You didn’t have to exist, but you do. 

You didn’t have to make it to this day, but you did.

Getting to exist and to experience anything at all is a highly improbable event — a miracle. 

Consider holding this perspective as the backdrop for your upcoming activities...

In his book, First Things First, Stephen Covey shares a parable that has since become widely popular: 

A teacher shows up to class with big rocks, pebbles, a bag of sand, and a glass jar and asks his students if everything can fit into the jar. 

At first,...

I spent about four hours on and off the phone with my new internet service provider this afternoon to get my service set up. 

After about an hour into the setup process, perhaps unsurprisingly, I became frustrated by how long things were taking. 

I began to narrate in...

With the Gregorian new year coming up, many friends, family, and colleagues have begun to ask what is probably among the most frequently asked questions in the month of December: “what are your new year’s resolutions?”

Having a resolve to change in positive ways is always good — so good...

Yesterday, my colleague sent an e-mail to my team encouraging everyone to spend the next couple of weeks resting.
His final remark was: “Pretty much everything can wait 2 weeks.”
He’s right.
Some things can’t wait. A whole lot of things actually can (certainly 2 weeks).
Knowing when to not...

A friend of mine was recently notified that the completion of his future home would be delayed for another two months. 

His response to the news, which by the way, bore several inconvenient financial and logistical implications, was rather calm, composed, and wise. 

He said, “I’ll tell you...

The concept of productivity is a very strange one. 

On the one hand, the prospect of attending to more things that you value each day can be enticing. 

On the other hand, the pursuit of getting more done can also be a daunting one that becomes inadvertently riddled...

The foundation on top of which every step forward, every achievement, and every lesson learned exists can be characterized in one word: belief. 

Specifically:  The belief in your ability to figure things out — to get unstuck — when things do not go according to plan.  The belief in...

The prospect of getting everything done can present an enticing albeit unrealistic narrative.  You might think to yourself:

If only you could have zero new messages in your inbox…

If only you could conclude the day with a checkmark next to every single line item in your to-do list…

Then...

One of the most profound yet underacknowledged aspects of your existence is the fact that you exist at all. 

English philosopher Douglas Harding talks about having “sheer gratitude for having occurred,” remarking that “you know, it’s the very last thing, isn’t it: we feel so grateful for having happened....