Navigating Life’s Hammers

First published: 7 January 2026. Updated: 9 February 2026

Looking at my posts in 2025, a central philosophy emerges: that life is inherently challenging, unpredictable, and sometimes brutal. I considered these difficulties as the "hammers of life" that become the medium through which we grow, discover, and forge ourselves.

Below are key thoughts gathered from last year's posts.

1. Life as Active Engagement

There is a dynamic interplay between action and reflection. In Life Is Not Easy! I show that individual effort and collective engagement together drive progress. Life is not a passive experience; it demands participation, intentionality, and cycles of retreat and reconnection. Similarly, in The Present as Hammer, I frame the present moment as the forge in which our choices and actions hammer out our character and destiny. Time and place are intertwined with agency: to act is to live fully in the present, even amidst discomfort.

2. Courage as Everyday Practice

Courage Redefined and Think Like a Mule redefine courage from being a rare, heroic virtue to a daily, accessible quality. In Courage Redefined, I present courage as "choosing not to fall," a measured, careful engagement with life rather than dramatic gestures. The Present as Hammer situates this courage in the "Act Workshop" of daily life, highlighting that consistent, deliberate choices, no matter how small, accumulate into growth and resilience. Think Like a Mule reinforces this by linking courage to independent thinking and self-reliance, thus showing that agency requires the willingness to pause, assess, and choose thoughtfully, like a mule navigating difficult terrain.

3. Agency and Self-Reliance

Both Think Like a Mule and Finding Yourself in the Perhapses emphasise mental and moral self-determination. I stress that we cannot outsource responsibility for our lives—even to AI, social norms, or external authority—without risking inertia, manipulation, or a loss of self. Think Like a Mule’s metaphor of the mule illustrates the value of stubbornness as self-preservation: thinking independently, assessing risk, and resisting conformity. Finding Yourself in the Perhapses extends this principle to self-discovery, suggesting that agency is exercised not just in practical decisions but in the ongoing attention to one's inner life, curiosity, and response to obstacles.

4. Life's Hammers as Catalysts

The hammer metaphor appears explicitly in Life Is Not Easy, The Present as Hammer, and Finding Yourself in the Perhapses. It represents the inevitable pressures and transformative forces of existence. These hammers are neither punitive nor avoidable; they are tools of shaping. In The Present as Hammer, the hammer is the present moment that demands action; in Finding Yourself in the Perhapses the hammer embodies both external challenges and internal resistances that, when met with curiosity and attention, reveal capacities and insights previously unknown.

5. Self-Discovery Through Reflection

Life Is Not Easy (2) and Finding Yourself in the Perhapses focus on the internal dimension of growth. Life Is Not Easy (2) highlights imagination, ingenuity, and judgement as mental faculties that people can use to approach problems thoughtfully, showing that personal resources can be developed and applied. Finding Yourself in the Perhapses extends this into the existential realm: the journey is less about achieving predefined goals and more about discovering parts of the self along the way. Curiosity, attention, and openness to uncertainty become the tools of self-knowledge.

6. The Collective Dimension

While independence is central, I consistently acknowledge that humans exist within networks and communities. Growth arises not in isolation, but in cycles of engagement with others through collaborative problem-solving, leadership, or participation in shared endeavours. Connection, when intentional and balanced with reflection, amplifies the impact of individual action.

7. A Philosophy of the Forge

Taken together, the blog presents a philosophy where growth is forged, not given, through intentional action within the challenges life presents. The hammers fall whether we like it or not. Our task is to meet them with deliberate choice, independent thought, and openness to what they reveal. Discovery occurs in the journey itself; through attention, curiosity, and the courage to engage rather than retreat. We work both alone and together, in a rhythm that sustains resilience and deepens self-knowledge.

 In 2026, I'm shifting from breadth to depth. This year's essays will dig beneath the surface of these ideas, interrogating what it truly means to live deliberately in an age of distraction, to choose courage when comfort beckons, and to find meaning in the very hammers that strike us. Each essay will be an extended meditation—on fear, on choice, on the quiet heroism of paying attention. If last year planted seeds, this year we tend the garden. I invite you to join me in this deeper exploration, not as passive readers but as fellow travellers in the forge, ready to examine what these hammers reveal about who we are and who we might become.

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