Want to know what the first homework for those taking the Nine8 program is?

Any guesses?

It's not getting 10 pages of journaling in. It's not meditating for an hour. It's not overhauling your life.

It's for you to go for a walk.

Outside.

For 20-30minutes.

Not only are we drastically understepped...

On October 20th, at 2000hrs PST this month's free workshop is going to tackle the often misunderstood, and overly complicated topic of mindfulness. 

Everybody tells you to practice it, but what the fuck is it? 

First off, for the vast majority of us, it's not attempting to mimic that...

Let's start this off by saying that alcohol abuse and alcohol dependancy are two entirely different things. This is going to focus on abuse and how often our community relies on alcohol for the wrong reason, at the wrong time.

I remember coming home from a brutal shift on the ambulance when I was...

Have you been "should'ing" on yourself? 

Often we get lost in a cycle of negative self talk, where unbeknownst to us, we are constantly putting pressure on ourselves. 

It's easy to go unnoticed, and can be misunderstood by many as being optimistic or trying to create a positive change....

"Show me a garden of words, and I'll show you a garden of weeds"

I make a legit effort not to overload myself with the messaging from others in this space in fear of echoing what others are saying, and to avoid the thought paralysis or static that comes when I bring in too much information. That...

We've all had that experience where we look at purchasing a vehicle and then all of a sudden begin to see that vehicle everywhere. For example I commented to my wife a few weeks back that I liked the really unique blue paint of one of the vehicles in town, and how I had never saw that colour...

On the heels of last week's blog post, and building up our brains ability to catch and recognize the good shit, try this journaling excercise.

Grab a piece of paper and a wand (also known as a pen/pencil)

Grab your phone.

Set a timer for 5 minutes.

You have 5 minutes......don't act like you...

Let's start this ramble with a little excercise. Name the first memory or experience that comes up:

1. A shitty call at work.

2. Something that frustrates you.

3. Something that someone did that pissed you off.

Now these:

1. Tell me about a time someone gave you a...

We get the "work-life" balance talk a lot early on in our careers as first responders. Don't hang out with other first responders. Make sure you leave work at work. Get hobbies etc etc. Hobbies are great, right up to the point when you find yourself too burnt out to actually enjoy or find...

Why in the world would anyone want to purposefully sit in freezing cold water full of ice? Because it feels fucking fantastic that's why. Not to mention the benefits!

I've been doing cold exposure training since I ran my first Ultramarathon in 2017, and it has continued to be an important and...

A wise man recently encouraged me to memorize the definition of the Victim Mentality: 

"The victim mentality is an acquired personality trait where a person tends to regard himself or herself as the victim of the negative actions of others or events, even in the absence of clear...

Have you ever noticed how your words let you hide, or avoid something? Giving you the opportunity to not commit, or to "kind of" be in integrity with yourself? Those words are called "soft talk" and mannnnn was I ever unknowningly addicted to them. Consistently working on getting...