Live Joy

Winter has a way of giving us permission we rarely grant ourselves. All year long we tell ourselves we’re too busy for the things we want to do. Too busy to rest. Too busy to read. Too busy to think. Too busy to just be. Life moves fast, calendars fill up, and we convince ourselves that slowing down will happen “someday.” And then winter arrives. Right now, we’re in the middle of a storm. Soccer games were canceled. School is canceled tomorrow. The world outside has literally pressed pause. Snow covers the ground, the air is cold and quiet, and everything feels just a little softer, a little slower. This is your invitation. Winter isn’t here to interrupt your life, it’s here to remind you of it. The snow and the cold give us a natural reason to stay in, to exhale, to move at a gentler pace. To sit with a warm drink. To read a few pages. To journal. To stretch. To do something simply because it feels good. You don’t have to be productive today. You don’t have to hustle thr...

    Some people think routines are boring. That doing the same thing every day must mean you’re stuck, uninspired, or missing out. I’ve found the opposite to be true. Over the years, being “boring” has given me the luxury of freedom. I make a lot of decisions at work. I have to be on all day—thinking, leading, talking, evaluating, guiding. By the time the workday is over, my brain has already made hundreds of choices. So, I remove as many unnecessary decisions from my personal life as possible. Every morning looks almost exactly the same. I wake up. I drink a big glass of water. Brush my teeth. Make coffee. Sit on the couch. Light a candle and incense. Practice gratitude. Meditate. Then I wake the boys. Once they’re out the door by 6:40 a.m., I already know what workout I’m doing because I follow a program. No thinking required. After that, I walk my dog and get ready for the day. By 8 a.m., I’ve done more for myself than most people do all day. And...

Some people think routines are boring. That doing the same thing every day must mean you’re stuck, uninspired, or missing out. I’ve found the opposite to be true. Over the years, being “boring” has given me the luxury of freedom. I make a lot of decisions at work. I have to be on all day—thinking, leading, talking, evaluating, guiding. By the time the workday is over, my brain has already made hundreds of choices. So I remove as many unnecessary decisions from my personal life as possible. Every morning looks almost exactly the same. I wake up. I drink a big glass of water. Brush my teeth. Make coffee. Sit on the couch. Light a candle and incense. Practice gratitude. Meditate. Then I wake the boys. Once they’re out the door by 6:40 a.m., I already know what workout I’m doing because I follow a program. No thinking required. After that, I walk my dog and get ready for the day. By 8 a.m., I’ve done more for myself than most people do all day. And I’m “boring” with food...

  A Clear Start to 2026 Now that we’re almost two weeks into 2026, the “fresh start” energy has faded a bit and honestly, this is where the real work begins. The vision boards are made, the words have been chosen, the goals have been written down. And now we’re left with the part no one talks about enough: showing up when it’s no longer exciting. This is usually the moment when people start questioning themselves. Did I choose the right goals? Am I already behind? Should I be doing more? But the truth is, you’re not behind, you’re right where consistency starts to matter. A clear start to 2026 doesn’t require a perfect plan or complete certainty. It requires movement. Forward motion. A willingness to take the next step even when you don’t see the entire path yet. You do not need to know how everything will unfold. You do not need every detail mapped out. You simply need to keep taking small, intentional steps in the direction you want your life to go. Consistency is what ...

  Happy 2026! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a great start to the New Year. As we begin a new year, I wanted to talk about why we set goals in the first place. This is the time of year when resolutions are everywhere, big plans, bold promises, and lots of motivation. But the reality is sobering about 30% of people stick with their resolution through January , and only 8–10% actually follow through for the entire year . There are many reasons for this, but one of the biggest is that we try to change everything at once , while still managing work, family, parenting, and everyday life. We expect ourselves to give ten different goals equal attention, and when that becomes overwhelming, we quit. Yesterday at lunch, I told my boys that by the end of the next day they needed to come up with goals for 2026. I offered some ideas, running a certain distance, lifting a specific amount of weight, getting faster for soccer, sharpening skills. Endless possibilities. T...

  As we approach a new year, many of us begin thinking about what we want life to look like—our goals, our priorities, and the version of ourselves we are becoming. One of my favorite traditions that helps me bring clarity to all of this is creating a vision board . It’s more than a craft project, it’s a tool that shapes my mindset, my habits, and ultimately my results. Why I Make a Vision Board A vision board serves as a visual reminder of what matters most to me. It keeps my goals front and center—literally. When I see the images daily, I'm reminded of what I’m working toward, who I want to become, and the life I’m intentionally creating. Over the years, I’ve been amazed by how much of what I visualize actually becomes reality. It’s not magic, it’s focus. When something stays in your line of sight, it stays in your line of effort. How I Create My Vision Board Everyone has their own way of doing this, but here’s my personal ritual: Set the Mood I turn on med...