Jackson

I write about movement, productivity, and holistic living. Stress less, move more, own your path forward.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

Going into college, I smoked weed everyday for 3 years.

Smoke weed —> binge eat —> shred video games. Repeat.
My mental & physical health were in shambles.

Funny enough, smoking weed also got me out of that vicious cycle.

Here are the 6 life-changing lessons I learned:

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

Use your energy to
- Move more (movement snacks)
- Solve problems (growth)
- Set goals (your vision)

Use your time to
- Rest (no phones)
- Read books (learn)
- Reflect (meditation)

Vitality comes from spending your energy and time on things that will improve your quality of life and removing things that detract from it.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

A simple rule that makes life easier:

True energy isn't avoiding fatigue. It's earning it through movement and recovering through rest.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

Mobility and breathwork in the morning.
Passive stretching and reflection in the evening.
Movement snacks spread throughout the day. Walk after each meal.

Aka the 'why do I feel so energized' stack.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

You are the architect of your environment. Design your surrounds so healthy movement becomes the path of least resistance.

- Place tools (weights, bands, etc.) where you usually keep your phone
- Install apps that create friction for mindless screen use
- Set cues that prompt movement instead of sitting
- Reward yourself for hitting movement goals

Make health the easy way out.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

Freedom isn't having unlimited choices. It's designing your environment to so the right choices happen automatically.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

A day's worth of movement snacks yields more results than a hour long gym session ever will.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

Things you'll never regret in your workday:

- Not responding to trivial slacks
- Getting all your work done in 4 hours
- Using time saved from focus to move
- Stepping away and going outside

Use technology instead of being used by it.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

The most radical act of rebellion is taking care of the body the system tells you to ignore.

- Entertainment
- Processed foods
- Numbing with drugs and alcohol

Why are there cheap thrills at every corner? Revolt.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

You need to become ungovernable in your committment to your body:

- Identify one movement you can do anywhere
- Move during your workday when possible
- Create non-negotiable movement blocks in your schedule

Your body is the ultimate form of resistance against a system designed to keep you still, sick, and compliant.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

If you can check emails, slacks, and 'dual process' during meetings, you can move during them too. One enslaves you to notifications and attentional disorders. The other primes your mind and body for focused output.

Choose better inputs to get better outputs.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

"I'm tired"

- Silence notifications.
- Do the thing you've been avoiding.
- Make your exhales longer than your inhales.
- Move on your breaks.

You aren't tired.

You are a puppet of corporations. Reclaiming energy (agency) starts with acting on the things you can control.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

Successful people understand that life is an infinite game of solving problems.

Unsuccessful people see problems as the obstacles to their success.

The difference between fulfillment and depression is in the complexity of the problems you're currently solving.

'The obstacle is the way.'

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

Your productivity is active laziness. Here's how to change that:
- Outline your higher-level vision and goals
- Draft a plan to achieve those goals with projects
- Build systems that remove tasks rather than add (
This is the cheat code to removing the gap between thought and execution.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

You don't magically master something. It takes years. You move through distinct phases - apprentice, practitioner, & finally master. Most people expect greatness right of the gate and end up frustrated, talking down on themselves, stunting their growth. Show up. Ask 'What would the apprentice do?'

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

A morning routine is not a hyped up wellness protocol.

It's not:
- A list of to-dos to feel productive
- Permission to push off the task you OUGHT to do
- Something you're missing (if so, you already have an morning routine you're not conscious of)

Morning routines are containers to order your mind, body, spirit, and vocation. They structure your consciousness so that you can attack the day with a grounded and sustained intensity.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

Most people need suffering.

Bliss:
- Happiness but at a cost (stagnation)
- Lack of contribution (blissed out man, ain't nobody got time for work)

Suffering:
- Creates dissonance
- Inspires discovery

Bliss sounds idyllic. Suffering is the pathway to growth.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

Active laziness is a western compulsive disorder.

You fill you life with to-dos told from others. The new wellness protocol. Books to read. Podcasts to listen to. On and on. You feel 'productive' but are really overwhelmed and scattered because you're avoiding the one thing you know you ought to do.

Remove tasks, be 'lazy', let that one thing shine through.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

Life is infinite problem solving.

No matter where you are you'll always be solving problems.

You're in a job you hate? Problem: how do I quit this job and still support myself.

You don't like the way you feel? Problem: what's causing my energy to be depleted during the day.

Solve the one bottleneck in front of you. After that, there will be a new problem to sink you're teeth into.

Fulfillment and happiness is determined by the complexity of the problems you solve.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

We think we're above others. Yet still, we're caught in binary thinking.

By neglecting development of our mind, we leave ourselves ripe for exploitation.

- Carnivore vs. vegan
- Liberal vs. conservative
- Vaxx v.s anti-vaxx

Graduating from one ideology to the next.

It's imperative to cultivate a level of mind that is able to take in perspectives, hold them simultaneously and integrate viewpoints.

Be willing to ask questions both to yourself and others.

It's what leas to better decisions and actually doing the work to understand things rather than take them at face value.

[Jackson @ForgingFlow]

@brookslagle Mount Yale near Salida was my first 14er when I was on my solo road trip a few years back.

Very similar experience, ended up meeting people at the top, striking a convo, and next thing I knew hiking down with them the whole way.

Which summit was yours?