May's Monthly Dispatch From Unobstructed

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If you've ever asked yourself "why—WHY—did I say that??" after an especially awkward interaction, congrats—you're in good company.

Thinking about my thinking is something I've done since I was little. Plenty of us do, to some extent, and it's unfortunately easy for that to keep us from showing up and sharing ourselves fully. We are the stories we tell ourselves, after all... So, throughout the month of May, we uncovered a bunch of ways of reframing those stories and surfacing ways to feel less stuck.

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If you missed it, here's April's recap.

What's happening?

May 2026 edition:

1. Return of the pod.
2. The latest from Unobstructed.
3. Friendly reminder: composure ≠ currency.

1. Return of the pod.

Caleb and I have been having a blast working on new episodes of The Unobstructed Podcast. We've got some fun ones coming up this month, including guest appearances that we're downright stoked about.

Here's a quick teaser.

 

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2. The latest from Unobstructed.

From Kickturn, the daily column:

"With No Ulterior Motive"
People who do the thing without worrying about what it will get them.

Being the last person standing is not the only strategy for becoming successful, but it certainly has a high hit-rate.

Keep reading.

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From Unobstructed, the flagship weekly column:

"Retracing Your Steps In The Alpenglow"
What I finally discovered about being understood.

There’s a gap between what we notice and what we share, and I never felt like I was very good at sharing in ways that other people understood.

Maybe I played too much Mario Party as a kid, but I always thought about it like trying to find a trap-door. I've spent the better part of 15 years mulling that over while watching sunsets by this lake.

And I finally found a trap-door.

Keep reading.

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From Breaking Trail, a monthly column on trying new things:

"Comfort In Consistency"
How 'sticking with it' creates substantial forward progress.

The two hardest things I’ve done so far in this life were both lessons in consistency:

1. Thru-hiking.

2. Parenting.

They are also strikingly similar.

Keep reading.

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Even more to explore:

Finding Balance That Doesn’t Buck

The Relief Of Facing Things Head-On

Where Ridicule Runs Rampant

Man's Search For Masculinity

 

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3. Friendly reminder: composure isn't currency.

 

 

My episode of Stories From The Stage recently aired on national TV!

I told the story of a lesson I learned from my grandfather about keeping your composure, and was totally unprepared for how much it would resonate with people.

Showing up and sharing yourself can be scary, especially when you're worried about pushing through that fear and ending up feeling misunderstood. But... if you don't show up at all, you'll end up feeling misunderstood anyway.

So, you might as well try.

Besides, what if it all works out?

 

 

onward.