When I set out to drive the 348 miles from New Jersey to upstate New York, what I planned to do was only stop for gas. What I ended up doing was hike 3 mountains. That feels like quite a leap, but a few basic truths about behavior change can explain how I got there.

I want you to imagine for a minute, that you want to build a house. Even if you don't know the first thing about construction, I'm sure you can think of a few steps it would take. We need to decide what we want the house to look like, make blueprints, build it, and finally furnish it. If you could make a list of everything required I’m sure it would be quite long. What's interesting though, is what probably didn't pop into your head was something like sleep. Or food. Or maybe music or a podcast to pass the time. Or a friend to help you out for the job's that can't be done by just one person. Or heck, maybe even a friend to just keep you company so you don't quit. We don't typically think of things like that when we try to accomplish something, because we want to get it down to just the essentials. But therein lies the problem. There is more to essential than meets the eye.

I had a win this week. I finished the second draft of my book. It was a bit of a surreal moment, and I almost missed it because I know there's still a long road ahead of me before I have the book in my hands. There will be several months of working with the publisher and editors, and so it didn't even feel like I could celebrate yet because I wasn't finished. Then, my sister-in-law Sarah reminded me to celebrate every step along the way, and she's right. What's ironic is that…

Suddenly I heard the sound of rocks slipping under someone's feet. I stared at the steep cliff on both sides and my heart stopped. Every step from Scout's Lookout to the top of Angel's Landing was like this. Always just a few feet from a cliff, or in some cases on the side of the cliff grasping the chain and carefully finding foot holes, there were no moments you felt completely safe. It was terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. When we reached the top…

The morning this post will go out, I will hopefully be somewhere in Zion taking in the great outdoors. Hiking is something I love. The image above is from my last trip to one of the other Utah National Parks, Canyonlands, where I stood on top of rock formations, closed my eyes, and just listened to the sounds of silence. I thought about…

In February 2019, I had applied for a job that ended up being a 3-month long interview process.  I had taken a major step toward the person I wanted to be, but then was stuck waiting. During that time I learned that waiting should never be the primary thing in our lives. It is something passive, something that happens in the background while we are living. Waiting to see if you got the job… if the lab results are negative… if you got into college… if that cute guy is going to call you back… waiting for those 3 text message dots to turn into the response you're hoping for. One of the worst things you can do is…

In his book Effortless, Greg McKeown discusses the idea that sometimes we focus too much on how we’re going to get through the hard parts of something, when instead we should be asking the question, how can I make the hard parts easier? A lot of difficult tasks are not enjoyable until you finish and have that satisfied feeling of completion. Unfortunately...

“I don’t think this plant will bounce back by spring,” my husband said as he gestured to the potted plant next to our outdoor table. We both laughed, looking at the stick leaning over with broken branches dangling from it. Some things, I thought, just don’t bounce back. It made me think of the peace lily that was sent to me four years ago…

The team I manage works in Sprints. This means that at the start of a two week period, we have a meeting to plan out everything that we hope to get done in the next two weeks. We look to our backlog, a list of small projects that help us reach our larger goals, and assign out items to each person. We size them, estimating how long they might take, and…

I sat at the table across from him, nervous about what he would say. Everything up until this point had been theoretical tests and written papers. He would be the first person to give me feedback on my performance in the classroom. Does he think I have what it takes to be a teacher? Sitting at that table, I had no idea that what this man would tell me would not only influence Graduate School grades or what I would do next with my 8th grade Science class, but it would be something I would still remember many years later.

This week's post is very short, because I am giving myself permission to rest. I needed a break so I'm taking one, and I hope this short blurb is a reminder that you can take one too. You can be driven, and accomplished, and have high expectations for yourself, while still taking time for your mental health.

The African Unicorn is one of the oddest looking animals I have ever seen. The first time someone described it to me, I thought - no way that exists. When I looked at the Zebra striped legs and the Giraffe-like head, my logical mind started to work out how this could happen…

It's getting to that time in the year when, if you set a New Year's Resolution for yourself, you may be at the breaking point. If you are, this is probably the reason why: you reached too high. The image above is one I saw on social media at the start of the year. 22 goals for 2022. While I'm a sucker for alliteration, this is the worst set of goals I have ever seen…

15 minutes ago, I was sitting on the couch staring at my phone. It was around 8am on a Saturday. A Saturday that I had carved out to write and had a goal of finishing a chapter by the end of the day. Every part of me wanted to sit there with my coffee, and just enjoy the morning. I didn't want to get up. I didn't want to write. Frankly, I didn't want to do anything. There was nothing good on my phone, and even though I knew that sitting at my desk writing would make me happy, I still didn't want to do it. Do you know what got me to move? A few weeks ago…

I cling to comfort. So much so that it is embarrassing to share. I should be brave and courageous and not think twice about trying something new. Those that only know me from a distance may make the assumption that I am a daring extrovert always game for the next big thing. But the truth is… I have to gather emotional strength just to move my laptop to a different location in my own house.

A few weeks ago, I learned an amusing anecdote about Charles Darwin. Apparently, he enjoyed collecting beetles. Like, really enjoyed it. Dude was obsessed. You know how I have exercise goals and writing goals? Well, this guy had beetle goals. And hey, I ain’t judging. To each his own. Although there is one moment in this story that I do judge a little…

I wrote that poem when I was 8. It was the first thing I ever wrote, but it wasn’t the last. My journey from that 2nd grade classroom to 2022 is one I decided weeks ago I wanted to tell you about. I wrote most of it in November, then in late December I set it aside in a queue of mostly finished pieces. What I didn't realize was that…

Several weeks ago, Facebook shared a memory with me of a trip to Budapest. It was in 2019, just before Christmas, just before the world changed forever. I was supposed to be there for work Monday and flying home Friday, just in time to attend an annual Christmas concert that I hadn't missed in 8 years, as well as a weekend away for a friend's birthday. Long story short…

The first time I stayed at the Home 2 Suites in Lehi, I saw this little card next to the front desk. It highlighted a nice path nearby where I'd be able to walk or run. I wanted to grab it and go explore, but the part of me that doesn't like to try new things talked myself out of it. I thought about it every morning when I woke up. I thought about it the next time I was there too. But instead of taking a risk with the unknown, my anxious self-talk talked me down and I stuck with the treadmill in the small hotel gym.

In this picture, I'm standing on top of a ledge that I would have never even thought about climbing if it wasn't for Bryce.