DAY SEVEN JULY 9, 2026
I wake up feeling great. That’s what I put in the journal. This morning, when I pull on my underwear, the waistband feels a little looser. Holy smokes. Seven days in, and I notice that. I want to tell Jon, but I’m not going to rush to the scale or change everything. I want to notice it without getting lost in analyzing it. I’m eating better, sleeping more and doing several things differently. I don’t know what to attribute the feeling to.
Yesterday’s conversation with Greg is still on my mind. We talked about how I arrived at this decision, and some of it sounds strange even as I explain it. Ten years ago, the idea of doing what I’m doing now would have sounded crazy to me. I know that. But I want to learn rather than dismiss something before I understand it. I’m educating myself as I go, and I’m still asking how I’ll know.
Over time, I want to feel stronger and leaner. I want to look stronger, too. I want a better quality of life while I’m doing it. That last part matters: I don’t want to get so consumed by the process that I miss the life I’m trying to improve.
There’s a familiar version of me who wants to get it all done right fucking now. I tell Jon that. But I’m thinking about the next fifty years. I want gradual changes I can live with. I don’t need to do eight things at once or have every answer by the end of this week. The sleep and the eating deserve my attention before I make everything more complicated.
I’m grateful for these conversations—with Jon, with Greg, with the men and women who hear us on the show and start asking their own questions. I see the interest when the comments come in, and I’m enjoying the connection. I feel as though my family is getting a better version of me when I go to bed earlier, eat better and feel happier.
The afternoon feels different, too. Two, three, four o’clock, the hours when I would usually feel myself slump, and I’ve got energy. I feel clear and focused. It’s hard to explain. I’m eating regularly and sleeping well, too, so I can’t pin it on one thing. I just want to pay attention to the difference.
Around eight, I’m in the sunroom. I have a puff and sit there watching the squirrels run around the backyard. I just sit. I start noticing my backyard again, these moments I’ve been missing while I’ve been lost in the tasks of building a business. I still have a whole bunch of things to do.
But what I need to do now is go to bed. The task that feels so urgent is still going to be here tomorrow. I’m learning to slow the pace, and tonight that means letting the work wait. I get to bed at a good time.
Age Strong.