January 0126

what I’ve created –

• the last camp

what I’ve listened to –

• WHERE IS MY HUSBAND – RAYE
• Little Spouse – Taylor Demp
• Two Cents – Alumni Cloud
• ITS HOT – Alex Jean
• Balaclava – Ivy Lab

quote I liked –

“There are two ways to grow: by adding or by shedding. Do you need to add something or do you need to shed something?”

“Are you continuing to do it mostly because it makes you feel interested and alive — or are you continuing to do it mostly because you know what to expect and you’re hesitant to make a change?” – James Clear

“Don’t stay somewhere you already hit the ceiling” — Rebecca 

“The eyes can only see what the mind has been educated on” — Craig

“Work is endless. Exercise is endless. Parenting is endless. Same with marriage, writing, investing, creating, and more. You get to choose the parts of your life, but many of the important things in life cannot be ‘finished.’ Do not approach an endless game with a finite mindset. The objective is not to be done, but to settle into a daily lifestyle you can sustain and that allows you to make daily progress on the areas that matter. Embrace the fact that life is continual and look for ways to enjoy the daily practice.” –– James Clear 

“If you find yourself wanting something month after month, year after year, yet nothing happens and you never come any closer to it, then maybe what you actually want is a fantasy, an idealization, an image, a false promise. Maybe what you want isn’t what you want—you just enjoy wanting. Maybe you don’t actually want it at all. Sometimes I ask people, “How do you choose to suffer?… But even then it was never a question of if I’d ever be up playing in front of screaming crowds, but when. I was biding my time before I could invest the proper amount of time and effort into getting out there and making it work. First, I needed to finish school. Then, I needed to make money. Then, I needed to find the time. Then… nothing… A question that perhaps you’ve never considered before—is what pain do you want in your life? What are you willing to struggle for? Because that seems to be a greater determinant of how our lives turn out. ‘What pain do you want in your life? What are you willing to struggle for?’” – Mark Manson The Most Important Question of Your Life

what I discovered (learned, ate, watched) –

• Conduct a PAST YEAR REVIEW (credit Tim Ferris), learn how he does it here.
• One easy way to show you care about others is to ask them questions about their life.
  • What are they excited about?
  • What are they working on?
  • What are they hoping for?
  • Simply asking the question and listening thoughtfully is an act of generosity. You’re giving them the gift of attention.”
• Some top food discovered or re-visited:
  • Best chicken and waffles I’ve ever had was at Bitty & Beau’s Coffee in Frisco, TX. A “Human rights movement disguised as a coffee shop.” They have locations nationwide, check it out.
  • Snooze’s Habanero Pork Belly Breakfast Fried Rice is a must.
  • Can confirm, Local Food’s crunchy pretzel chicken sandwich and kale salad is still an all time best.

what I wouldn’t try again –

Sign up for the event, race, or challenge. Sucks to miss out and you’ll never regret putting it on the calendar. Loved cheering on my brother and Emily for the Houston marathon but wish I had ran it with them.

Spend your time doing exactly what you want. Be kind and intentional, but don’t let any social obligations force you to spend any more than the bare minimum in environments you don’t want to invest in.

how life is beautiful –

Starting the year with difficult physical activities with friends is one of the best ways to feel fresh. Getting up at 6am to run and cold plunge, climbing 163 stories with friends, lifting with your brother and father, it’s the kind of reset everyone needs.

Many slow beautiful moments in Houston, dinners with family, driving to Dallas, slow mornings, saunas, shopping, life there, reseting is key. The focus is the reset. It’s important to keep your head down and prioritize what you need to but after a few years of swimming it’s critical to bring your head above water, breathe, and look in the direction you’re swimming. This process of asking yourself “is this the direction I want to continue swimming?” is not done enough and it’s important to pause sometimes to ask it.

Reflecting on what I want to keep for this next season and what I will let go of.