Mindful Ambition

11/12/2019

Everything looks different when you change your perspective. 🤸‍♂️

What once had you low might just as easily have you up! 🕺 @ Bryce Canyon National Park

05/16/2019

Today I…
- Finished my 27th trip around the sun
- Lived my 9,861st day of life
- Meditated outside in the sunshine
- Did some creative work
- Swam in a lake
- Wrote in my notebook
- Hugged friends
- Hugged family
- Pet a dog
- Smiled
- Breathed
- Reflected on a year
- Thought about what might come in the next year, and how truly impossible that is to predict
- Felt an amazing amount of gratitude for the opportunity to continue living the life I’m living. Thanks to YOU for being a part of my life in some way.
(But I didn’t take this photo today. That was about 9 months ago.😄)

03/30/2019

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."
~ Jiddu Krishnamurti
..

"Healthy Deviant" (n.) One who willingly defies unhealthy norms and conventions in order to achieve a high level of vitality, resilience, and autonomy. -
..

Pictured: Two Healthy Deviants, fired-up about supporting the vitality, resilience, and autonomy of others.
..

Pilar, it was a treat to hear you speak and connect face-to-face (and heart-to-heart!) yesterday. Grateful for you + your amazing energy + your work that is making (and will continue to make!) such a difference in the lives of others.

01/11/2019

If I had to boil Mindful Ambition into a few words, it would be this.

Sincerely, from the heart, your life matters. You only get one shot at it.

So live it with intention. Invest your energy, attention, and time in the things that matter to you most. Understand who you are when you show up at your best, and orient yourself to those ways of being. When you stumble, begin again. When you get lost, return to what you value. Focus on what you can control. Build yourself up so you have more to give.

You have amazing gifts. We need you to share them with the world.🙌💪

Please be awake to this. ❤️

01/11/2019

Thank you for everything, 2018!

https://mindfulambition.net/2018-year-in-review/

2019, I'm coming after you with everything I've got!

“Study the past if you would define the future.” – Confucius Welcome to the second installment of the Mindful Ambition Annual Review! I’m grateful to have you as a part of the Mindful Ambition movement. Writing about myself can feel self-indulgent at times. But the Year in Review is an impor...

01/08/2019

All of us have some sort of unconscious desire for life to be “easy.”

But how boring would life be if everything went as expected?

Seriously...think about that for a moment!

If everything went as planned, there’d be no adventure. If you never faced challenges, you wouldn’t feel the satisfaction of growth, and figuring things out. Without surprises, you’d have no unanticipated delight.

Keep this in mind the next time you start to feel upset because something isn’t going your way, or isn’t going as expected. (Like me here, failing to complete this bouldering problem.)

Give yourself the opportunity to sidestep that anger or frustration. See the bigger picture.

Life will never shape itself exactly to our desires.

But that’s not a bad thing—it’s part of the fun!

01/06/2019

I conduct some sort of review on a daily, weekly, quarterly, and yearly basis. (Literally just finished up my Week in Review.)

When I conduct these reviews, I feel clearer on what’s most important for me to move towards next. I feel greater fulfillment in the progress I’ve made. And I feel more grounded, stable, and connected with myself.

Each of these reviews uses the same core structure. If you want to start doing more journaling, try this structure out.

There are four main pieces you’ll want to include in a [Daily/Weekly/Monthly/Yearly] Review.

1: Fundamentals: “How did I do with the fundamental habits that support my energy and attention?” When we have good energy, everything in life is easier. Start here.

2: Wins: “What went well? What’s worth celebrating?” Our minds are wired to look for what’s wrong. We can counteract that by proactively celebrating wins. And reinforcing your identity as someone who creates wins by punctuating them with a .

3: Opportunity Areas: “How can I get better?” Every apparent failure or mistake is an opportunity to improve. Identify them so you can level-up next time around.

4: Major Lessons and Insights: “What did I learn?” An insight only changes your life if you carry it with you and act differently as a result. Documenting big insights helps with this.

Every review feeds into the next review.

If you wanna get started, the most impactful place you can start is with the big picture: Your Year in Review.

Which is why I created a kickass template you can download, print off, and follow to do your own Year in Review.

Check it out at the link in my bio or at: https://mindfulambition.net/year-in-review-template

Happy Reviewing!

01/05/2019

Most people are confused about self-care and self-love.

Somehow, those terms have become equivalent to big, one-off events like massages or retreats or spa days.

Self-care and self-love have been pigeon-holed into "treat yourself" moments.

But that would be like saying a marriage is all about fancy dinners or expensive gifts.

Self-care is about having a caring RELATIONSHIP with yourself.

Self-love is about having a loving RELATIONSHIP with yourself.

And relationships are an all-time time thing. The big, special events are part of that. But even more important are the little "regular" moments. Because those happen a lot more often.

Going to the spa is a drop in the bucket compared to the impact of your self-talk--the way you treat yourself in the moments of each eay.

Eating a healthy meal hardly matters if you can't forgive yourself for your mis-steps and mis-takes in life.

And a great workout or yoga practice won't make much of a difference if they aren't part of your regular routines.

This morning was my equivalent of a "spa day." I got a climb and workout in first thing, then had a 30-minute alternating sauna and cold shower session. Now, I'm refueling with a big green smoothie.

And I gotta say, I'm feeling effing fantastic right now!

But I'm also seeing the bigger picture: these moments matter, but they're not enough. What matters most is the daily PRACTICE of self-love.

Everything in life is a practice. Including relationships. Including the relationship we have with ourselves.

It's a practice I'm deeply committed to.

Because at the end of the day, we can only give as much love to others as we have for ourselves.

12/20/2018

What if you had died yesterday? But then, through some miracle, you were given another chance at life?
☠️
If your life had ended yesterday, and began again today…
> How grateful would you feel for the life you’re currently living?
> How small would your problems, trifles, and annoyances feel?
> How excited would you be to eat, sleep, move, breathe, connect, and love?
> How enjoyable would the regular, mundane, and trivial actions of your day become?
> How would you treat the people around you?
☠️
The thing is—we have no idea how long we’ll live. Tragic things happen every day. We all know people who have died premature deaths. I have friends whose lives have been cut short by disease, car crashes, and the downstream effects of mental illness.
🙁
Nobody deserves an early death. But it could happen to any of us.
‼️
I don’t say this to instill fear. I say this to remind myself of the preciousness of life. Of how beautiful it all is. Of how remarkable it is that I am living. That I have friends. That I have family who care about me. That I have my health. That I am safe. That I’m pursuing meaningful work. That I have hobbies and the freedom to pursue them.
☺️
When I consider that I could have died yesterday, but didn’t, I’m reminded how profoundly grateful I am for the one life I’m living.
🙏
And when I do this, my mind transforms. I’m flooded with positive emotions. I can see more clearly what truly matters. And I instantly connect with the present moment.
🙌
It’s like I’ve experienced a total-system-reboot. And here’s the secret: you can do it too.
🔄
Just remember: We only get one shot at life. Are you making the most of yours?
💪
No matter what your answer is to that question…What can you do today to bring just a little bit more of your A-game to the things (and people) you care about most?
🙌
Then, let’s do that.
🙌
(And if I can be helpful to you in any way—don’t hesitate to reach out.)

12/18/2018

If you've ever felt like you don't have enough time...This one's for you.

“I want the power to control time…Then, I could do everything I wanted to do, every day!” For as long as I can remember, that’s how I’d answer that question. It’s a nice idea. But the desire to control time comes from a place of lack. A place of scarcity. For most of my life,…

12/11/2018

A life is made of days. And our days our made of moments.
🗓
This moment matters because today matters. And today matters because your life matters.
❤️
You are right where you need to be, because you are there! In this moment, it couldn't be any other way.
😄
So let's be awake to that, and embrace the opportunity that lies ahead. Not every day needs to be a masterpiece. But what if they could be?
🎨
But maybe today hasn't been going your way so far...
😩
Cool! Today is not over yet. If you're willing to step into it, the same opportunity awaits. What might you do to make today just a bit more of a masterpiece?
🤔
Then, Let's do that.
💪
My mind was moving in lots of directions this morning. I invite you to slow down with me. Come into THIS moment. Settle yourself in the presence of What's Important Now. And when you feel grounded, get after it.

11/28/2018

I have this quote on a sticky note at my desk. It reminds me that HOW we do something matters just as much as WHAT we are doing in the first place.
🧠
If you're angry, overwhelmed, anxious, or depleted, you are biologically less capable of accessing your prefrontal cortex. Aka the higher part of your brain that deals with complex decision making, creativity, perspective-taking, and problem solving.
🧠
Which is why building fundamental habits around sleep, exercise, nutrition, meditation, and social connection are so important! When those needs aren't met, our state of mind takes a hit. And from that place, we aren't bringing our most effective selves to the table.