SFH #202: Getting Better at the Thing
Ready for a doozy?! 🍅
For most of my life, I’ve been trying to get better, be better, and feel better. Just today, for example, I woke up thinking that I would feel better about myself and my life when I nail my routine with the boys.
We wake up between 7-7:30 collectively. I brush my teeth first (when I’m on top of it 😜). The boys brush somewhere between just after a bit of horseplay and right before walking out the door for school. I get some reflection time down (this comes from a menu of habits and a long period of practicing them). In an ideal world, I meditate for at least 10 minutes (breathwork for five can do the same trick). The meditation is a quick bath for my brain. Maybe I take some notes, but probably not. After that, I journal something as a separate practice. The 2 Minute Morning version is the easiest to be consistent with by far, but I like writing more.1 Once I’ve done my rapid self-care, it becomes action time to get the boys out the door, satiated and ready for the day. The good news is that my 1st and 2nd graders are mostly easy to get to school. Brushing both teeth and hair is the first obstacle, then comes the barrier of sass or crankiness from one of them about actually getting dressed and going, and the final barrier is usually the difference in logistical readiness of a former triathlon coach vs IDGAF elementary kid (mostly Hawk). I keep it simple for them: Brush, Breakfast, Dress, Bag, Bottle, Shoes (and socks), and Go. Too much? Feel free to tell me anonymously 👉 here.
They got out the door just fine this morning. I tried the Pomodoro Technique from 7:50 until 8:15 to finish lunches, breakfast, and gathering everything. We walked out at 8:25 🤷♂️🫠.
Getting on to the better part. I’m mostly enamored with the current thought of how we are always trying to improve or, at the very least, sustain optimal states. You know - get better at the thing. Heck, I created this blog because I wanted to share my knowledge on simple, healthy tips and tricks to get better. Hopefully, you have found one by now. 🤞 If you have not, feel free to tell me or ask me about something that is tripping you up health-wise. I'm happy to point you in a thought-provoking direction 😉. Speaking of trying to get better. I find that sharing with others or teaching others has been one of the great lessons on how I get better. Did you know that if you share/teach something you’ve learned, you are more likely to absorb and learn it yourself? It is more impactful if you expect to be teaching the content ahead of time!2
So tonight, I want to leave you with this? What is most important for you to get better at? What will serve you and others around you in the ‘better’ department? How much control do you have over that ‘better’? What version of ‘better’ is enough for you and the things you want out of life?
We can take this discussion to the notes section on this Substack, and may I suggest you process it in some other form if any of those questions hit home for you? It could be a phone call or text to someone to spur a conversation, maybe you reply to this email, journaling is always a good method (maybe try some freewriting), or truly whatever works for you to help the process of thought.
Until next time, friends 👋
*Content Note* aka Explanatory Note (Thanks for the idea, Ross Gay, author, poet, and essayist extraordinaire) 🙏 - I’m currently working on different versions to get more out of my writing. I’ve tried Morning Pages, and it’s a bit too much to get it done consistently. It’s both the volume and the amount of time. I’ve been doing bulleted versions and transcripts. Talking is a whole other different creative outlet. I think it works, but I notice more self-edits in speaking versus writing. Plus, I’m more willing to diverge and make mistakes in writing. I’m somewhere between an extended version of simple journal prompts and about 5 minutes of free-thought writing.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6336728/