Logical Evolution Podcast

Welcome! Today I want to ask you about how well you’ve been embracing the NOW. There are two specific things that I’m going to offer to you that could really help you thrive in this period of uncertainty.

We can tend to lock into the way our habits and routines are. Then, when life makes a transition, we fail to make a transition in our habits. Instead, we “white knuckle it” through that transition. If we feel something will be short-term, we don’t really let ourselves adapt, we kind of just wait around until things come back to normal. I’ve definitely done that myself at times, and had a tendency to be impatient for “getting back to normal.”

We can experience a desire to just get to the other side of a transition or get through an uncertain period. But what I want to remind you of today, is that this approach won’t help us thrive. Anytime we are just waiting for something, we’re really keeping ourselves from fully thriving.

So, I ask you to reflect and ask yourself – How have I been embracing the now? How have I adjusted my life to thrive as best as I can? Am I trying to do the same things in this stay-at-home situation as I was before? Or have I taken the time to step back for a moment and ask what does my ideal life structure look like within this environment? Right now, life is different. And the same things that worked before aren’t going to work right now.

I had a conversation with my wife about this. I’m working from home right now during the day and she’s caring for our 3.5 year old son. We talked about how we don’t need to pretend things haven’t changed. We don’t need to pretend that I’m at work and we’re not together, because that’s not what’s happening. What IS happening is that we’re all home! Yes, I’m getting my engineering work done during the day and they’re playing, but we’re still home together and we can have a different flow of the day. We can have lunch together; I can take a 15-minute play break so she can go get a break or a shower. I can adjust my day’s structure to the situation in a way that can help me thrive.

So if you haven’t already, I encourage you to jot down notes or journal about this question: What does my ideal day look like under these circumstances we’re in?

There’s no need to pretend things are the same way, when they’re not. You might be able to adjust your life in a way that maybe you always wished you could! I love being able to have lunch with my family and then go back to working. I can do that right now. So, what are ways you can adjust your day to be fully embracing how you are, not pretending things are the way they were? That’s my first suggestion to you – think that through.

The second thing I want to suggest is that you consider ways to really make this time more novel, to bring more novelty into your day. Bring in something funny, something that breaks up the day and adds a newness to it – like having a Zoom call with family and friends. At my house, we’ve enjoyed taking slow motion videos of things and checking them out. It’s super fun for all of us! It’s just fun and it breaks up the day with newness. We’re not really getting that as much as we used to! We’re not out and about, we’re not hearing other people’s stories, so we need to find ways to bring that newness and fun into our lives.

So those are my thoughts for you today. Embracing the now – adjusting your life to what’s happening now so that you can be fully thriving, and not waiting for things to “get back to normal.” And how can you add novelty, some fun, to your day? I welcome any ideas you want to share – reach out to me or comment!

Today I want to bring up something I’ve seen repetitively as I’ve been in my house, like a lot of the rest of us, staying put during the pandemic. I’ve noticed two seemingly conflicting messages on social media.

One of those messages is: be productive. This is the message of getting more done and maximizing this time that we have, since many of our lives are disrupted in a way that keeps us more at home. Some people are out actively engaging, but there’s a good portion of us needing to just be at home. I fall into that second category too; I’m working from home and I’m staying in my house. Then there’s another message: give yourself a break, relax, don’t put so much pressure on yourself, you’re doing your best and don’t worry about trying to “be productive.”

I ask you to consider that they’re both good messages and they’re both what we need to be doing to make ourselves feel the best that we can. We want to be productive in the sense that we want to feel good about how we spent our time; we want to feel the momentum of our life still moving forward even if we can’t do the same things and engage in the world in the same way. But we also want to give ourselves a break, be accepting and kind to ourselves. To me, that’s actually the best combination, because those two goals involve different parts of ourselves. They’re different aspects of who we are, and they’re actually different realms of science.

Being productive in how we’re choosing to spend our time physically is one part of the world. This is the realm of science that is Newton’s Laws. The other part about how we’re relating to ourselves is of the quantum realm or the universal field. This is how the world operates as well, just at a different level.

So, when the message of “be productive” comes along, that’s suggesting to us that we want to choose our physical actions to be things that move our lives forward. Why wouldn’t we want to do that? We don’t want to emerge from our houses in 1 month…or 6 months feeling like we backpedaled from where we wanted to be. That time is going to pass whether we use that time to move the momentum of our lives forward or if we don’t. I think that message is a good one: let’s make conscious choices about what our actions are.

The other message is needed as well. How are we going to be internally on those more subtle realms of the universe? I think being kind to ourselves and giving ourselves a break is essential as well. Not only do I want to feel like I moved my life forward, but I want to feel relaxed within that.

The person you’re with the most, regardless of whether we are in this situation or not, is yourself. If you can interact with yourself and relate to yourself in a way that helps you to feel calm, which usually means with kindness and understanding, you’re going to come out of this stronger, and you’re going to feel better every day.

So, for me it’s not a choice of whether I should be productive or I should accept myself. It’s an “and.” I want to be productive AND I want to accept myself. Neither of these need to be perfect.

Being productive doesn’t mean that all of a sudden you are getting 5 times done what you normally did, or that you are taking on another project. I personally don’t have “more time,” because I’m a parent of a 3 year old and I am still working my job (just from home) as well. I don’t have more time. I’m not trying to get more done than I did before, but I am trying to keep the momentum going of the projects I had already identified. I am focused on that and being kind to myself in the process.

I ask you to consider that today. Are you seeing the two messages as conflicting or do you see how they work together as a way to be during this time that helps us to feel the most grounded and centered that we can be? Where can you do both productivity and self-acceptance, and bring those together in a way that helps you get through this as strongly as you can?

Welcome! Today we’re all experiencing a similar state of unpredictability. We often face small periods of unpredictability, but it’s been a long time since we’ve experienced such a collective unpredictability, and an unpredictability to such a degree.

We’re in the middle of dealing with this pandemic, and it’s affecting everyone. It gives us an opportunity to really look at something together, to be able to use the same thing in our investigation. It’s really easy to talk about something when we have it in common. Usually we need to draw parallels, and that works, but when we have the same situation to look at together, that can make our conversations even more powerful.

So, today, I want to bring your attention to the unpredictable nature of not just this time, but of life. We often use unpredictability as an excuse to put things off, to delay, to avoid, and to keep us from setting the kind of habits we need to get to the places we really want to be in life. It’s actually NOT essential that we GET to that specific goal we have in mind, but it IS important that we HAVE that specific goal in mind. What happens along the way is usually something better than we could have imagined, but it also gives us something to move toward. We often think we have clear goals for life, but if you find yourself easily putting things off because of something unpredictable, you’ll have to ask yourself whether it’s really a goal.

There are some people right now in this particular event we’re experiencing who have to go and take specific action because of their role in this world. For the rest of us who need to just stay where we are, we’re in a different situation, and we’re in a place where we can really look at our relationship to unpredictability. Think back to how you’ve been using your time over these past several days. Unless you’ve been very focused on your goal, I bet it’s been all over the board, and probably a little bit of just doing things to pass time…like binge watching tv and things of that nature.

Some things we may be saying to ourselves as a way to delay taking action on our goals (now or at other times) are, “when this is done” or “when I get to that place” or “when this settles out.” There’s never going to be this “settled” place. Life is always in motion, and it’s always to some degree or another unpredictable. Sometimes we’re more aware of the unpredictability than other times, this being one of them!

So I want to encourage you to look at your relationship to unpredictability, and to let that inform you whether you really need to sit down and get clear on your goals and your vision. If you do have this idea of your goal and your vision but there’s not been any action, then that’s where you need to look. There’s always a way to make progress, even where we are today. There’s always a way to get creative around how you can move toward that goal. Granted, in many cases it has to look different right now than what you thought, but that’s the beauty of having a clear goal – you know where you need to move toward. You’re just asking yourself, what can I do to move me closer to that place now? It’s quite possibly a much different action than you thought you’d be taking right now, but there’s still something you can do.

We never know how long unpredictability is going to last; there’s always going to be a different variation on it. So I’m here to remind you that RIGHT NOW is a time to take action.

I’m here if you want to reach out to me! We need to connect globally, virtually, as much as possible, so I invite and welcome anything you want to share with me. You can reach me through my website, and please do share this video with others you think might benefit from it. I, too, am missing connection with the world, so let me know how I can be there for you, and how we can be there for each other!

Today I want to call your attention to something really important when it comes to effectively reaching your goals. This applies in particular when you are looking at yourself, but also holds true when you are looking at others.

I want to remind you to BELIEVE WHAT YOU SEE.

Our actions are what lead us step by step to our future. We can imagine a lot of things; we can think about a lot of things; but what ends up coming out through our actions is what is going to lead us toward where we end up – and hopefully this is where we want to go.

Many times, though, we find ourselves moving in a direction we’d rather not. Why is that? We actually have a lot of inputs into our actions – our thoughts come from a variety of places. We have our conscious thoughts, but we also have our subconscious thoughts and our unconscious thoughts. There’s a lot happening under our conscious radar, and many times we can truly feel that we believe something yet we are constantly acting in a different way. This is what happens when the conscious mind is not in the majority.

Someone can tell you they value you, but if they are constantly criticizing you and creating problems for you, they don’t actually value you. They might think they do, but what shows up through actions is going to reveal true beliefs more than the words. This is helpful when it comes to others, and I definitely encourage you to use that. But my concern is always how you can more effectively look at yourself to create more deliberate life change – because we fall for this ourselves as well. We think we value something (like healthy eating), yet we make other choices! We might consciously believe we really value eating healthy, but there are other factors that feed into our actions.

So, what I want to encourage you to do is not to analyze and think about what you value. If you want to know what you value, look at how you spend all your resources. Where does your money go? Where does your time go? These are the things that reflect the summation of where your mind is. If you do this, and you discover areas that your actions are out of alignment with what you think you value – those are areas for more investigation. I do have a whole course that goes into that – Logical Evolution Mastery – showing you how to break that down, how to investigate it, and how to determine what it is trying to tell you. Only when we start to reveal those things can it really be within reach to make those changes. Our conscious mind can only go so far, but once we look at our actions to inform us of those deeper subconscious thoughts, that’s when we are really empowered to make change.

I want to encourage you today to believe what you see! Use this in your interactions with others to ensure you surround yourself with the people that are treating you the way you want to be treated. But also use this for yourself, so you can gain the insight that you need to move toward your goals confidently.

Today I want to talk to you about the idea of adaptability – and apply this idea when it comes to moving toward our goals.

Humans are incredibly adaptable. From the simplest biological adaptations that happen when we move into different temperature environments or different altitudes, to the neurological adjustments that happen when we learn a new task – we are highly adaptable.

The idea of evolution depends on adaptability – and this should be recognized more when it comes to moving toward our goals and undergoing our individual life evolution. Specifically for this application, adaptability shows up in how we handle the UNPREDICTABLE.

Many people I know get hung up on the path to reaching their goals because they are set in their plan of progression of steps. What I want to remind you about today is that reaching your goals does not come from a focus on the how. It does come from a focus on where are you going, not how you are going to get there.

When the things that we might not predict come along, we must instead see this as asking us to adapt in a way that’s going to get us closer to our goals. I’ve found that when I finally reach a goal that’s been difficult, the path to me getting there was actually quite different than I expected, predicted, or planned. But I ended up where I wanted to be because I responded to the situations as they arose.

When something unpredictable comes along, we can tend to get stressed or controlling about it. This actually prevents us from going with it, adjusting, and allowing it to take us toward our goal in a way we hadn’t planned but can benefit from.

To help you use unpredictable situations to your advantage, I have three questions to give you. If you ask yourself these questions when something unpredictable arises, you will be able to allow it to help you in your progression toward your goals.

Question #1: How do I feel about this? Being able to process your emotions is essential in your ability to move on from something. If you don’t deal with how it makes you feel, then you will tend to get stuck there. If that happens, you’re not going to actually be able to utilize the situation for growth and for progress.

Question #2: What has really changed? Many times I find that people blow out of proportion what the unpredictable thing really causes them to change. If someone is following a plan to devote 30 minutes to a task and something unpredictable comes up, they may turn it into an all-or-nothing thing when they could choose a small adaptation instead. Perhaps they could just move that 30-minute activity to a different time, or they can even shorten it to 10 or 15 minutes to stay on track. This question is asking you to think about how you can maintain your intention and keep your end goal in mind while responding to this particular situation.

Question #3: How can I live my intention and values within these circumstances? Even if things have to change in a bigger way because of the unpredictable situation, you want to remember the core of your goal. The core of physics theorizes that our world is organized around a vibration. When it comes to our individual lives, that vibration is created through intention. If you tap into that intention, if you stay true to your values and what that end goal signifies to you, then you are bound to move closer to it, regardless if your steps need to change. When you are tapped into intention, your mind can access more of the ideas that are aligned with where you want to go.

I hope you will use these questions when you are encountering the unpredictable. Doing this will allow you to use the advantage of adaptability on the path to your goals!

Welcome today! I know I have a lot of logical thinkers out there, and I’m wondering if you have a similar role in your work that I do. My job title includes the phrase “Systems Engineer,” and I find that speaks to a very important function that we don’t often take into our lives. My ultimate goal is to help you reach more of your life goals, so today I want to talk to you about the concept of integration.

I think those of us who are in engineering roles or integration roles in our work really see the importance of it there. But how often do we think about it outside of a work context and more applicable in our own lives?

Being a systems engineer and being in an integration role is honestly my favorite type of role – I like seeing something bigger happen when smaller relationships are forged and put together in a very deliberate way. When we really take care of the relationships between the individual parts of things, we can create something much bigger, and much more profound.

Those of us who are very logically oriented tend to focus on the development of our minds over anything else. But what I want to remind you of today is that you are an integrated human being. All the parts of you need to be thriving in order for you to thrive overall.

We are really reminded of that when we are experiencing some sort of illness or a cold and we realize how much depends on our health. Don’t let that realization be just during those times! Realize that the more you take care of and cultivate your health, the more you have for those other areas of life. The same is true for our financial life, our relationships, and our mental/emotional health. They’re all feeding our life as a whole. This message is especially important for you if you have found yourself getting a little narrow minded in how you live your life, and if you’ve neglected some other areas.

So that’s my question today for you to ponder – How do I need to be more integrated? How can I look at all the different parts of my life and find out which ones need more attention in order to fill me more, to fill my life as a whole and to align it with my goals? Please reach out to me if there’s any way I can support you in creating a life where you are thriving!

My question for you today is to consider whether you are a more analog or digital type of thinker. Do you approach life in a more analog or a more digital way?

The difference between the two has to do with a mindset that recognizes a continuum or one that sees things as on or off. A digital approach is binary – so it’s on or it’s off, it’s 1 or it’s 0. Analog is capable of sending a signal of varying amplitude.

I find that we (especially logical thinkers) tend to approach our lives in a more digital way, and we could benefit by moving more to the analog approach. I used to use the analogy of a rheostat for light when I taught yoga, because I found that a lot of people, especially logical minded people like myself approached things in a digital way. I also started my yoga practice like this, which is also how I approached other things in life – either I felt like I wasn’t doing it at all, or I was doing it ALL THE WAY.

Like me when I started, I’d see people in my yoga class shaking with the sheer muscular effort they were putting into their practice. What I had learned since then is that that’s exhausting, and usually it’s actually counterproductive. When you are approaching it in such a forceful way, you’re actually stressing your system out, which is actually causing more tension in your nervous system. So the very thing you went there to do, which is to try to create greater range of motion, you are actually preventing through your approach.

I find that the digital approach actually does that in many areas of our lives, and I want to encourage you to look at it for yours. Instead of a light being on or off, we have the ability to dim it, and that’s how we need to look at many areas of our lives. When we approach something, it’s not either all or nothing, there’s a continuum available. I think we can apply this idea of a continuum in many ways that would benefit our lives, but for right now I want to focus on how we approach our goals.

Consider the example of a diet. If you are cleaning out your diet, but at the end of a long day you decided to eat a piece of candy…what happens next? In my experience, there’s a part of us that thinks “Now I’ve ruined it. Now I might as well eat everything in the refrigerator.” But what if you had stopped after one piece? What if you’d thought, “Well that was off track, but I’ll go back to my plan now.” That would have a very different outcome.

It’s not about we “failed” or we “succeeded,” it’s about progress. I find that when we approach our lives in a binary or a digital way, we tend to actually lose progress. We tend to actually feel like we’re going backwards in some cases.

So think about that for yourself. How can you take this idea of a continuum in how you approach things? I think that in many places in our world, we define things in too much of an all-or-nothing way. Not only our lives but the lives of the people around us could be really improved by realizing life is a continuum.

It’s not that you’re either on the Earth or you’re down deep in the ocean! The bottom of the ocean starts as the shore and it goes deeper as you progress. If you think more of the continuum for yourself, it could really help you gain perspective, and actually enjoy the process more!

I have a question for you today that’s really an entrance point into a topic that’s very important when it comes to reaching your goals in the most efficient way. That question is: Do you read all your email?

It seems that the answer to this tends toward the extremes. You look at someone’s phone, and you see that little envelope, and you see the little bubble of how many unread messages are there…On one hand you have the people that want to clear the bubbles out as soon as they appear so that every last thing is organized. I tend toward that.

But then there’s the other person. When you look at their phone, you see tons of bubbles! You see the mail icon with 30,000 unread emails! If you are more of the first type, there’s something inside you that kind of freaks out a little bit! Right?

We definitely have tendencies toward one or the other. There’s the person who wants to know everything that’s going on, who wants everything to be organized, wants everything to be in its place. And then there’s the person who, once everything starts piling up, finds it easier to ignore it. I think we all tend toward one or the other. However, whatever end of the spectrum you might find yourself on or leaning toward, there’s really one thing we need to do to become more effective. That is to learn discernment.

If you can stay up with all the things that are going on – numbers of emails included, especially in today’s world – then you probably aren’t thinking big enough. If you’re out there, working to achieve goals, living a full life with friends and family and work, then you’re probably not able to keep up. Your life is full, and you don’t have time to read 10,000 emails a day. With that being said, how do we manage this? We can try to keep on top of them, but we’ll be giving up time toward something else to do that. Or we could ignore them, but we might be missing things that are important.

What we need to do is to keep our central focus. What IS important to you? What ARE you looking for? If you keep those two things in mind, you can easily clean out swaths of email. I definitely used to try to keep on top of things. I used to want to know all the details that I could, but it got to the point that there’s too much to know for the things I’m trying to do in my life, and there’s no way I can know everything. So instead, I know what’s important to me.

For example, while eating healthy is an important goal for me, maybe that’s not my focus right now. I’m on plenty of email lists about eating healthy and nutrition, but if right now is not a time I’m focused on that, I don’t need to read those emails. I see the subject and I delete them. On the other hand, if I’ve been interested in taking a language class and I see something in my email that’s about that – those are the things I’ll focus on reading.

It seems pretty simple, but I really want you to think about how you’re using discernment in managing your time and managing your life, so you can devote more resources toward the things that matter to you.

I definitely fall into the trap sometimes of keeping things I “might want to do one day.” Instead, now I trust that when the time comes that it’s important to me again, an opportunity will show up, and I don’t need to keep 100 emails “just in case.”

How can more discernment help you streamline your path to your goals? Maybe it does apply to how you approach your email. But maybe it also applies in other ways you are allocating your time and your resources.