In practicing the slow, shallow breathing approach from The Oxygen Advantage that I shared about during the past two days, Im grasping that the key to this approach is to define a new baseline for my breathing and then keep synching back to that new baseline whenever I catch myself drifting from it. The initial&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/10/raising-your-baseline/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=raising-your-baseline

As I noted in yesterdays post about learning to breathe differently, Im leaning into a different way of thinking about breathing and working on changing old habits to see how The Oxygen Advantage approach affects me. This morning I went for my second nose-breathing run with a similar format like I tried yesterday. I started&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/10/relearning-to-breathe/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=relearning-to-breathe

This week Ive been enthusiastically digesting the book The Oxygen Advantage: The Simple, Scientifically Proven Breathing Techniques for a Healthier, Slimmer, Faster, and Fitter You. Its eye-opening and counter-intuitive in many ways. I thought I knew how to breathe, but it turns out I didnt. Someone recommended this book to me earlier this year, so&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/10/apparently-ive-been-breathing-all-wrong/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=apparently-ive-been-breathing-all-wrong

Have you ever connected with someone who had strong preconceived notions about what your spiritual path should look like? Apparently theres a rulebook for being spiritual, and you have to satisfy certain criteria for how youre supposed to think, feel, and behave in order to consider yourself a spiritual person. You got the memo summarizing&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/10/defining-your-own-spiritual-path/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=defining-your-own-spiritual-path

Vegans are typically well aware of the vegan tax – the extra money we pay to order a latte, a pizza, or some other item made vegan instead of with animal products. Substitute plant-based milk for dairy or vegan cheese for dairy cheese at a restaurant, and you can often expect to pay more. Starbucks&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/10/end-the-vegan-tax/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=end-the-vegan-tax

When I heard that Trump had contracted the coronavirus, my first thought was the word good. This feels like a much-needed positive development for humanity and the world. It likely means fewer deaths, less suffering, and less time in pandemic mode – and perhaps less stupidity from him and his minions. So I see it&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/10/a-positive-development/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-positive-development

After I shared earlier this week about hidden goals, a lot of news came out about more people getting infected with the coronavirus. This includes people who deliberately went against sensible health guidelines, especially regarding mask wearing From a cause-and-effect perspective, we could say that the virus eventually caught up with them, and of course&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/10/hidden-goals-and-illness/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hidden-goals-and-illness

For the month of September, I maintained a daily time log, as described in the post called Long-Term Time Logging. Now I can share some insights from what I learned. In this case it actually wasnt that helpful to see where my time went. I was pretty aware of that already, so reviewing the logs&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/10/time-logging-insights/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=time-logging-insights

One interesting frame shared in the book The Courage to Be Disliked is: All problems are interpersonal relationship problems. That isnt necessarily a true statement, but you can think of it as a lens for viewing problems. Personally I think its a bit exaggerated as far as lenses go. I prefer a similar but more&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/10/the-relationship-frame/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-relationship-frame

As a follow-up to yesterdays post on Honoring Your Hidden Goals, consider that hidden goals are similar to hidden habits. In each case the hidden aspect means that some part of you is finding a way to meet a need or desire that youre not necessarily acknowledging. When you identify hidden habits, you can also&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/09/sliding-bad-habits-into-good-ones/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sliding-bad-habits-into-good-ones

When you look back on the past calendar quarter, consider what you actually got done, even if your actions and behaviors didnt align well with your stated goals. Your time went somewhere, so where did it actually go? Use the lens of seeing everything you did as an accomplishment, even if your main achievement was&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/09/honoring-your-hidden-goals/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=honoring-your-hidden-goals

The title may sound morbid, but it can be a powerful personal growth practice to pause and ask yourself now and then: Am I ready to die yet? If Im not ready to die today, whats missing? What feels incomplete? Then give some real thought to these questions, such as by journaling about them. What&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/09/checking-in-with-death/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=checking-in-with-death

Do you ever get invitations that are vibrationally (or emotionally) out of sync with what youd like to experience? Do you get invited to boring events when youre in the mood for some excitement? Do you get invited to tediously slow experiences when youd prefer faster pacing? Do you get invitations that feel obligatory when&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/09/declining-vibrational-mismatches/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=declining-vibrational-mismatches

As were coming to the end of the third quarter of 2020, how are you feeling about the progress youve made during the last three months? Are you satisfied or dissatisfied? Or do you have mixed feelings? I like to review each closing quarter to reflect on what I actually got done. Usually Im pleased&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/09/advancing-your-goals-and-your-processes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=advancing-your-goals-and-your-processes

A few nights ago, I did a 30-minute yoga session before dinner. While lying in Savasana (corpse pose) at the end of it, I reveled in a delightful sense of beingness. This was a good reminder to set aside doingness and to fully relax into just being now and then. When you relax into being,&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/09/relax-into-being/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=relax-into-being

Its easy to pretend that youre not in control of your time with expressions like these: I dont have time. I have to ____. Im all booked up. My schedule is packed. I havent had a day off since ____. Im always doing things for other people. My boss/spouse/kids need me to ____. I never&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/09/youre-in-charge-of-your-time/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=youre-in-charge-of-your-time

You could consider this a follow-up to one of last weeks posts: Are You Most Loyal to Purpose or People? I want to share another way of framing the mindset of being loyal to purpose ahead of people, especially for those whod prefer to shift into greater loyalty to purpose. Putting purpose first isnt dehumanizing&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/09/serving-beyond-yourself/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=serving-beyond-yourself

Observing your behaviors and responses like a scientist observing apes in the jungle can be useful for spotting opportunities for growth and improvement. While its tempting to see yourself as a conscious human being making fresh decisions each day, you can also benefit by seeing yourself like an animal or robot responding to stimuli in&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/09/studying-your-actual-behaviors/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=studying-your-actual-behaviors

One really weird mindset I notice among certain readers looks something like this: My wife and I are both teachers. Our combined salary is $___. And in about five years, well be earning $___. So based on this, were able to afford ___, but we wont be able to afford ___. So the basic idea&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/09/the-alien-mindset-of-a-fixed-income/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-alien-mindset-of-a-fixed-income

When youre on a path of personal growth, its to be expected that youll eventually outgrow some lenses or tools that you used in the past, even if they were useful and effective. Your goals and interests may change, and other tools may become more useful to you. You may also integrate some practices well&

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/09/refining-your-personal-growth-palate/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=refining-your-personal-growth-palate