A Year In Review

2025 wrap-up of Resilient Mental State.

2024 was one of the hardest years of my life.

2025 was one of the best.

While incredible things have occurred in my personal and professional life, Substack is one of the reasons I’ve enjoyed this year so much. I’ve never met more incredible people in such a short amount of time. As a writer, reader, and man, this platform continues to make me better. My continued subjective growth has been in large part due to the knowledge I’ve gained from the interactions with people in this community.

Thank you all for the engagement and inspiration.

Inspired by Brett McKay and Kate McKay of Dying Breed, I decided to consolidate some of my favorite posts from this year broken into various categories:

Resilience Concepts:

• Skills to Thrive

• On Negative Thinking Patterns

• Mental Resilience Through Stoic Wisdom

• Obligations Don’t Exist

• Energy-Free Stress Management Strategies

• Anchors

• Seek External Validation

• On Quitting

• Mindset for Longevity in Combat Sports and Life

• Productivity Doesn’t Have Hacks

• Chase Skills Not Habits

• Student for Life

• Efficient Training for Maximal Results

• Mental Toughness vs. Emotional Intelligence

• Three Principles for Parenting

• Embrace Uncertainty

• Become Sensitive

Personal Stories:

• Transcending Life and the Impact of Others

• Turning Setbacks Into Opportunities

• A Way to Yes

• Tomorrow Isn’t Promised

• Short Stories from my Mother

• Unintentional Stress

• Murph

Interview Series between my wife, Mary Kate, and Erin Miller:

• How Values Take Root in the Rituals of Daily Life

• Identity, Intuition & the Inner Life of Parenting

• Legacy, Love & the Long Vision of Parenting

Leave a comment if you want to see MK writing on Substack more. Maybe you can convince her faster than I can.

Powerful Conversations:

I haven’t had a guest on the Resilient Mental State podcast that I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed. I’ve also been a guest on several podcasts throughout the year. Linking some of those conversations as well. Aside from Substack, Resilient Mental State can be found on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. If you like any of the episodes, I’d appreciate a rating, comment, and/or subscription on your preferred platform. Plenty more will be coming in 2026:

• What then? with Sam Alaimo

• Not Too Late with Gwendolyn Bounds

• Left of Bang with Patrick Van Horne

• Internal Culture of Excellence with John Dailey

• Become Exceptional with Dr. Julie Gurner

• Family, Faith, and Fortitude with Danny Cieniewicz

• The Arete Path with Kevin Stark

• (un)popular PARENTING with Erin Miller

• Understanding & Managing Tinnitus with Craig Kasper

• Radical Presence with Lou Tamposi

• Strength and Health with Scott Shetler

• A Grappler’s Perspective with Chris Wojcik

• Stoicism & Resilience with Donald J. Robertson

• Next Adventure with Jesse C. McEntee

• Becoming a Warrior with Jeff Boss

• Socratic Mental State with Andrew Perlot

• Mixed Mental Arts with Michael Woudenberg

• Field Philosophy with Erik Hogan

• In Contrast with Shane Copeland

• GRIT with Lara Johnson

• Reorientation and Resilience with Mark McGrath | OODA Strategist

• Stoic Street Smarts with Ed Latimore

• LIFT with Anne Marie Chaker

• Functional Fitness with Patryk Piekarczyk

• Overcoming Life’s Most Difficult Trials with Nadia Booysen

• Reframing Stress and Building True Resilience with Marcus Aurelius Anderson

• Resilience is a Skill that can be Trained with Gina Casazza

• How to Train Resilience Like a Muscle with Gina Casazza

• Manage Stress, Build Resilience on NAVAIR AirWaves

• Intentional Stress to Build Resilience on NAVAIR AirWaves

• Energy-Free Stress Management Strategies on NAVAIR AirWaves

• Resilient Parenting in the World of Autisim & Neurodiversity with Sarah | Profound Autism Mom

• Raising Resilient Kids with Gina Casazza

• The Girl Stoic with Kirsten Breidenbruch

• NooS with Anne, RD & Avery, NBC-HWC

• Turning Stress into Growth with Phil Powis ❤️⚡️ and Carolina Wilke

• How to Build and Maintain a Resilient Identity with Mac Dohm

Intentional Stress Challenges:

• Pull-Up

• Write Your Own Obituary

• Breathwork

• Train Jiu-Jitsu

• Cognitive Flexibility

Brutal Workouts:

• ISO Sore

• Fight Gone Terrible

• Self-Command

• Suffer, Recover, Repeat

• Gut Punched by God

• 300

Daily Fitness Challenge by Month:

• January: Quad Killer

• February: Wall Sit

• March: Reverse Burpees

• April: Plank and Leg Up-Downs

• May: Pull, Push, Squat

• June: Deep Squat Hold

• July: Box Breathing

• August: Core Conditioner

• September: Tabata

• October: Dead Hang

• November: Step-Ups

• December: Waistline Refiner

I’ve significantly decreased my annual and founding subscription costs through the end of the year before returning prices to normal. $30 for annual and $100 for founding until 01 JAN when they return to $50 and $200 respectively. If you’re interested in checking out some of my work for free, just shoot me a message on any particular post you’re interested in and I’ll comp you for week.

Here’s to an even better 2026.