The Ankle, The Hug, The Wrist

Wherever you are on your personal and professional journey, you are (hopefully) growing and you are (hopefully) evolving.

To evolve is to become something else; to become someone else. You are no longer the person you were before.

But what happens if the people around you are not growing and evolving in the same way, or at the same pace?

As a young boy playing soccer, my father moved me off of teams that I had outgrown and put me on better teams with better players. And then better leagues with better teams.

This is a great strategy for personal and professional growth as well.

As you grow and evolve, there may be people and habits that hold you back. They are like a hand holding your ankle while trying to climb a ladder. You have to let them go.

There will also be people and habits “above” you on the ladder who bend down to pull you up — grabbing hold of your wrist. These are your mentors, your teachers.

And finally, there will be people right next to you, walking the path alongside of you. They are there for hugs, companionship, and camaraderie.

The ankle-biters hold you down, the wrist-grabbers pull you up, the huggers energize and encourage.

The ankle, the hug, the wrist.

Where do you turn to learn how to live? If you’re like me, you might turn to books. Or mentors. Or podcasts. You might engage in philosophical discourse with friends, family, and colleagues. You might lean into the onslaught of research and studies conducted on the topics of happiness, meaning, and life satisfaction. You might reflect through the practice of journaling. These can all be useful...

Where do you live? To answer that question you might give me a location. Let’s say New York. And though it may be true that you live in New York, you really live in a HOUSE in New York. Let’s say a big house. And though it may be true that you live in a big house in New York, you really live in your HEAD in your big house. You live in between the walls of your head — right there with all your...

The rougher the road, the lighter the grip. I first learned how to ride a motorcycle in Northern Thailand, mostly on bumpy, rocky, winding roads. My natural tendency on many of the bumpy dirt roads was to tighten my grip on the handlebars. The rougher the road, the harder I clenched. Until I realized that by the end of the ride my hands were in such severe pain I couldn’t even open them all the...

The evolution of mankind:
Walk walk walk, hunt, rest rest rest.
Walk walk, farm, rest rest rest.
Walk, farm farm, rest rest.
Sit, farm farm farm, rest rest.
Sit, work, rest rest.
Sit, work work, rest rest.
Sit, work work work, rest.
Sit, coffee coffee coffee, work work work, booze booze booze.

The Ankle, The Hug, The Wrist

Hi there!

Start Here

Read more

Hi there!

Start Here