PN | Weekly #13: May 3, 2026
“When you realize that suffering and discomfort are the call to inquiry, you may actually begin to look forward to uncomfortable feelings. You may even experience them as friends coming to show you what you have not yet investigated thoroughly enough.”BYRON KATIE |
Happy Sunday, Heroic!
Hope you’ve had a great week!
It was great to see so many of you for Friday’s kick-off of the 21-day Warrior & Monk challenge with Ben Pakulski.
We’re transforming our bodies and minds with just twenty minutes per day on each one.
Want to join?!
It’s not too late. Learn more here.
In the training videos, Ben is encouraging us to spend more time and attention on the areas and movements that feel challenging.
It’s only been a few days, but I’m already feeling a difference in my body. (And mind!)
That same wisdom also shows up in this week's new Philosopher's Note, on Albert Ellis's How to Control Your Anxiety Before It Controls You.
Question I’m sitting with after reading the note:
What if the thing I'm avoiding is actually the thing I most need to do?
What is that thing?!
Ellis, who founded the CBT movement, shares stories from his own life to bring the point home.
In his early life, he was terrified of public speaking, and of approaching women.
So what did he do?
He didn't read more books. He didn't journal harder. He didn't wait until he felt ready.
He gave a public speech every week for ten weeks straight. He sat on a park bench in New York City one summer and forced himself to start conversation after conversation with women.
"I was very uncomfortable, then was less uncomfortable, and then, actually (surprise!) comfortable."
It’s easy to view anxiety as something we need to think our way out of. Ellis's insight is that you don't think your way through avoidance, you act your way through it.
Speak the speech. Make the call. Start the conversation.
And the anxiety slowly loses its grip as we take each next step to activate our potential.
So, again, as Brian invites us in the Note:
"What are YOU avoiding? That's your compass. Go do it."
Philosophy is only real when it ends in action.
Let’s follow the compass to our infinite potential.
Day 1. All in. Let's go.
LOVE!
-Michael
Enjoy this past week's featured Notes!
Mastery
by George Leonard
Meditations
by Marcus Aurelius
Happy Together
by Suzann & James Pawelski
How to Control Your Anxiety
by Albert Ellis
The Power of Rest
by Matthew Edlund
The Next Conversation
by Jefferson Fisher
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“When you're faced with a challenge, do you have the mental suppleness and belief in yourself to get quiet, stay connected to that space between stimulus and response, and move forward with right effort?”GEORGE MUMFORD |
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