As my family prepares to head over to be with friends and family to celebrate the 4th of July, I found myself reflecting on and appreciating all the things that we depend on to make this day possible.

For starters, Mother Earth! How fortunate are we to even have a human race to begin with? We just happen to live on a planet that just happens to have the right amount of water and organic mater at just the right distance from the sun to sustain such a wonderful diversity of plants and animals. Without Mother Earth and the Sun, there would be no people.

Being pulled in a 1,000 directions can be paralyzing. Get back to balance by identifying, eliminating, renegotiating, and completing these open loops.

Ever find yourself watching an episode of Hoarders? After the initial shock factor of seeing a person struggle to wade through piles of junk while walking from room to room, you will inevitably you will ask yourself the following questions:

Several years ago, WebMD got called out for creating a controversial online test. The issue? No matter what answers were provided to each question, the results came back with a serious warning: “You may be at risk for major depression.”

Another year, another chance to level up as a parent! Here are some of the important things that I've experienced and/or learned along the way during my third year of fatherhood.

"But I’ve been attempting to draw nourishment from my Twitter feed since my account was created in the aughts. And I still don’t know how many spiritual calories are in a tweet. Will I ever achieve my daily allowance? Will I ever fill my bucket? Or will trolls fire their darts incessantly, puncturing my pail until it resembles colander, allowing my vitality to spill in all directions?"

Here's an easy life hack that I discovered while I was a graduate resident advisor in college.

I decided to start incorporating cold showers into my daily routine for the health benefits as well as the strengthening of my resolve and willpower. The results were encouraging. Without fail, I minimally finished each shower with 1 minute of cold water.

Two years ago, my wife and I kicked off a new family tradition in lieu of trying to conform to the traditional (and unrealistic) expectations surrounding Valentine's day. Given that the Holiday is centered around love, we wanted to transform our focus our energy on paying it forward by donating to organizations that are making a positive impact on the world. In doing so, we hope to set an example for our daughter Evelyn.

Imagine going up to a party where every person in attendance showed up and acted out what their ideal life would be like 5 years in the future? It may sound a little silly, but it's a powerful exercise because it forces you to do several things: