The Journaling Paradox (or something like that)

Open up any browser on your computer and type the word “Journaling” and you’re going to get a plethora of different links. Links that tell you how to journal, the best type of journals to buy, the different methods of journaling and a host of others. Go to YouTube, type the same prompt and you’ll get the same type of videos all over your screen. I know this because I just got done watching several videos on journaling. This was by accident too. I didn’t even type it in my YouTube search bar. They just showed up in the algorithm...

Climbing out of a rut

Ok so I've been a rut lately. I can't quite explain it nor the reason why. All I know is that right now I'm not really excited about any area of my life. I take that back. My workouts are going really good as well as tracking my eating. I'm starting to see some progress there. But that's about it. And I'm pretty sure its 100% me. Nothing is going bad in my life. I'm just not content. I'm not happy. But, there again, I cannot put my finger on what it is. I'm not sure how to fix this...

Don’t be a journal snob!

I read a lot of people bashing on Apple’s Journal app. If you’re a hardcore journaling person, I get it. You’re used to Day One and probably pay for it. Or you write in a notebook everyday. Look, I get it. And I am not here to bash you for either of those things. What I am here to do is ask you why? Why do you feel the need to be a journaling snob and look down your nose at someone else who is trying to better their life by journaling? So they don’t journal the same way you...

I went to see Deadpool & Wolverine (no spoilers)

Went and watched Deadpool & Wolverine on Thursday night. I’m going to say it exceeded the expectations. I wasn’t sure how they were going to make it work but they did. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman were great! And, of course, in true Deadpool style there were so many Easter eggs in this movie. As the title suggests, I will not give anything away. I will say this, however, this was my favorite of the three Deadpool movies. I’ll probably go see it again.

Stop trying be everyone else!

You are unique. You are you! That’s what makes you special. That’s what makes you amazing. Where people mess up is they stop being themselves and try to be someone else. It gets all of us in trouble. It can be small things. It can be big things. It can be lots of things. It can be one thing. (I feel like I have the making of a Dr. Seuss book here.) I’ve been learning this myself over the past several years. I’ve documented my journey with journaling quite a bit. I’ve shared my love for the iPhone and apps...

Another Bullet Journal Alternative

My wife is still asleep so I’m playing on my iPad while drinking some coffee. I opened up YouTube and started scrolling through to see if any videos caught my attention. There was one. As a setup, I’ve ben watching a lot of videos on journaling lately. I’ve also been watching a lot of videos on analog vs digital. So, you can imagine what the algorithm does on my timeline. So the headline caught my attention for sure. The Best Alternative to the Bullet Journal I’ve been a fan of the bullet journal. But have came across some of the...

It’s ok to be unavailable!

I know this is a hard concept to understand so I'll say it again, but slower: It's ok to be unavailable! Think about this. Have you ever left your house, backed out of the driveway and started down the street only to realized you left your cell phone at the house. What do we do? Find the next driveway, pill in and turn around. Why? Because society has taught us we have to be available 24/7. Think about this. Twenty years ago (before the invention of the iPhone), same thing happens. You have a cellular device. It's a bit big...

Facing my addiction to my phone

Hi. I’m Greg and I have a problem. I got an iPhone about 13 years ago. I didn’t mean for it to become an addiction. I meant for it to be a tool. A device I could use to get ahold of people. To talk with them and send messages. Over time, though, I found myself getting sucked in to the clutches of this little device. I guess it was about a year and a half ago I started realizing I had a problem. Constantly checking my phone. Constantly engaging with people on it rather than people in the room...

Why Journal?

I’ve documented this before. I have never had to deal with mental health issues that other people deal with. Reality is I didn’t understand the magnitude of the problem until several years ago. More and more people I know were battling with depression and other mental health issues. That’s when I started to take notice. Knowing that I had never dealt with that before doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen in the future. So, over the course of the last two years, I’ve started being more and more aware of this issue. The fact that it affects people in different ways....

Words are not enough

Words cannot express the emotions of this week. Without getting into much detail, I lost a friend and coworker this week. I’ve gone through a lot of different emotions over the past several days. I still don’t want to believe it’s true.  I don’t want to sit here and say it happened. Praying for his family. His wife and daughter as they are trying to navigate this truly difficult time right now. 

Easter Traditions (or the lack there of)

There are certain holidays that have certain traditions. Christmas and Thanksgiving are the two that come to mind rather quickly. Growing up as the son of a preacher, you would think Easter would also be one of those but it’s not. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I go to church every Easter (but I go to church just about every Sunday). I don’ have kids so there’s no coloring of eggs and Easter egg hunts. There’s no specific dinner that has to be eaten every year. This year it’s ham, Brussels sprouts and new potatoes. I can’t tell you...

Falling out of love with journaling

I’ve written about journaling a lot on my blog. It’s something that I’ve really been interested in as of late. To reset, in 2023 I wanted to start doing more and more things to combat mental health for myself. I have never struggled with depression or any of the other things commonly associated with mental health issues. That being said, I also know I’m not immune to these things. The more people I meet that are battling with these issues, the more I realize the reality that it can hit any one. So in 2023 I started doing some things...

Addicted

So yesterday I did the strongman competition as part of a Celtic Festival in North Texas. I thought I was prepared. Little did I know how wrong I was. To put it bluntly, I had my tail handed to me. I finished last in my weight class. Part of that was I misunderstood one of the events and did not train properly. So I did not get any points for it. The other five events, I did pretty good in. Ok. I did decent. That’s ok though. I was mad yesterday. But I decided to not let it bother me...

“Victory is won not in miles but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later, win a little more.” - Louis L'Amour

One day more….

Tomorrow is a big day for Greggo. I will be competing in my first ever Strongman competition. This is something I have never done before (obviously if I called it a first ever) but I’ve always been intrigued. I have competed in half marathons, triathlons and bike rides but never a weight lifting type event. This all started about 12 years ago. After I finished a half marathon in which I wound up with a partial tear of my Achilles. The orthopedic doctor told me, “You’ve got to stop running. You’re killing your knees. You’re built more like a linebacker...