What is The Single Greatest Lifehack
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Living my life more mindfully has led to more personal growth and success than any other single change in my life. Over the last decade my life has changed dramatically, but never as much as it changed in the last 3 years. After dealing with a messy divorce, I created Path to Manliness, wrote a book, become a father, ran a Spartan Trifecta. How did I do all of this? Read on and I’ll explain.
Say what you will about my life. It hasn’t been boring.
Ten years ago, I was still in college. It was my senior year, and little did I know that I’d be rushing into a corporate job making a modest income. At the time is sounded like a fortune. I was young. I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
Landing a good job was no easy feat in 2010, and I worked tirelessly to get it. I traveled across the country going on 17 job interviews. I had been pursuing this career for 3 years and honestly hadn’t really given much thought to whether I even wanted it. I didn’t have it, and we tend to desperately pursue what we don’t have.
This is a common ailment of those who aren’t present in their life… or as Eastern philosophers like to call it: Living mindfully. But I’ve come to understand its importance as it is what separates those who float aimlessly through life and those who have a sense of direction.
It sounds like woo woo nonsense, but as I think back over the years, mindful living has been my single greatest improvement in my life.
You see, like most people in college (and many after college) I was living in a dream world. I spent a lot of time playing video games. I was drinking heavily with my friends. Most of my final semester in college was quite literally a blur. This lifestyle carried on after college to my early 20s.
Fast forward to today and I drink much less frequently and almost never to the extent that I did in my early 20s. I am much more mindful in my daily life. I feel present in the moment and this clarity allows me to notice opportunities, threats and to simply enjoy the little moments.
Alcohol Holds You Back
Where I once spent my weekends getting wasted, I now spend that time with my family, reading books or exploring this beautiful world. How many hiking trails and good books do you neglect because you love your couch and your booze so much?
With a clearer head and life experiences that are more interesting than a blurry night on the town, I’ve found better hobbies. I spend much of my free time writing for this blog or for books. This has turned into a sizeable income. I’ve also taken up Tae Kwon Do and obstacle course running.
You see, Hollywood and the media at large, push the narrative that drinking is cool. In America drinking culture is huge. Like everything else, we do it bigger and bolder than most. But we take it too far. As Oscar Wilde says, “Moderation in all things, including moderation.”
The question remains then, can you handle it in moderation? Is it adding value to your life? You have to make the decision for yourself as to where it fits in your life, but drinking should not be your default activity for every weekend. This leads to excess calories, poor decisions and the life of an NPC.
Small Mindfulness Lifehacks
I woke up and briefly did some yoga stretches today. I start most mornings with a light yoga routine that only takes a couple minutes. 22-year-old me would’ve shit a brick at the sight of this. That’s called growth. Don’t worry if old friends give you crap for it, saying canned phrases like, “You’ve changed man.” This is crab in the bucket mentality because your growth reflects poorly on them.
I meditate too, and this helps me keep my thoughts in order. It allows the subconscious to have a voice. It breathes creativity into my life. 22-year-old me wouldn’t have patience or the open mind for this. David Bowie calls this Changes.
What facilitated these massive changes? In a word: wisdom.
No matter how intelligent you are at 22, you simply lack the life experiences of yourself 10 years older. This isn’t a dig at young people. But your average 22-year-old is still in the training level of the video game of life. They are mostly naïve or inexperienced. At 22 I was too fucking smart to realize what I didn’t know, which turns out was a lot.
Youth is No Excuse for Procrastinating Your Life
If I did know better, I would have focused way less on gaming and drinking. I would have spent more time reading, learning to write and getting in better shape. At 22, a lot of the older people will tell you to pay your dues, and wait your turn, and one day when your older, you’ll get a modest raise or promotion. This is outdated advice for a world that no longer exists.
This encourages your inaction. It makes you feel comfortable drinking all night and gaming all weekend because you’re too young right? But this is terrible advice. When you’re young, you have so much more free time than you realize and you’re young enough to take risks. This is the perfect time to build your side hustle and take on exciting challenges. Don’t let anyone tell you to “wait for your time.” Your time is now.
If you feel lost and want to know what advice I’d give a young man that wants more actionable advice, then check out my guide for the young man: Reclaim Your Manhood.
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Why We Run
We don't run to lose weight. We don’t run just to work out. Sure, those are benefits, but they’re not the reasons we lace up our shoes and hit the pavement or the trail day after day. Running transcends fitness goals and calorie counts. It’s not about shaving seconds off your mile time or staying in shape—though we all want those things, too. Running is about something deeper, something that goes beyond the physical.