After the chaos and all the good food of Thanksgiving, it can be challenging to maintain the same level of motivation and productivity. Especially when Christmas is around the corner. But, there are ways to keep the momentum going and start December off right! 1. Set Realistic Goals One way to maintain momentum after Thanksgiving is…
For the first time in 10+ years, I rewatched my 2012 TEDx talk: “Nerd Fitness and Resetting the Game of Life.” My first thought: “Whoa, Steve. Those are some EPIC sideburns.” My next thought: “Bold choice with the striped shirt, jeans, and flip flops!” Then I gave myself some grace. I’m deeply uncomfortable with the…
We have two choices for how we spend the rest of 2024: Path A: Coast and say “I’ll start back up in January.” Path B: Treat it like a Beta Test for 2025. Our brains are going to try and convince us to pick Path A. I want you to pick Path B. Here’s how…
I know you’re overcomplicating things, because everybody does. Including me, the nerd who studies this stuff for a living. I shared a quick story the other day on Threads (and Instagram): A few thousand people resonated, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at the replies. Magdalena jokingly said it best: When life asks me to…
Last week, I flew to Massachusetts to visit my 94-year grandmother in the hospital. Let me tell you about this amazing woman. Barbara, Auntie B, or Gramma to us grandkids, was born in 1930 to first-generation Newfoundlanders. (No wonder I love the music of Alan Doyle (and Great Big Sea), it’s in my DNA!) Gramma…
I stumbled across a reddit thread that really grabbed my attention. Somebody asked “What was the ‘one thing’ that finally made weight loss work for you?” And this question had 5,400 replies (and counting). Some of the answers involved environmental changes or changing how they prepared their food: “Pouring snacks into little ramekins to eat…
It’s been a while since I’ve felt this uncomfortable. I had an empty afternoon last week and saw Speak No Evil (trailer here), a horror/suspense film about a family who goes to visit another couple they met on vacation. And shockingly, things don’t go as expected. If you saw the “Dinner Party” episode of The…
Have you ever heard of “Blue Zones”? These pockets of the world are known for having citizens who live exceptionally long, healthy lives. Some of these locations may sound familiar: Okinawa, Japan (home of Mr. Miyagi from Karate Kid!). Sardinia, Italy. Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. Icaria, Greece. These locations have a higher percentage of people…
I remember racing up the down escalator in Macy’s at the Cape Cod Mall. My mom, calmly riding the Up escalator like a regular human, would say I was going to hurt myself (possible) or I was making a scene (correct) or interrupting the people trying to get down the escalation (also correct). Sometimes I…
I’m currently reading The Tainted Cup, a fantasy detective novel. Think “Sherlock Holmes set in Westeros.” The main character has this augmentation that allows him to absorb every single detail of every interaction, crime scene, and then recite back these exact details at a later date. I remember a horrifying Black Mirror episode about this…
