#personal-growth

A reflection on parenthood, hardship, and daily resilience.

How Habitica turns habits and tasks into a gamified learning system.

Why the addiction frame can distort how we talk about tech use.

A personal reflection on grief, ceremony, and bearing witness.

Why starting a new project often feels messy before it gets better.

Why long-term thinking works better when you break life into chunks.

How trauma and depression affect learning, life, and well-being.

How gratitude can support well-being and empathy.

We recently moved to our new home, and as a result we have a lot of new projects to complete.

How to turn obligation into agency by reframing a chore as a choice.

How to notice value and meaning in everyday life.

A simple look at sunk costs and the difficulty of starting over.

A brief case for self-care as a practice that supports mental, emotional, and physical health.

A reflection on how preparation and opportunity shape what we call luck.

A hard question about how we help create the conditions we resist.

How technology and social networks shape our views of death.

Why sharpening your saw means protecting time to renew yourself.

How small habits add up to big changes over time.

A Bradbury quote about joy, love, and creative energy.

Why too much on your calendar can lead to burnout.

A simple filter for deciding what’s worth your time and energy.

A reflection on self-actualization, freedom, and long-term purpose.

A quick check on whether you're busy or actually productive.

What antifragility means and why growth can come from disorder.

How perception shapes what we think is true and why that matters.

How our beliefs shape the way we see change in the world.

A reminder to protect maker time instead of over-scheduling like a manager.

A reminder that failure is often just part of learning to play.

Why finishing matters more than starting when work gets hard.

A reflection on living well instead of just living longer.

A reminder to pause, reboot, and notice the mind at work.

Why waiting for what's next can keep you from actually living.

A reminder to stay on offense when setting and pursuing goals.

A reflection on ikigai, purpose, and what you want from your work.

Why failure can be part of learning and knowledge growth.

A reminder that leadership means aligning your actions with your principles.

A Stoic view of life as an ongoing project of ethical self-development.

A reflection on awareness, contemplation, and moving beyond survival.

A first-principles take on what it means to have a good life.

How to live in agreement with your values and daily actions.

Why a strategic plan should shape more than just the next task.

How to write a personal vision statement that guides choices and action.

How resilience and adversity shape growth, learning, and recovery.

How a daily gratitude journal can steady your morning.

A simple framework for turning a plan into goals, strategies, objectives, and tactics.

As humans, we regularly

How meditation and mindfulness can improve your workflow.

Brené Brown

Michael Easter

Victoria Labalme

William Stixrud, Ned Johnson

James Clear

Gary John Bishop

Dale Carnegie

Jane McGonigal

Brené Brown

Chip Heath, Dan Heath

Timothy Ferriss

Journal article · Crandall, Bryan Ripley; Dail, Jennifer; Goering, Christian Z; Mora, Raúl Alberto; O’Byrne, W Ian; Price-Dennis, Detra; Witte, Shelbie. (2024). Finding Exponential Hope in Courageous Communities. Voices from the Middle.

Journal article · O'Byrne, W Ian; Savitz, Rachelle S.; Morrison, Jennifer; Kane, Britnie; Lilly, Todd; Ming, Kavin Michelle; Aldrich, Charlene. (2020). Literacy across the Disciplines: Development and Validation of an Instrument to Assess Literacy Instruction in Middle and High School Classrooms. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas.