Reflections
Writing about how to live and work — no promises to change your life, just a few ways of thinking that have been useful to a lot of people. One piece a week.
Philosophy
Ikigai is not a diagram of four circles
The four-circle diagram you have seen everywhere did not come from Japan. Real ikigai is smaller, more ordinary, and much easier to reach.
07/09/2026 · 2 min read
Meditation & stillness
Five minutes sitting still: for people who have never meditated
No cushion, no app, nothing to believe in. A chair and five minutes without interruption.
07/09/2026 · 2 min read
Mindful leadership
The quiet manager: why listening is harder than talking
In most meetings the most senior person talks the most. That is nearly always a sign the meeting is losing money.
07/09/2026 · 2 min read
Personal growth
Habits small enough that you cannot fail them
People abandon new habits not from laziness, but from setting a target that only works on their good days.
07/09/2026 · 2 min read
Personal growth
Why you procrastinate — and why it is not laziness
The worst procrastinators are usually the people who care most about the outcome. Understanding that changes how you handle it.
07/09/2026 · 2 min read
Steadiness
When it all falls apart: a map for the first thirty days
A job lost, a relationship over, someone died. This is not about getting through it. It is about what to do in the first month, when you have got through nothing.
07/09/2026 · 2 min read
Philosophy
Wabi-sabi: the beauty of imperfect things
Japanese has a word for the beauty of what is old, chipped and about to pass. It is not a consolation prize for losers — it is a different account of time.
07/09/2026 · 2 min read
Mindful leadership
Feedback people can actually hear
Most feedback fails not because the content is wrong but because the listener is busy defending themselves. There are specific ways to lower that guard.
07/09/2026 · 2 min read
Meditation & stillness
Box breathing: four counts to a slower pulse
A breathing pattern trained in the military for use before high-pressure moments. No belief required — it acts on the nervous system in a measurable way.
07/09/2026 · 2 min read
Steadiness
Self-compassion is not an excuse
Many people fear that being kind to themselves will make them lazy. The research measures the opposite — and there is a clear reason for it.
07/09/2026 · 2 min read
Mindful leadership
Deciding before you have enough information
Waiting for the data sounds prudent, but most important decisions never have enough data. The real question is whether this one can be reversed.
07/09/2026 · 2 min read
Personal growth
Read slower
We read more than any generation before us and retain less. The problem is not memory — the problem is speed.
07/09/2026 · 2 min read
Steadiness
Everyone seems to be moving faster than you
You are comparing your own backstage with everyone else's edited footage. This is about stepping out of that comparison without leaving social media.
07/09/2026 · 2 min read
Meditation & stillness
Why your mind will not be quiet — and why that is fine
Most people give up on meditation within a few attempts, decide their head is too noisy, and conclude it is not for them. That noise is what you just discovered, not what you just caused.
31/08/2026 · 2 min read
Philosophy
The three questions a Stoic asks before the day starts
Marcus Aurelius ran an empire, and he began each day by reminding himself he would meet difficult people. It sounds bleak. It does the opposite.
24/08/2026 · 2 min read
Coming up
Written already; each appears by itself on its own date.
- Memento mori: thinking about death to see life clearlyPublishes 14/09/2026