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I started my journey of blogging in 2003 — mostly to capture what I called “transitioning life’s journey”.
In 2023 I took a 3 year break from blogging, but have decided to return to it. I hope you enjoy.
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[VIDEO] Embedding Yourself in Open Community
I have been sharing a lot with friends, colleagues, and clients recently, the life giving importance I have found in being completely embedded in open community during this season of life. In short — being deeply connected in relationships with others where I can be completely vulnerable. I wrote about this briefly a couple of […]
Embedding Yourself in Open Community
embed — “fix firmly and deeply in a surrounding mass” (Oxford Language Dictionary) I chose that word intentionally, because connect didn’t seem to accurately portray what I am getting at. Connecting to community seems categorically different than embedding oneself in community. open — “allowing access, passage, or a view through an empty space; not closed […]
[VIDEO] The Transformative Benefit of Journaling
Journaling has been an invaluable benefit to my life personally, and so many of the lives that I get to encounter in my therapy and executive coaching work. In this video I share briefly about why I want to encourage you to take up the practice. You can also check out my short post about […]
An Encouragement to “Journal”
“I’m not really the type of person who likes to journal.” “I don’t like to write, or put my thoughts onto paper.” “I just don’t have anything to write.” These are pretty typical responses I hear from clients when I broach the subject of journaling as a practice. And I can totally understand their sentiment. […]
Rhett Smith 138: Some Lessons I’ve Recently Learned About Hiring a Coach (and how it may help you)
n this episode I share with you some lessons I’ve recently learned in hiring an endurance running coach to help me train and complete the UTMB trail race this year in the Alps. I talk about the importance of hiring a coach (therapist, executive coach, etc) to help with: coming up with a flexible plan […]
Attention, Psychic Energy and Flow: The Contents of Creating and Shaping Your Life
A decision I made several years back, was that if books that I was reading, kept referring to one author/thinker, etc., time and time again — then I needed to go read that person. More than likely, this person would be the original source of much of the work others have built off. And why […]
Video: Anxious Progression One Day at a Time
One of the ways that I have found to be helpful in working through anxiety, is what I refer to has anxious progression. In the fitness world it is often referred to as progressive overload. In terms of anxiety I like to think about the idea of taking things one is anxious about, and slowly […]
Rhett Smith137: Anxious Progression One Day at a Time
This podcast episode is a further exploration of the blog post, Anxious Progression One Day at a Time. In this episode I explore the concept of progressive overload in physical fitness, and how that same concept can be applied to working through anxiety — mainly, progressively adding anxiety to our lives that we have to […]
Rhett Smith 135: I’m Doubling Down on Breath Work
I have always been a fan of breath work, especially in the way that it has not only been so helpful for my own life and the anxiety that I have struggled with — but I have literally seen it change the people’s lives that I work with. Breath work is integral to our ability […]
Rhett Smith 134: My Ongoing Experiment with Fasting
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin I’m definitely no expert on the topic of fasting, but I have been experimenting with it for a few years, and finally decided to do my longest fast since I first tried it back […]
Rhett Smith 133: Goal Setting, Habits and the “Long Obedience in the Same Direction”
At the beginning of each new year we tend to think about turning the page on the current year, setting some goals, and moving with energy and momentum towards the new year that awaits us. Though there is no magic with the turning of the calendar year, it does offer us a chance to think […]
Loss, Grief and New Life in the Space Between Good Friday and Easter (COVID-19)
It was 34 years ago this month that I lost my mom to breast cancer when I was 11 years old. I’ve been reflecting on that loss a lot this season. It is important that we don’t rush ahead to looking for new things, or try and return to “normal” — whatever that looked like. […]
Navigating Relational Space During COVID-19
What does healthy, functioning, relational space look like during this time of COVID-19? How do we keep from overly fusing and suffocating one another, while also not moving away and disconnecting from each other as well? What does self-differentiation look like?
The Compression of Physical and Relational Space (COVID-19)
During the quarantine due to COVID-19, I think that we are experiencing a compression of space. Relational space. Physical space. This compression of relational and physical space messes with boundaries and raises important questions about our identity. Questions like “Who am I?” “How am I to be loved?” What am I to do with my […]
Experimenting with a Rhythm of Work, Play and Rest Each Day — COVID-19
With everyone at home most of the day during quarantine and shelter in place, it can be challenging to find a good daily rhythm. Trying to work, play and rest at the same time, or weave back and forth between them can often cause frustration. Therefore, it’s important to think about experimenting with a daily […]
An Exercise to Help Your Thoughts Become Beliefs Become Actions
A lot of people are experiencing things right now (i.e. rest, ceasing of activities, connection, etc.) in ways that they would like to continue on post-COVID-19. But unless these things are talked about, it’s unlikely one would continue them. Instead, it’s our thoughts (especially expressed) that become our beliefs and our beliefs become our actions. […]
Naming and Creating Space for Grief in the Midst of COVID-19 Loss
In the midst of COVID-19, we are all experiencing loss of some kind. And loss is loss. Loss may mean something as painful as the death of a loved one. Loss may also mean the loss of not being able to physically walk through a graduation. Loss may be the end of a sports season. […]
Rhett Smith 119: Dust and Identity
“for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19) In this episode I reflect on the passage found in Genesis 3:19 that is repeated every Ash Wednesday. It’s a beautiful, but harrowing passage that reminds us of just how fragile and short our lives are. But this reminder, rather than being tragic, […]
Rhett Smith 118: Possibly the Two Most Important Questions We Can Ask Ourselves
And he said, “Hagar, slave-girl, of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” Genesis 16:8 Where have you come from? Where are you going? Perhaps these are two of the most important and fundamental questions we can ask ourselves. I appreciate that Jay Stringer brings to these questions in his phenomenal […]
Rhett Smith 115: Some Relational Reflections on Genesis 1-4 (at the intersection of theology and psychology)
As I mentioned in a previous podcast, I thought I would take some time this year (on occasion) to stop and reflect on my reading of the bible, and how it connects at the intersection of theology and psychology. So in this episode I want to take some time and just reflect on Genesis 1-4 […]