There’s something about stepping away from work - the emails, the meetings, the routines - that re-centers you on what actually matters. Vacations have a way of slowing time down. You eat slower. You listen deeper. You notice your spouse’s laugh, the sound of the ocean, the quiet moments that usually slip by in the noise of daily life.

But then you get home. The calendar fills up, the phone buzzes, and that sense of clarity fades faster than a tan.

The peace we find on vacation isn’t tied to the location, it’s tied to presence and intent. It’s what happens when we unplug long enough to remember who we are outside of work. The challenge I so often fail at (and want to be cognizant of this month) is to carry that mindset back into real life: to protect the stillness, to choose slow mornings when I can, to make space for gratitude and the small moments throughout the day.

So this week, I’m working to keep that momentum alive, not by chasing the next trip, but by continually building a routine that doesn’t require escape. To prioritize what matters every day, not just when I’m away.

Because the goal isn’t to live for vacation.
The goal is to make everyday life something worth coming home to.

Brain - Hobbies Are Important - Here’s Why

We often think of hobbies as things we do to pass the time. But the truth is, they are things that shape who we become. They remind us that life isn’t just about working, producing, or achieving - it’s about experiencing, creating, and learning.

Take for example - Over the last few years, I’ve developed a randomly founded love for photography. On the surface, it’s a hobby - a way to play with light, color, and composition. But beneath that, it’s a way to see the world differently. It forces me to slow down, to notice the quiet beauty of a sunrise, or the symmetry of a reflection on a lake. Photography doesn’t just capture moments, it makes you seek them. And in that pursuit, my days become more mindful, my appreciation for life deeper. You begin to look at every landscape you pass as an opportunity to appreciate the beauty of your surroundings.

The same principles go for fitness as a hobby. Training isn’t just about the body, it’s about the act of honoring it. The gym or the road becomes a space where you challenge yourself to show up consistently, to improve incrementally, to face discomfort willingly. What starts as a hobby becomes a discipline, and that discipline carries over into how you work, lead, and live.

That’s the hidden beauty of hobbies: they’re practical teachers of fulfillment. They teach patience, creativity, curiosity, and resilience. They build identity. They give us outlets for expression and anchors for growth.

When life gets busy, hobbies are often the first thing to go. But maybe they should be the first thing we protect. Because the more we engage in things that light us up, the more light we bring to everything else we do.

Think about a time when you were recently anxious or stressed for a prolonged period of time. I’d venture to guess that the same period you also spent little time with your passion projects - those hobbies. We should pay close attention to what we spend our time doing when we have complete control of the way we spend it. And not just for the surface level activity, but for the deeper motivation and benefits they provide.

So ask yourself and take inventory - what hobbies have you pushed to the wayside, or what hobbies have you hand a desire to begin but have yet to make the time for?

Start there, and let it teach you more than you expect.

Body - 80 Days to Build Momentum

We are officially into the fourth quarter of the year. The final stretch, which feels insane to even type out.

There are roughly 80 days left in the year. 80 opportunities to make deposits into the version of yourself that shows up on January 1.

Most people coast through this period and the holidays. They tell themselves they’ll start fresh after the new year. But that mindset guarantees one thing - you’ll start from zero.

What if, instead, you finished the year with momentum? What if the habits, energy, and focus you build now made January feel like a continuation, not a restart?

Here’s how to make that happen:

1. Audit and Adjust.
Take inventory of your current routines - workouts, meals, screen time, sleep, stress. Don’t judge them, just observe them. Then pick one area you can improve by 10%. That might mean one extra workout a week, 20 more grams of protein, or setting your phone down 30 minutes earlier. Small adjustments compound fast.

2. Layer, Don’t Leap.
Instead of setting massive goals, layer in small wins each week. Add a five-minute morning stretch routine. Start prepping breakfast the night before. Go for a short walk after dinner. Each new habit adds another brick to your 2026 foundation.

3. Anchor the Holidays.
The holidays are full of good food, travel, and chaos, but they’re also full of choice. Move your body before the big meal. Drink water before you pour a drink. Choose presence over perfection. You don’t have to be extreme; you just have to stay consistent.

4. Train Through December.
When others take their foot off the gas, keep yours steady. Training during the busiest season builds mental toughness. It reminds you that discipline doesn’t depend on conditions, it creates them.

5. Reconnect with Purpose.
Write down what you want next year to look like, physically, mentally, professionally. Visualize it every morning. The clearer you get now, the easier it becomes to make decisions aligned with that future self.

Think of yourself in the start of the new year. Will you be proud of yourself, the one who put effort in to finish the year strong, or will you be starting from a point of animosity - one rooted in negative feelings about your body and health? January 1 shouldn’t feel like a hard reset.

Your 3-Step Year-End Challenge

1. Pick one habit to improve by 10% this week.

2. Add one new layer every 7 days (nutrition, movement, mindset).

3. Stay consistent through the holidays — not perfect, just present.

Small steps now. Massive momentum later.
Finish strong, and start 2026 already moving

Book - Why We Read More on Vacations and What That Says About Life

I always have this reflection after a long trip - It’s funny how quickly our reading habits change when we’re on vacation.

You grab a book for the plane. You read by the pool. You wake up early, coffee in hand, and pick up right where you left off, something that rarely happens back home. You go to the pool and everyone’s got a book in hand. Go to your local Starbucks today and observe the difference.

So why is that?

Because on vacation, we give ourselves permission to slow down. We finally create space to do something that isn’t “productive” in the traditional sense, yet it’s one of the most productive things we can do for our mind.

Reading quiets the noise. It slows your breathing, lowers your heart rate, and opens a door to imagination, empathy, and reflection.. all things that modern life crowds out. It’s no wonder it feels so good. We associate reading with rest because we only allow ourselves to truly do it when we rest.

The reason we “don’t have time” to read during normal life isn’t because we lack time, it’s because we haven’t made it. We’ve convinced ourselves that every spare moment must be filled with action, notifications, or noise. Yet the moments we spend reading are the ones that refill the tank we so often run dry.

Reading isn’t just a hobby. It’s a form of mental hygiene, a reset for the mind. The same way exercise trains the body, reading trains focus, patience, and perspective. It expands your vocabulary, but more importantly, it expands your capacity for thought.

So instead of waiting for your next trip to crack open a book, build it into your normal life. Ten pages before bed. Fifteen minutes in the morning before you check your phone. A short audiobook on your commute.

Those small, daily pages stack up into something far more valuable than a single week of escape. They build a calmer, more centered version of you, the same one you rediscover every time you’re away from the noise.

Because if reading makes you feel like your best self on vacation…
that’s exactly the sign that it should be part of your real life too.