A little while ago I brought forth the idea of what I’ve called “Practice Notes” — personal practical experiments in various areas of creativity and spirituality.
The point in these “practices” is to try to embed them into my life where I have otherwise previously avoided them, due to my own resistance, fear, and anxiety.
The first two practices have been . . . interesting.
[Read more…] about Shifts in the pathAbout a month ago, around the same time I revamped this little effort of a website and blog, I announced my plan to spend 30 days building a new routine and mindset and doing so without resetting back to a “day one” mentality on a regular basis. I then laid out what I learned just two weeks into the effort. The reason for all of this was because I previously found myself habitually procrastinating, trying a new routine frequently but always starting back over, and I was quite honestly tired of getting no where from this unproductive loop of crap. Hence the term, no more resets.
The plan was to spend 30 days consistently working on myself creatively, physically, and mentally to change my approach on what I want to do most in life, which is to write — and I mean write a lot — connect with readers, and share my experience on what I find working, as well as insights here on the blog and through other written works and creative efforts.
I went into this with an open mind knowing that things may be different at the end of 30 days than I’d expected them to be. And good lord, was I right.
So, here’s what I learned after working on a new routine and mindset over the past month.
Photo and design via Canva.
A little more than two weeks ago I announced my intention to form a new routine and keep it going for 30 days straight. I did this with the hopes of making that 30-day effort the starting point on a new path toward my own creative and health-fueled goals.
Halfway through, I’ve learned some things.
Things about myself. Things about my mind, my habitual thought patterns and mindset, and also about what’s actually possible.
This won’t be a lengthy report, but I felt, having crossed that halfway mark, it’d be good to provide a little bit of a progress update. Also, fair warning here: this post is sprinkled with moderately profane language.
[Read more…] about No More Resets: The Halfway Point
Fair warning: this is not the first, nor will it be the last, piece I write on books. I could write post after post about books, which ones have affected me in which ways, the same way I could about music, and how it all affects my perception of life and the beauty of it.
Here, though, I’m going to focus on the six books that I’ve read in the past year that have really helped me better understand myself as a person, who I am at my core, how I’ve evolved, how I’m still evolving, and how they’ve made me feel more certain about my place on the creative path forward.
I should note that none of these authors have asked me to write endorsements of their books; I am simply pointing them out because they’ve left a lasting impression on me and have inspired me to move forward with my own goals in writing, running, and in art.
[Read more…] about 6 Books That Helped Me Better Understand Myself
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve hit the reset button.
On writing.
On running or building out a full workout routine.
On meditation.
Or on any form of daily routine in general.
It’s all gone to shit, everything I’ve tried, even methods of starting small and building gradually. I always seem to start strong then waver off after a short period. I’ve had a few successes, most notably with certain elements mentioned in books like Hal Elrod’s The Miracle Morning (for general routine building) or Jerry Cleaver’s Immediate Fiction (for writing). And for the record, those are two fantastic books, and I’ll get into great inspiring reads in another post soon, but for time-saving purposes, let’s get to the point . . .
[Read more…] about No More Resets: The Path to a New Routine and Mindset