tendency to focus very heavily on the negative and perpetuate a generally bleak outlook for the future.  There is actually scientific basis for why this occurs naturally, and why we tend to retain or seek out information that would be classified as negative over the more uplifting.  In my opinion, for all the good the internet is capable of, it serves to perpetuate this and makes us feel much more connected to the bad than previous generations might have.

My call to action is not necessarily to ignore the negative in the world, but more so to not allow it to extend beyond its inherent boundaries.  Make the attempt to limit how much a story or the opinions/actions of another affect your mood from day to day.  Focus on the important things, and little moments that you can be thankful for.  Help somebody else out, or provide some random uplifting words.  You have a lot of control over the tone you set.

Eventually, perhaps the bulk of social media posts will stop foretelling our imminent destruction.

Brotherhood and Inspiration

This is a topic that I admittedly have an increasingly difficult time writing on in a way that properly conveys its importance to me.  It seems appropriate to speak as plainly as I can.  Sorry if it seems a tad gushy.


There are many things that folks take pride in.
This can range from grand accomplishments to loose sports loyalties.

I am supremely proud of my brothers.

Over the past decade, I have formed friendships with a group of men who I regard as brothers in the most genuine and meaningful sense of the word.
I am routinely blown away by not only the character that each of these men possess, but also how unpretentious they are about being such steadfast and inspiring dudes.  The term "rock solid" comes to mind.
To say I am fortunate that these men allow me to be a part of their lives is nothing if not an understatement.  I fully understand how rare it is for so many genuinely good-hearted people to gather together, and rarer still for friendships coming out of a college environment to endure for over a decade.  Yet here they remain.

After much effort and no result, I have decided I can't write anything that is really all that worthwhile about the special nature of such close bonds.

So I will simply say thank you.

Thank you guys, for giving me so much inspiration and never allowing me to feel complacent.
Thank you for challenging me in the best ways possible.
Thank you for providing me a sense of community closer than anything I could have hoped to have known.
Thank you for giving me an impossibly high standard to strive for, and a humbling measure of myself.
Thank you for being willing to drop everything, without a thought and at a moments notice, to lend a hand when needed.
Thank you for doing the right thing because it is the right thing, and making it as simple as that.
Thank you for allowing me to share in your life in a meaningful way.


Truly, thank you for being my brothers.


Every man should be as fortunate as I, to be able to boast a collection of such ties.