You can now use these articles for nearly any purpose, without paying a dime. — The Announcement I have a fun announcement today: I’m releasing a handful of my old sobriety articles under a Creative Commons license. This means that although I’ll maintain my copyright, I’m allowing everyone in the world the opportunity to use these old articles for nearly anything they want. If you have a…

This is what the “gurus” won’t tell you. — I’ve been writing online since 2018 and I’ve put a lot of effort into improving my craft. In many ways it’s paid off: I’ve reached hundreds of thousands of readers, built a successful mailing list, and started to make a modest living from ghostwriting content. Despite all of this, I…

My alcoholism wore me down, but when I quit drinking, things got even worse. — This essay originally appeared in the Exploring Sobriety newsletter. Addiction and Exhaustion Addiction is exhausting. I’m an alcoholic, and although I’m now an alcoholic in recovery, I was a heavy, daily drinker for about a decade first. All of that drinking wore me down — both mentally and physically. For one thing, I…

A progress report after 5 months of 5/3/1 strength training. — Introduction For the past 5 months, I’ve been following the 5/3/1 for Beginners program. This is a barbell-focused strength training program designed around coach Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 system. Although 5/3/1 is popular among intermediate and advanced lifters, I haven’t seen as many write-ups from beginners like myself. The program has worked…

Is that an air conditioner? A plane? No, it’s tinnitus. — It was around three in the morning and I was laying in bed, lights off, ready to fall asleep. The only problem was that one of the neighbors had been running a noisy generator since midnight. I couldn’t believe how rude they were to be making so much noise so…

How a two-year-old Labrador developed alcohol dependence. — Earlier this year, a two-year-old Labrador became the first dog ever treated for “alcoholism.” According to the Telegraph, a British man’s two dogs developed alcohol dependencies from regularly drinking beer that he left out when sleeping. The problem wasn’t discovered until after the man died and a local animal rescue…

I didn’t realize how badly my drinking habit was interfering with my life. — This essay originally appeared in the Exploring Sobriety newsletter. One of the easiest ways for an alcoholic to justify their drinking habit is to compare it against the drinking habits of other alcoholics. I used to do this all the time back when I was still a drinker. I’d hear…

This is my strategy for learning Spanish as an adult. — Introduction: My Spanish Progress Is it possible to learn a foreign language as an adult? For the past two and a half years, I’ve been proving to myself that the answer is yes. Near the beginning of 2021, at age 33, I started learning Spanish. Before that, I had only a little exposure to…

This simple strategy has had a massive impact on my happiness. — I’ve struggled with anxiety since high school. Despite therapy and medication, I never had much luck treating it until my late twenties. That’s when I inadvertently stumbled across a technique that has kept my anxiety in check ever since: Writing everything down. In this article, I’m going to share exactly…