It’s finally light enough and warm enough for me to have my coffee and read the paper each morning out back on our deck.  I’ve done it for the last few days, and it will only get better as the summer continues.  I get fresh air and sunlight.  I get to see the sun rise, even though it’s over a garage and an alley, and it still feels nice on my face.   My wife has done a great job planting hanging flower baskets on the porch and plants in the backyard.  It’s a beautiful, quiet space, and it’s about the best way I know to start a day.

In the last month, I’ve started purposely listening to audiobooks on my commute.

I’ve done audiobooks before, but this time there’s intent behind it. Engagement. Focus.

Music is great, but it lets my mind wander. And when my mind wanders, it doesn’t drift toward poetry or enlightenment. It drifts toward imaginary arguments with people, re-litigating conversations that never happened, worrying about some kid issue despite all evidence that everyone is fine, or getting myself worked up over the news. None of this improves my life in any measurable way.

A good audiobook shuts all that down.

I have to pay attention. I can’t half-listen the way I can with music, or even with podcasts or sports talk radio. My brain doesn’t have spare bandwidth to spiral. I don’t ruminate. I don’t debate politics in my head. I just…listen to a story.

Right now I’m listening to a pretty good book where I can completely picture Pete Davidson playing the lead character. That visual alone keeps me locked in.

This small switch feels like part of a bigger pattern of changes I’ve been making for better mental health. Another one: I’m down to one cup of coffee a day. And the effects have been huge. No exaggeration—last week (and continuing into this one) are the first days in a long time where I’ve woken up in a good mood and gone to bed in the same good mood. No spikes, no crashes, no afternoon edge, no nighttime irritability.

That alone feels like a minor miracle.

Dry January actually started just before Christmas.  It’s not a big deal (only 20 days), but the bigger deal is I don’t want anything to drink.

There are a few other changes I’m making that I won’t get into yet, but taken together, it’s been a really good month. Nothing dramatic. No grand declarations. Just small, intentional adjustments that make the day feel calmer, steadier, and more enjoyable.

Sometimes the fix isn’t adding something new.

It’s choosing the thing that keeps your mind from turning on itself.