A Few Thoughts About...

What if you don’t have to figure everything out right now?

When we’re stuck, our instinct is often to think harder. We analyze the problem, replay it, argue with it, and search for the thought that will finally make everything okay.

But some of our best insights seem to arrive when we stop looking for them.

In this episode, I explore the idea of thought as a river—constantly moving, with something new always coming downstream. We look at why the thinking available to us right now isn’t all the thinking we’ll ever have, why fresh thought doesn’t require us to be calm or clear-headed, and what can happen when we loosen our grip on the things we’re trying so hard to solve.

You don’t have to push the river.

You don’t have to manufacture the next insight.

Sometimes it’s enough to remember:

There’s more coming.

LINKS

Interested in One on One Coaching? Book some time with me here and we’ll chat: https://calendly.com/scottpinyard/coaching-discovery-call I always love to hear from you! If you have thoughts on this episode, or if you just want to reach out, please go to www.scottpinyard.com/podcast and send me a note!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afewthoughtsabout.substack.com

There are almost endless ways we could improve ourselves.

We could exercise more, eat better, become more productive, be more patient, meditate, stop procrastinating, quit drinking, get organized - the list never really ends.

But what happens when self-improvement quietly becomes self-rejection?

In this episode, I explore the assumption hiding underneath a lot of our attempts to change: that the person we are right now isn’t quite good enough yet. We look at what happens when behaviors become judgments about who we are, why self-improvement has no natural finish line, and whether change really requires us to declare war on ourselves.

Maybe you can take responsibility without making yourself wrong.

Maybe you can want something different without needing to become someone better.

And maybe being okay isn’t the reward you get when you’re finally finished improving yourself.

Maybe it’s where you start.

LINKSInterested in One on One Coaching? Book some time with me here and we’ll chat: https://calendly.com/scottpinyard/coaching-discovery-call I always love to hear from you! If you have thoughts on this episode, or if you just want to reach out, please go to www.scottpinyard.com/podcast and send me a note!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afewthoughtsabout.substack.com

What if the problem that feels enormous right now looks completely different tomorrow morning?

In this episode, I explore how our physical and mental states shape the way we experience our lives. Being tired, hungry, stressed, anxious, overwhelmed, rested, or calm doesn’t just change how we feel—it can change what seems true.

We look at why it rarely feels like our state has changed; it feels like the world has changed. We also explore the ways we try to shift our state, from drinking and scrolling to walking, sleeping, eating, and simply stepping away.

This isn’t about getting ourselves into the “right” state all the time. It’s about recognizing that our current perspective isn’t the only one available to us.

Same life. Different state. Different world.LINKSInterested in One on One Coaching? Book some time with me here and we’ll chat: https://calendly.com/scottpinyard/coaching-discovery-call I always love to hear from you! If you have thoughts on this episode, or if you just want to reach out, please go to www.scottpinyard.com/podcast and send me a note!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afewthoughtsabout.substack.com

What if your emotions aren’t getting in the way?

What if they’re actually trying to tell you something?

In this episode, I explore the idea that our emotions function like an onboard guidance system—a dashboard that’s constantly giving us information about what’s happening in our experience.

The trouble is, we often mistake the warning light for the problem. Anxiety shows up and we try to make it disappear. Anger arrives and we assume something needs to change. Fear appears and we decide we shouldn’t move forward.

But emotions are information, not necessarily instructions.

Fear doesn’t always mean stop. Anxiety doesn’t always mean danger. And an uncomfortable feeling doesn’t necessarily mean something has gone wrong.

Maybe we don’t need to get rid of the lights on the dashboard.

Maybe we just need to get better at reading them.LINKSJoin me, Sam Goldfinch, and Ellie Crowe for FREE monthly coaching calls! You can find out more and sign up here: forms.gle/FCYKSSzpcb81RuV39 (and yes, it’s totally free!)

I always love to hear from you! If you have thoughts on this episode, or if you just want to reach out, please go to www.scottpinyard.com/podcast and send me a note!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afewthoughtsabout.substack.com

We talk about change as though we’re building a new person—the person we’re finally going to become once we get everything figured out.

But is that actually how becoming works?

In this episode, I explore the difference between choosing a direction for our lives and trying to manufacture some imaginary future version of ourselves. We look at how much of who we are today emerged through experiences we never could have planned, why comparing ourselves to an idealized “future me” can make change harder, and what happens when we allow ourselves to change without rejecting who we are right now.

Maybe you don’t need to know exactly who you’re becoming.

Maybe you can live your way there.LINKSJoin me, Sam Goldfinch, and Ellie Crowe for FREE monthly coaching calls! You can find out more and sign up here: forms.gle/FCYKSSzpcb81RuV39 (and yes, it’s totally free!)

I always love to hear from you! If you have thoughts on this episode, or if you just want to reach out, please go to www.scottpinyard.com/podcast and send me a note!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afewthoughtsabout.substack.com

Why does change so often feel uncomfortable? In this episode, we’ll explore the idea that friction isn’t always a sign something is wrong - it may simply be what growth feels like. Sometimes the resistance we’re experiencing isn’t standing in the way of change; it’s part of how change happens.

LINKSJoin me, Sam Goldfinch, and Ellie Crowe for FREE monthly coaching calls! You can find out more and sign up here: forms.gle/FCYKSSzpcb81RuV39 (and yes, it’s totally free!)

I always love to hear from you! If you have thoughts on this episode, or if you just want to reach out, please go to www.scottpinyard.com/podcast and send me a note!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afewthoughtsabout.substack.com

We spend a surprising amount of our lives focused on the distance between where we are and where we think we should be. In this episode, we’ll explore how that “gap” can quietly create frustration, shame, and impatience—and why noticing it might be the first step toward appreciating the progress you’ve already made. Sometimes the biggest shift isn’t closing the gap, but changing the way you see it.

LINKSJoin me, Sam Goldfinch, and Ellie Crowe for FREE monthly coaching calls! You can find out more and sign up here: forms.gle/FCYKSSzpcb81RuV39 (and yes, it’s totally free!)

I always love to hear from you! If you have thoughts on this episode, or if you just want to reach out, please go to www.scottpinyard.com/podcast and send me a note!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afewthoughtsabout.substack.com

Last episode we talked about the noise, now it’s time to talk about the signal. Its gets hidden in the noise, but it is always available and we’ll talk about how to find it. LINKSJoin me, Sam Goldfinch, and Ellie Crowe for FREE monthly coaching calls! You can find out more and sign up here: forms.gle/FCYKSSzpcb81RuV39 (and yes, it’s totally free!)

I always love to hear from you! If you have thoughts on this episode, or if you just want to reach out, please go to www.scottpinyard.com/podcast and send me a note!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afewthoughtsabout.substack.com

Our lives are so full of noisy thinking - and that noise can be incredibly distracting. Let’s talk about that noise, how it creates urgency, and what we can do about it

LINKSJoin me, Sam Goldfinch, and Ellie Crowe for FREE monthly coaching calls! You can find out more and sign up here: forms.gle/FCYKSSzpcb81RuV39 (and yes, it’s totally free!)

I always love to hear from you! If you have thoughts on this episode, or if you just want to reach out, please go to www.scottpinyard.com/podcast and send me a note!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afewthoughtsabout.substack.com

“Just let it go” - we’ve all been told that (by others or ourselves), but what does that actually mean? Letting go isn’t something we do through force - it’s something that happens when we let up on ourselves.

LINKSJoin me, Sam Goldfinch, and Ellie Crowe for FREE monthly coaching calls! You can find out more and sign up here: forms.gle/FCYKSSzpcb81RuV39 (and yes, it’s totally free!)

I always love to hear from you! If you have thoughts on this episode, or if you just want to reach out, please go to www.scottpinyard.com/podcast and send me a note!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afewthoughtsabout.substack.com