I get asked all the time, “Brett! How do you stay so sane, gu-HUCK??” My reply usually begins with a shrug followed by a coy grin, then I turn to face the questioner dead-on and wink extremely slowly.

Okay, so maybe nobody asks me this (though I would like to think that’s how I’d respond). But I think it’s an important question. I didn’t quit my job and go all indie to spend my days convinced that I’m powerless to my world and hope is a joke. Depression and apathy are not on the menu.

But it still happens. So I must make evaluating and addressing my emotional state a priority— yes, even more important than my work (gasp). Over the last two years, I have grown immensely. I’ve got oceans more practice and ammo to combat my negative bouts; my negative thinking spirals are much more infrequent and noticeably less intense. Granted, I’ve still got a lifetime of learning ahead of me, but I’m far enough into this mind-rewiring process to share confidently strategies that have really helped me.

I’ve experimented with a wide array of tactics over the last 24 months, repeating what works, gradually forgetting about what doesn’t, forgetting about what works, wailing like a New Year’s noisemaker, remembering what works, and generally trying not to shit all over myself for all the crap I’m not doing right. You get the picture. I’ll try to condense some of my key, digestible learnings in following blog posts. Stay tuned.

Really quick, can you just high-five yourself? It’s free. Nobody’s watching. I may not know why you deserve it, but you know why you deserve it.

-Brett