cant help but think how much internet memes actually reflect deeper unspoken societal issues – larping, looksmaxxing, gambling, etc.

a massage is an unbelievable way to practice meditation. You experience physical discomfort, eyes closed, nothing but time to think. You battle the physical discomfort with breathing exercises, and figure out how to manage right thoughts for an hour.

Something about having a creative project in mind just gets me so fired up. Waking up and knowing I have a goal to chase gives me so much courage to take on the day. New goal: keep projects close by at all times – gives power to work on interesting things everyday.

Anger sits within you. Grudges are held within you. When you hold anger in your heart or towards something, no one is experiencing that emotion except you. Don't hold anger for people/things that are not worth it, you only create suffering within your own mind. Love and forgiveness is more powerful than anger could ever be

Let's look at the golf swing as a metaphor for life. There is a few constants that need to be present always, under all circumstances. First, the setup, feet planted shoulder width apart, butt out and back, hands at the toe-line. No matter what you do, if the setup is wrong, the swing won't work. Life is the same way, you need some constants that keep you grounded and based on some form of structure. That could be exercise, eating right, meditation, waking up at the same time. Before you can work on the takeaway, you need to make sure these irreplaceables are dialed in. That perspective change helps you get more done in your day, and the things you want done. Even in the days you don't get what you want done, if you get the setup right, the ball will fly. It might not be a perfect swing, but you're moving forward. As you get the setup more consistent, you add one technique and intricacies. Side hustles, projects, deeper focus on tasks at hand and then you start to build up distance, power, and more flexibility.

I don't like the demeanor that social media brings to doing work. Everything has to be perfect. 7am wake up, run, gym, cold shower, deep work for 8 hours, paying for luxuries that save "irreplaceable time". The journey of the mundane is just as important. Don't get caught up in this epidemic of optimizing every aspect of your life. We need to take deep, long breaths. Spend time basking in the sun without the constant worry of not making something important happen every minute of the waking day. Experimentation is the only way to control the physical world. We learn through trial and error, not doing what others say works for them. Learn to figure things out yourself because through that is where we find out what works for us.

identity is who you go back to when you're alone environment is how you change based on the surroundings you need to have a strong identity in order to not get consumed by environment

There's nothing radical about my birthday. On May 1st, 2026, I will turn 20 years old. But why do we think that day is so special. My age has nothing to do with the day itself, but the 364 before, the year of nineteen, where I made progesss. For some reason, the day itself carries so much weight, like all of the sudden I'll have gained Wisdom from Socrates himself.

What if we heard our alarms as serenades, your favorite piano song instead of a crescendoing, blaring disruptions. What if we got out of bed within a minute or so -- no need for snoozing. The warmth from your blanket and the fresh smell of your sheets lingers on your skin. You stretch your arms over you head, take a few sips of cool water from the night before, let the early sunlight warm your body, and appreciate the calmness of the mornings.

Make your way to a cozy, comfortable shower, daydream through the quiet beauties. But, the day is starting now, and you feel so strong and alive that just before stepping out, you turn the water freezing -- snapping into reality and remembering how wonderful it is to be in the present. You're here. You're alive. Isn't that crazy? Out of 8 billion people, you are one of one.

It's cold out, and all you can think of is that hot morning coffee, so you throw on your favorite sweater and head to class. You step outside and the shrieking wind stings your cheeks, but who cares, fleeting pain reminds you of the proof of your existence. You are alive.

In your first class, you're captivated and entranced calculus, measuring odd surfaces and getting walked through proofs that feel like a different language (literally). It's difficult. You struggle. But the mind needs friction, and you're privileged to study these, realistically, impractical topics.

Next is english, you get to learn about poetry, Robert Frost to be exact. Diving into grief and love and the human condition. Math builds our reality through the physical, but poetry teaches us the foundations of our relationships. Art is a mimesis of the solitary mind, ambiguous yet valuable and essential to understanding ourselves and others.

And that has all passed by 11 A.M.

Now, you make your way to a coffee shop, and the blazing hot latte hits your tongue, and sweet marble pound cake washes it down. The caffeine floods your system, dopamine spikes, but the coffee isn't the point. The morning was ordinary, nothing special happened. Life doesn't announce itself, it just plays constantly, it doesn't wait for anyone or anything. What changed was you. You realized that mornings shouldn't be dreaded, everyday is a novel opportunity to live. We die once, we wake every day. And those mornings are something that you get to decide.