It’s a day to be with family and friends, relax and express gratitude.

If only you could do that every day.

Oh yeah.

You can.

And should.

Freedom of speech.

What a beautiful thing?

But there’s a caveat.

It’s three things your words ought to be:

• True.
• Necessary.
• Kind.

Individually, they’re not sufficient.

Getting all three is.

Bonus points if your words are also inspiring.

[HT to Socrates, Buddhist teachings and The Girl’s little siblings.]

Don’t worry about what you should be doing

Or what you could have done.

Just do what you do.

And enjoy.

You’re doing great.

You can compare yourself to:

• Other guys like you.
• Other guys unlike you.
• The guy you thought you’d be.

But isn’t that a waste of time?

Compare yourself to yesterday’s you.

You’ll see you’re doing just fine.

Many of the best had a big supporting team:

• Steve Jobs.
• Benjiman Franklin.
• Thomas Edison.

But some of the best had a tiny team (or none at all).

• Albert Einstein.
• Charles Darwin.
• Maya Angelou.

It’s whatever worked best for them.

Things will need your attention.

• An interpersonal conflict.
• An issue at home that you can’t fix on your own.
• A boat-load of work that needs to get done before the holidays.

Give these things the attention they need.

But once you have a game plan, they don’t need your attention anymore.

Decide.

Then, let it go.

There’s never a good time to make a move.

• Upcoming plans.
• Old job.
• New job.

But as the sun rises, it always comes with new uncertainties.

Embrace THAT as a certainty.

Then make the damn move.

The day before yesterday sucked.

But yesterday was great.

Here’s why:

1. I had great work out.
2. I wrote 3,000 ish words (productive).
3. I played with my dog in the park.
4. I had a flawless morning routine.
5. I made dinner w/ the girl.
6. I watched two episodes of Game of Thrones (after dinner!).
7. I drank half-a-dozen big glasses of herbal tea (hydration!).
8. I learned that negative, selfish headlines suck.

The formula is simple:

Eat right. Be present. Exercise. Stay positive.

Confirmed.

Yesterday sucked.

But before I try to figure out why, I should put things into perspective.

Relative to 99% of the world, yesterday didn’t suck.

I woke up when I wanted to. I worked at my own pace. I took a two-hour lunch with my girl. Then, we watched two episodes of Game of Thrones.

And I probably made some money.

So who the fuck am I to complain?

But relative to my days over the last several months, yesterday sucked.

Why?

The last several months have been outrageously:

• Productive.
• Satisfying.
• Happy.

And yesterday was none of that.

So here I go.

Why Yesterday Sucked

It all boils down to a few reasons why yesterday sucked.

• I didn’t get much work done when I was “working.”
• I didn’t have any fun when I “wasn’t working.”

Basically, I was distracted.

All damn day.

Possible reasons why I was distracted (causing yesterday to suck)

I could tell yesterday was going to suck. From the first thing I did, it was clearly going to be a pooper.

Then, I did nothing to help my cause.

Here are 10 possible reasons why yesterday sucked. No one is necessary for a sucky day. But I’m convinced many are sufficient.

1. Twitter and Instagram. I looked at Twitter and Instagram in bed, immediately when I woke up. Why can’t I resist? Why do I keep reinstalling them on my phone? I’m convinced THIS SINGLE MISTAKE put me on a tailspin the rest of the day, causing…
2. Yoga and meditation. I could not get in a zone the entire morning session.
3. The Girl (during the workday). I was distracted by her all throughout my morning routine. Then, again as I was trying to start working. Not her fault, though.
4. The Dog. I didn’t take her on a long walk. I used the cold and rain as an excuse.
5. The Workout. I didn’t do it.
6. The Smoothie. I didn’t have one.
7. Game of Thrones. What made it a good idea to watch episodes DURING the work day? A day that was supposed to be productive (write 2,000 words)
8. Caffeine. I had WAY too much of it.
9. Meditation. Didn’t do my post-workday-clear-the-mind-get-ready-for-a-relaxing-evening session.
10. Dinner. I ordered in Chinese Food at 10pm.

Takeaways from Yesterday

There are many, but here’s a few:

• Morning routine. Don’t skip it or break it. And follow the rules (weather only, one cup of coffee, write).
• Workout. Don’t skip it. Even if it’s cold. It makes you happy breaks up the day nicely. Plus, it’s part of your job, man.
• The Dog. See above.
• Boundaries. The work day is for work. After work is for Game of Thrones and hanging with The Girl.

Good thing is that today is a new day.

And yesterday, at least you learned something.

Some people are immature because of their age.

Some people are immature in spite of their age.

But it takes wisdom to see immaturity.

And since the two are mutually exclusive, the wise will always be at the mercy of the immature.

That is, unless, the wise are at peace with themselves.