Annnnnd we’re back after a much needed week away from writing and creating! The whiplash from traveling and hosting events made me realize I needed some time to just be. With that time came a barrage of thoughts, but one stood out in particular. But first, wins and wobbles!
Weekly Wins
My final knee surgery is officially scheduled! On 12/23, I’ll be headed in for my ACL + LCL reconstruction and that will conclude my surgery journey for this injury. A long road traveled, many lessons learned, and continued gratitude for you all supporting me through the ups and downs. I’ll have plenty of physical downtime, but mentally planning for 2026.
Rain! LA got some showers this week. As a pluviophile, I was loving it. My favorite mornings are the ones with the window opening just listening to the rain hitting the window and pavement outside. I wouldn’t move to Seattle, but the few days a year I get to experience this in LA, I take full advantage.
Weekly Wobbles
The holiday season is tough for my friends and family. There’s been a disproportionate of loss around this time of year for those closest to me. I know it’s a natural part of life, but the time of the year when you want to be all cozy with your people and you can’t just sucks sometimes. I guess this is just a reminder to cherish your people this holiday season and give them flowers while you still can.
Let’s do a little exercise to kick off this week’s theme of: make that play.
Grab your phone. Set a timer for 60 seconds. Read these instructions below:
I want you to think about the life you want. Not the one society says you should have at your age; the one you know just feels right in your bones. It could involve elements of a life you dreamt of as a kid or an updated one with your current life situation. Now think about what a day in that life looks like.
My iphone 36 Pro Maximus.
How does it feel? How does it smell? What do you see?
Now, start the timer on your phone and close your eyes. Create a mental scenario that answers these three primary questions. GO!
How tough was that? Did you see the life you think is meant for you? Or did you find yourself reliving what your current day-to-day looks like? The first time I tried this exercise, it was the latter. Why? Let’s discuss.
Our brains are VERY powerful. They do unexplainable calculations at near impossible speeds. As we get older, our brains become stronger. We’re able to store and process more information, focus longer, and even daydream with more detail since we’ve lived more life.
If you're like most people, your 'dream day' probably looked a lot like... your current day, just slightly better. So with the brain’s supercomputing power, why was this exercise so difficult for me (and maybe even you)?
Because we’re aiming to create a world from context, not lived experience.
We think we know what it’s like to have an intense sweat dripping down our face after a tough workout on a weight loss journey because we’ve sweat before. We think we know what love feels like because movies show us what it’s supposed to look like.
Our brain takes similar experiences and tries to fill in the blanks with things we’ve actually lived already. But until you’ve actually been in those moments, it’s just a projection that your brain wants to use for a dopamine hit.
Brain bridge.
I had this idea of what I wanted my life to look like, but until I actually went and lived it, I kept replaying the fill-in-the-gap memories/context. No matter how many times I tried to create a new experience in my head, it kept getting intruded with the routines of my current schedule. I needed to try something different.
So, I booked the trip to NYC. In a previous entry, I spoke about what I did while I was there. Today, I’m giving you the reason why I was actually there. Sure, hosting the events was fantastic, but it was all part of a larger play…
I needed to actually see, feel, hear, touch, and taste what I wanted my life experience to be. And it’s very difficult to get that just from trying to visualize it a few times a week. Trust me, I tried.
The trip went from being all about business to actually experiencing life in new environments, meeting new people, and putting “fun” at the top of the list.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned as an adult, it’s that we stop prioritizing fun and creativity in our teenage years. Once we need to start worrying about college or getting our first job, we become bots like everyone else on payroll.
This is where making that play is a universal motto I’d like to introduce you to. It’s designed to be versatile so it could be as big as “book that trip” or as small as “get that dessert.”
In NYC, my play was going to a Knicks game. I had never been to MSG and figured I needed to change that as a basketball player. I had only watched games on TV, but I knew I needed to reward my brain and body with that experience. A $200 play for something that made me feel more alive than I’ve felt in months. Worth it, 8 days a week.
Knicks vs Bulls… very poetic moment.
Your best life is going to be a compilation of big and small plays. Don’t get caught up in the social media highlight-esque pitfalls. Whatever the play is, make it. You won’t ever regret making a decision that makes you feel young and/or alive again, I promise.
As we’ve discussed before, time is a one-way currency. While we can’t reverse it, we can find meaningful ways to slow it down through precious moments. Those moments allow you to break past the “what-if” barrier of your brain and start filling in context with experience.
In five weeks, I'll be on that operating table again. And when I wake up, I'll be grateful I made these plays now, while I could. You don't need permission to prioritize joy, but I'm giving it to you anyway: Make. The. Play.
Life's too short to keep living in projections. Go create the experience your brain is trying to simulate. Have a great week and Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating 🏁