Put on your own oxygen mask first
Taking care of yourself so you can show up for others
👋Hello, my friend! Happy Sunday to you. I’m back from the snowy North Carolina mountains where I almost drove my family off a cliff. “Almost” being the operative word, which I’m grateful for. I’m thinking maybe my snow-driving skills aren’t what they used to be since I’ve now been a Southerner for 12 years. Anyhow, I’m back in your inbox today with a reminder about just how important the basics are: nutrition, exercise, fun, and ESPECIALLY sleep. If we don’t nail these things, everything in life gets infinitely harder. We’ve all got lots to accomplish in 2025 but when life inevitably spins out of control, I want to remind you where to focus to start getting things back on track.
♥️Quick note: If any of my readers are impacted by the LA fires, please let me know. I would like to help in anyway possible and I’m sure other readers would like to as well.
Okay, let’s do it!
A few years ago, I sat down and tried to think about what my purpose in life was. I know.. just a casual, everyday topic, right?
Anyhow, where I landed was something like this: My purpose is to use my skills, resources, and energy to positively impact the lives of others.
I liked this idea. I still do. I like life being about something bigger than myself. I continue to find — through parenting, mentoring, coaching, and even writing this newsletter — that the most rewarding parts of life are when you can positively impact others. It’s so cliche, but I guess it’s that way for a reason.
I like the idea of using my skills and talents to improve other people’s lives. I’m pretty good at things like writing, podcasting, nerding out about self-improvement, etc. And if I can marry these two things — skills/talents/resources and helping others — that feels like a pretty good north star.
Anyhow, I tell you all of this because as I start thinking about the lives I want to positively impact in 2025 (my family, my co-workers, my potential coaching clients, my readers and listeners), I’m reminded that before I do that, I need to put my own oxygen mask on first.
What do I mean by that? I almost think of it like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I need to take care of the basics for myself before I can hope to go out into the world and positively impact others.
And when I say basics, I mean basics. I mean sleep. I mean nutrition. I mean exercise. I mean some type of fun or downtime.
I talk to a lot of people who do amazing things and who want to do more amazing things. But one thing I encounter over and over again is people telling me that they are overwhelmed, that they don’t have time to do what they want to, and that their mood/confidence/self-esteem suffers as a result.
I get it. Life comes at you fast. It can feel out of control at times. It can feel like you’re using every bit of energy you have just to keep your head above water at work, at home and across any number of obligations you have.
This is when I say to others — and myself — let’s take it back to the basics. If I were coaching you 1on1, I’d ask you these questions:
Are you sleeping? If not, why not? And what can we do about this? Love him or hate him, longevity guru Bryan Johnson (anyone seen the Netflix doc yet?) says we should drop everything else and make sleep our #1 priority in life. Literally, #1 priority. It’s THAT important. I don’t necessarily disagree.
Are you eating well? If not, what can we do to change this? Even modest improvements.
Are you exercising? This is as much about mental health as it is about physical health. And oh by the way, I tend to think the “mind-body connection” is a misnomer. These are not two separate entities - they are one continuum. We should think about them as such.
Are you having fun? Trivial question? I don’t think so. Life is way too serious. We are meant to smile and laugh. Often. If you’re not doing that, what can you do to add some more joy to your life?
These are the basics. And for me, when things start spinning out of control, almost every time, I can see that I am not paying enough attention to the basics.
The funny thing is that the “facts” of our lives may not change while we’re going back to the basics… meaning that the work situation may be the exact same, the tough family dynamic will still be there…
But what does change is our ENERGY to handle what life throws at us. When we’ve slept well, when we’ve exercised, when we’ve put nutritious food into our bodies, how we see the world can change completely.
Things seem less dark. Impossible situations become surmountable challenges. And life feels lighter.
So let’s go impact some lives positively. Let’s go live with intention. But let’s remember that when we get over skis, and everything feels like it’s out of control, that we have a blueprint to get ourselves back on track: Bringing it back to basics.
That’s it for this week, my friend. I can write about 10,000 more words on what I find helpful for sleep, exercise, nutrition & fun but it would also be nice to hear from you. So leave a comment on this article if you’ve got a tip that you think someone else may find useful.
Thanks for reading and before you go… a couple of nutritious pieces of content to consider adding to your diet.
Content Diet
🎙️ALL IN podcast - 2025 Predictions with bestie Gavin Baker
I way dialed back the news/current events podcasts during the election for my mental health and I’m more or less sticking with that. This podcast is somewhat of an exception as it’s current events focused and can get a bit political but I find it to be a fun, entertaining listen especially when my brain is tired (like at the end of the work day). The hosts are super-smart and well-informed on everything ranging from AI to geopolitics. This episode, where they dive into 2025 predictions, was super interesting… particularly as it relates to all of the technological change that AI is unleashing on us currently.
🧘The Way (meditation app) — I’ve been an “off again, on again” meditator for years. When I’m “on again” I definitely see the benefits. I notice my emotions more and feel like they are at an arm’s length as opposed to consuming me. I’m also calmer. And I’m more patient with my kids. But you know the drill, life gets in the way and the habit can fall off. Anyhow, I’m back “on again” and trying out an app called The Way. I heard about it from Tim Ferriss and if he’s endorsing it I think that’s a pretty good indication that it’s good. So far, I’m enjoying it. It’s very simple. You don’t have to choose meditations or paths, there is just one path “The Way” and your guide is Zen master, Henry Shukman, who seems quite up for the task. At the moment, I’m committing 10 minutes / day to this practice. The cost of the app is $90/year. Here’s a link that gives you 30 free meditation sessions if you’d like to try it. I’ll keep you updated on how it goes.
Thanks again for reading. Have a great week.
Greg