When the Math Isn’t Mathing

This episode came from real conversations. The kind that happen quietly — late at night, in passing, or in moments where someone finally admits, “something feels heavy.”

When the math isn’t mathing, it’s not just about money. It’s about effort without progress. Outgrowing a life that still pays the bills. Carrying responsibility while feeling unsure. And the pressure to be okay when you’re not.

In this episode of 21 Grams, I sit with that weight — my own and the weight I’ve heard in others — and name it for what it is: life weight.

There are no answers here. No advice. Just honesty, reflection, and space to breathe.

If you’ve been doing everything you were told to do and still feel behind… If you’re tired in a way sleep doesn’t fix… If you’re holding it together quietly —

this episode is for you.

Wine Down Wednesday — Reflecting on Living on Autopilot

In this Wine Down Wednesday episode of 21 Grams, we slow everything down.

After Monday’s conversation about living on autopilot, this episode creates space to reflect—on how days blur together, how routines replace reflection, and how survival can quietly take the place of experience. With a glass of Buck Shack Cabernet Sauvignon in hand, we explore what it really means to be present again through real-life moments, honest analogies, and intentional pauses.

This isn’t an episode about fixing your life or having all the answers. It’s about noticing—your habits, your pace, and the quiet moments you’ve been moving through without fully feeling them. Like the wine itself, this conversation asks you to sip slowly, sit still, and reconnect with yourself in small, meaningful ways.

If you’ve been feeling disconnected, tired, or like life has been moving on without you—this episode is an invitation to pause, breathe, and come back to yourself.

Pour a glass. Take a breath. You don’t need to have everything figured out—you just need to be here.

Living on Autopilot

21 Grams

There comes a point when life starts to feel like a routine you don’t remember choosing.

Days blur together. Conversations become background noise. You show up, you perform, you keep moving—but somewhere along the way, you stop feeling present in your own life.

In this episode of 21 Grams, we explore what it means to live on autopilot—how it happens quietly, why it often begins as survival, and the subtle cost of moving through life without awareness. Through real-life moments, simple analogies, and honest reflection, this episode invites you to pause, check in, and ask the questions we often avoid.

This isn’t about fixing everything. It’s about noticing. It’s about waking up—gently.

If you’ve ever felt disconnected, emotionally distant, or unsure how you got to where you are, this episode is for you.

Take a breath. Let your soul catch up.

Welcome back to 21 Grams — Wine Down Wednesday. Tonight is a midweek exhale. We’re talking about the power of the tongue — and the quiet ways our words shape what we believe about ourselves.

Not the big dramatic statements. The “normal” sentences we repeat when we’re tired: I’m behind. I always mess this up. This never works out for me. Over time, those phrases become patterns… and patterns start to feel like truth.

This episode isn’t about toxic positivity. It’s about precision. About learning how to tell the truth without tearing yourself down — and speaking to yourself softly in a way that actually changes how life feels.

Pour something, settle in, and let this be your reset.

Words are never just words.

In this episode of 21 Grams, we slow down and take an honest look at the language we use every day — especially the words we speak about ourselves when no one else is listening.

From casual phrases like “this always happens to me” to the quiet narratives we repeat during moments of stress, failure, or self-doubt, this episode explores how language shapes our identity, our confidence, and the limits we place on our own lives.

This isn’t about toxic positivity or pretending everything is fine. It’s about awareness. Precision. And learning how to tell the truth without harming yourself in the process.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, behind, or defined by the same repeating thoughts, this conversation invites you to listen more closely to your words — and consider whether they’re helping you grow or quietly holding you back.

Because the power of the tongue is real. And you don’t have to curse your life to be honest about it.

This first Wine Down Wednesday is a soft landing in the middle of the week — a quiet space to sit with whatever Monday’s (EP. 5 Okay... I said it out loud. Now what? Closet Mirror) truth stirred awake. No pressure. No performance. Just presence.

In this reflective episode, Joey slows the pace on purpose, inviting you into the in‑between:

the days after you admit you’re not who you used to be,

the quiet moments where old habits tug at you,

the small choices no one sees but you.

With a glass of Rashi Claret in hand, he guides you through breath, stillness, and the subtle shifts that shape real growth. This isn’t a new lesson or a follow‑up — it’s a mid‑week exhale. A moment to notice what’s settling, what’s loosening, and what’s quietly changing inside you.

Wine Down Wednesday is your weekly pause.

A place to land.

A place to breathe.

A place to sit with the space after.

This is the first episode of 2026—and instead of rushing into resolutions or reinvention, we’re taking a softer step forward.

In the last episode, I read a letter to myself and named a truth I could no longer ignore: I’m not that person anymore. But what doesn’t get talked about enough is what comes after you say something like that out loud.

This episode lives in that space.

The quiet moment after clarity. The stillness after honesty. The in-between where you’ve outgrown who you were, but haven’t fully settled into who you’re becoming yet.

We talk about the discomfort of change that no one applauds. About letting go without announcements. About silence that feels heavy because it’s finally honest. About standing in front of a “closet mirror” and realizing that the life you’ve been wearing doesn’t fit the same way anymore.

If you’re entering this new year feeling reflective instead of resolved… If you’ve changed quietly and don’t quite know what’s next… If you’ve said the thing out loud and now you’re wondering where to go from here—

This episode is for you.

No pressure. No performance. Just presence.

Welcome to the space after.

They say the soul weighs 21 grams—but sometimes, what we carry is much heavier.

In this intimate episode of 21 Grams, recorded on Joey’s 41st birthday, he reflects on the quiet weight of outgrowing an old version of himself. A version built around survival, stability, and staying small. A version that did its job—but was never meant to last.

Through poetic reflection, personal stories, and a letter written to his younger self, this episode explores the fear of change, the guilt of growth, and the courage it takes to release who you were in order to become who you are.

This is a conversation about evolution without resentment. About honoring the past without living there. About finally saying, with clarity and grace:

I am not that person anymore.

If you’re in a season of transition… If you feel yourself shedding an old identity… If you’re learning to choose truth over comfort—

This episode is for you.

In this episode of 21 Grams, Joey explores the quiet line between what we can control and what we can’t—and how crossing that line is often where frustration, overthinking, and self-doubt begin.

Through personal reflection, Joey breaks down the difference between effort and outcome, caring and controlling, and responsibility versus self-abandonment. This episode invites listeners to slow down, notice where their energy is going, and reconnect with what’s actually theirs to handle.

If you’ve found yourself replaying conversations, waiting for clarity, or carrying responsibility for things outside your control, this episode offers a grounded perspective on letting go without disengaging from your life.

Take this one slowly.

As the year comes to a close, not everything feels finished—and that’s okay.

In this episode of 21 Grams, we slow things down and sit with five reminders you might need to hear before stepping into a new year. This isn’t an episode about fixing your life, setting resolutions, or becoming someone else. It’s about pausing long enough to acknowledge what you’ve been carrying—and deciding what’s worth bringing forward.

We talk about choosing passion over perfection, being honest about the people who shape your inner world, having the conversations we tend to avoid, building strength that can’t be taken from you, and learning when to change your circumstances—and when to change your perspective.

If you’re ending this year feeling tired, uncertain, or quietly different than when it began, this conversation is for you. No pressure. No urgency. Just space to reflect, breathe, and steady yourself before what’s next.

21 Grams is a podcast about the weight we carry quietly—and what happens when we finally slow down enough to notice it.