Tom’s July Update

I’ve been feeling anxious. It’s not clinical anxiety or anxiety attacks (and I really feel for people who struggle with those), but the nonspecific sort of fear and dread that come on, with seemingly no trigger, in the middle of lunch or while taking a shower.

I’ve had these bouts several times in my life, almost always during periods of high stress. And my life right now is definitely stressful. Combining my responsibilities as CEO of a modestly sized technology company with my responsibilities as a new father hasn’t just doubled my stress, it’s increased it tenfold. So, as the stress turned to anxiety, I finally decided to do something about it.

The Missing Ingredient

Two weeks ago, I told my wife that I needed to carve out time to exercise again. It was the one habit that had fallen by the wayside after my daughter was born that I hadn’t made any progress on reestablishing. So, for the past fourteen days, I’ve taken an hour-long walk each morning before work. These are not “power walks.” They probably don’t even count as zone 2 exercise. But I cannot begin to tell you the difference they’ve made.

Exercise Isn’t a Dirty Word

We’re so often inundated with messages telling us we’re