Reach Your Goals by Building Your Own Road
There are a million ways to reach a goal, build a habit, or learn a skill. And when we aim to do something important, we want to do it right. So we do our research.
We read articles like “How I Lost 30 Pounds in 2 Months (And Kept It Off!)” or “I Made $5,000 in My First Month as a Freelance Writer — And You Can Too!” And don’t get me wrong, those articles are great. They’re fun to read. They inspire us. And they motivate us to keep going when we’re ready to give up. …
And Win the Fight Against Inertia!
I love the first week of January! I buy pretty notebooks and write down my (incredibly ambitious) goals for the year. I tell myself I’m going to work out every day, eat right, and deep clean my apartment each week.
Five days later, I’m sprawled across my couch, surrounded by piles of laundry, and eating a bag of chips for dinner.
What happened?
Well, in the 29 years I’ve spent with myself, I’ve learned something profound. If a task seems too big or too hard, I’ll opt to do nothing. Nothing at all. I’ll take the path of least resistance(or no resistance if that’s possible). …
A Poem About My Person
On Conquering the World
The Longest Night — Part 3
Eli was still grumpy when they reached the edge of the village. But Ina knew exactly how to shake him. She veered left at the fork in the path and Eli stumbled to a stop behind her. “Where are you going?” He asked even though it was obvious. Corbin chuckled. He had stopped to rest, leaning on a large boulder alongside the path.
There was only one home at the end of that lonely trail. “To visit Kaira. Want to come?” She smiled innocently as Eli shifted from one foot to another. “No, you go ahead. I’m just going to help Corbin get back.” “Scared?” She asked him. “No! Of Kaira? Of course not! It’s just, she’s kind of, you know, mean.” …
The Longest Night — Part 2
16 Years Later…
“Have you lost your mind?!” Eli’s voice rang across the clearing, stopping Ina in her tracks. She was crouching in the water behind the smaller rowboat, just about to push off. But she should have known he would catch her. He always did.
Ina straightened, “Are you coming with me, or are you staying?” Eli laughed, “We’re both staying.” “Wrong answer,” she replied, giving the boat a hearty shove. She was about to jump in, but she wasn’t fast enough. Eli’s hand wrapped around her wrist and with one quick tug she was on her butt in the shallow water. It wasn’t really fair. At 22, Eli was almost as broad as Nain and Ina would always be short. After tying up the boat, Eli pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, unsure what to do with her. …
A Lesson From Ben Gibbard and Death Cab For Cutie
“I wrote this next song in about 15 minutes and I kinda took my lunch and put it back in my bag and went home because I realized there was no point in working the rest of the day. When people ask me about this song, I never feel like I can claim that I wrote it because you should never be able to write a song in 15 minutes, because I feel like I channeled the song but I didn’t necessarily write it.” — Ben Gibbard
This is how Ben Gibbard felt after writing the song “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.” He had written something great and he knew it. No one had told him it was great. No one else had even heard it yet. So how did he know? …
3 Practical Tips for Busy People
My sister is a ridiculously thoughtful person. Last month, she made soap in the shape of cute little animals and sent them to 20 of her friends. The month before that, she hand-crafted cards in the shape of suits and dresses. She also wrote a touching letter to an elderly gentleman who happily became her pen pal. And she’s single-handedly responsible for all the Zoom family get-togethers we’ve had during this pandemic.
You guessed right! She is, in fact, Superwoman.
Why am I telling you this? Because I’m the complete opposite of my little sister. I forget to call my friends. I’m not great at crafts (although I can draw a mean stick figure!). …
