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Good Enough: Learning to escape the trap of perfectionism. expectations gratitude happiness life satisfaction perfectionism Jul 24, 2026

Perfection is an illusion.

Even if you work hard enough and are lucky enough to achieve a situation that approaches perfection in your estimation, it is sure to be short-lived.

Things change.

We change.

T...

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Sky Blue Pink beauty consciousness gratitude loss mindfulness Jul 10, 2026

"CAVU"

It’s a term aviators use to describe a certain condition of the weather they become a part of as soon as their wheels leave the ground.

It stands for Ceiling And Visibility Unlimited, and is the ...

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Locus of Control: The Source of Personal Power action control gratitude mindset personal responsibility Jul 04, 2026

It’s a term we use to describe a very human situation in very psychological parameters.

Locus of control is just a fancy way to say, “To what degree are you in charge of your life?”

The phrase was coine...

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Beginnings: The Courage to Move On action gratitude grief growth mindset Jul 01, 2026

Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.

It happens all through nature, all the time.

And it happens with us.

If it survives long enough, a caterpillar eventually—inev...

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Life in a Small Town adventure gratitude life lessons mindfulness past Jun 05, 2026

Several of my friends from other places and other times have found themselves back in the towns where they grew up. Some were gone for decades and returned, pulled back by any number of ill-defined ci...

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A Better Life drive gratitude luck mindfulness purpose May 29, 2026

It’s what we all want, ultimately.

All of our planning and scheming and effort since early childhood is aimed at this goal. We want better toys, better friends, more freedom.

Then we go to colleges and ...

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Separate Time: A Mindfulness Paradigm for Modern Life gratitude hardcore happiness mindfulness planning time May 22, 2026

We have all heard the advice: “Live in the present.” “Now is the only time you have.” I myself regularly extol the virtues of mindful living in the present.

This week, I want to make a case for how to ...

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While You Still Can: A Meditation on Gratitude and Finitude. decisions existential gratitude mindset purpose May 01, 2026

☩ ☩ ☩
An Existential Excavation
☩ ☩ ☩

We tend to live as though we are immortal.

We devote our time and energy to meaningless pursuits: a fancier car, a bigger house, more stuff. Hours spent scrolling and...

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Rite of Spring existentialism gratitude joy mindfulness spring Mar 20, 2026

☩ ☩ ☩ An Existential Excavation ☩ ☩ ☩

Every year, for more than 40 years now.

It’s the most sacred day of my year—this day of perfect balance, when life begins anew in the Northern Hemisphere.

I’m up bef...

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Self-Talk: The Stories We Tell Ourselves gratitude happiness mindfulness positive psychology self talk Feb 21, 2026

You all do it all the time, whether or not you are aware of it.

There is a constant—usually silent—voice in your head that notices, interprets, judges, decides, remembers, projects. This phenomenon is ...

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How to Slow Time autumn equinox gratitude mindfulness mindset time Oct 03, 2025

The seasons change quickly where I live. I’ve been aware of this for some time, but this year, I tried to catch it. To mark the exact day that it happens. I have a thesis: If we pay more attention to ...

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First Flight family flight freedom gratitude hardcore happiness Sep 12, 2025

We have realized the dream for three generations, now.

It was first made possible by the war, when his maternal grandfather trained in the then-ubiquitous Stearman bi-plane and later flew both the B-17...

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Hardcore Happiness: Revisited gratitude hardcore happiness mental health mindset purpose Aug 04, 2025

NOTE: This article is longer than my usual Mindset Monday posts, but there are a lot of new people coming to the Hardcore Happiness community, and I just (August, 2025, as I write this) launched a Har...

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Undone gratitude life meaning mindfulness purpose time Jul 28, 2025

“Tide‘s coming in,” she said.

Looks like it. 

He was a bit startled to hear the voice.

As usual, when he looked up, no one was there. 

He was still alone here, at the End of All Things.

It had taken a long...

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Connections: The Mental Health and Well-Being Benefits of Community community connection gratitude mental health well-being Jun 09, 2025

Man is weak, and community is therefore indispensable.
- C.G. Jung

Our connections to people evolve, as do we.

When you graduated from your secondary (high school) education, what you thought were “forev...

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