The older I get, the more I realize that the happiest people are very difficult to rush. I recently sat next to a gentleman on a flight who was returning from his 60th high school reunion. We struck up a conversation and ended up chatting for the whole time we were in the air. When we landed, everyone leapt up to grab their bags as fast as possible. Except for him. He sat there, sipping the plastic cup of wine from the flight. I asked if I could grab his bag, but he just shook his head. I must have given him a funny look, because he smiled: "I never understood the rush. We're all going to the same place, after all." I figured he meant baggage claim, but as I walked out of the airport, I realized my mistake. The same place was more meta than I originally understood. And he was in no rush to beat everyone there. The world wants you to rush into everything. Rushed decisions. Rushed conversations. Rushed relationships. Rushed timelines. In doing so, you slowly relinquish your agency. You give up your claim on your own life. Surrender authorship to a pen that was never even yours. In a world that wants you to rush, the ultimate act of rebellion is presence. The happiest people always strike me as very difficult to rush. They act slowly and deliberately. When they move with urgency, it's because they want to, not because of some arbitrary pressure. It's small things that give it away: • They let people go ahead in traffic • They greet workers at a coffee shop • They look up instead of down at their phone I've started trying to embrace a few tiny acts of slow rebellion per day. And while the rush instinct is still there, every time I resist it, I think of that gentleman on the flight. Smiling, sipping his airplane red wine, in no rush to beat anyone to the place we're all headed.

A mentor once told me this: Reduce the amplitude of the wave. Never get too high on the wins. Never get too low on the losses. Emotional stability is the real cheat code for adapting to the inevitable uncertainty of life.

The best advice I got in my 20s: Nobody cares. Stop fearing the judgement of people who were never even thinking about you. Nobody is thinking about you. They’re too busy thinking about themselves. Go do the thing.

I’m convinced that no matter how you choose to live, people will tell you that you’re doing it wrong. Wrong priorities. Wrong work. Wrong relationships. Wrong whatever. Your entire life will change the moment you learn to smile, nod, and ignore every single one of them.

Your entire life will change when you realize that nobody is thinking about you. I often wonder how many extraordinary people waste their entire lives fearing the judgement of people who were never even thinking about them in the first place. Fearing a spotlight that was never even on. Performing for an audience that was never even there. Because the truth is that you aren't afraid of failure. Not really. You're afraid of other people seeing you fail. You're afraid of what other people will think of you if you fail. But nobody is thinking about you. Everybody is too busy thinking about themselves. So, that thing you've always wanted to do? Go do it.

Nobody tells you this: No matter how you choose to live, people will tell you that you’re doing it wrong. Wrong priorities. Wrong work. Wrong relationships. Wrong whatever. Your entire life will change the moment you learn to smile, nod, and ignore every single one of them.