Today’s culture is getting faster, busier, and more overstimulating.  Our cellphones deliver us a constant barrage of pings and notifications. Our schedules easily get filled with events and activities, and our brains hold the to-dos we can’t fit on our schedules. And above all of this, we’re connected to a global network that shows us […]

When you’re a kid and you bite off more than you can chew, your parent corrects you. But when you’re an adult, no one is there to correct you. You bite off more than you can chew, then use your “crash-and-burn” as evidence for not trying again. Of course, I’m not talking about eating. I’m […]

I’ve adopted a recent habit that is changing how I approach my days. When I wake up, the first thought I have is about how exciting the day ahead will be. This is a stark contrast to how most of us wake up in the morning and go to bed at night. Most of us […]

When my last business had ended, I knew sabotage was at work. In a moment of woundedness, I blamed external forces outside of my control. The economy, the attention span of people, and advertising platforms all had my finger pointing at them. But after a few weeks of self-reflection, when I wasn’t as wounded as […]

The reason most people believe they can’t be happy or have joy is because they think they can’t change their circumstances. And so, they spend most of their time reacting to their uncontrollable circumstances. They would be right about one thing. For the most part, they can’t change their circumstances. Unexpected setbacks and uncontrollable circumstances […]

One of the most fascinating discoveries from my study on joy was that our thinking determines much of the results we reap in life. Many individuals believe their circumstances are the cause of their stress and unhappiness. But studies show that circumstances only affect 10% of our overall happiness. It is how we think about […]

After studying joy for years now, I’ve learned that negativity is a corruptive, but common, force.  I define negativity as energy. By definition, energy has to flow somewhere. So whenever we feed ourselves negativity, that energy flows into our relationships, our work, our daily interactions, our parenting, etc.  When we allow negativity in, we allow […]

When you’re a young child, you never forget your birthday. You count down the days until the event and maybe have a big party thrown in your honor. But as we get older, the excitement for our birthday fades. Over time, we learn to discount celebration all across the board. It’s as if we don’t […]

Get a massage. Watch that extra episode of Netflix. Go shopping. Treat yourself. This is how the world around us defines “self-care.” We see these depictions of self-care all over the media, pushing us to dive deeper into consumerism as a “gift to ourselves.” But is this really self-care? My wife and I recently went […]

I’ve learned a valuable skill recently. It’s a skill that allows me to let go, find the joy in everyday moments, and move forward with confidence. The skill is self-forgiveness. Self-forgiveness was a recent skill I learned. While I was confident and hopeful about my future, I couldn’t forgive myself for past “mistakes” I’ve made. […]