Marcus Aurelius is an inspiration to me. If you’re not familiar, he was the Roman Emperor from the years 161 to 180. His personal diary was found a long time ago and published in a book called “Meditations.” I highly recommend it. Aurelius’ style of journaling is something that I’ve stolen from him. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. Basically, his diary is full of personal insights and advice to himself. I have found this method to be a really effective therapeutic tool. Anyway, thought I’d share some of my recent “meditations.”

When I’m on my deathbed, I want to be looking forward to an eternal sleep. I want to have given my all to this life. When people walk past my casket, I hope they think, “damn he’s dead as hell; nothing more left to give.”

I started believing that my life matters, and it’s changed everything. It requires a little faith, but somehow, I was able to buy in. I wake up, and I have work to do, I have studying to get done, I have responsibilities. This shit matters. LFG.

When life feels hollow, it’s often because my connection to faith has weakened. The cure is to plug back in again and again and again.

Remember: Faith is a balance. Keep it practical and down to earth without overindulgence or pompousness.

There’s always going to be some anxiety. How you interpret and relate to that anxiety is what matters most.

I remember when I was a kid playing basketball, and I often felt anxiety before a game. When I interpreted it as fear, I played scared. But when I interpreted it as energy, I played energized. I didn’t know it at the time, but this insight helped prepare me for life.

Keep this on your mind: Don’t play scared. It’s one of the worst things you can do.

Relationships, relationships, relationships. This is the core ingredient in life. Relationships require work. Conflict is inevitable. Note to self: Communicate with intention, and don’t let your feelings get in the way of understanding others.

Know what’s important. If everything is important, nothing is important. Some things have to matter more than others. Create a values map, then follow the map. It will get me to where I need to go.

Alive in 2025, and you have several roles to fulfill. In order to fulfill them well, you need to know what you’re doing. Write out your job descriptions. Be clear on what kind of father, husband, son, brother, friend, and worker you want to be.

Continue to work on developing an action bias. You tend to think too much. Thinking can be helpful, but it’s not doing. Get to the doing a step or two more quickly.

Contemplate the Good every day. What is it? How do I move toward it? What changes do I need to make? It’s an imperfect journey, but one worth traveling.

Oh yeah, and don’t ever forget: Attitude is everything.