ESSAYS Archives - Page 2 of 6

The Loop Routes That Don’t Show Up On The Map

by brendan on August 27, 2020

Last Friday afternoon, I locked my bike to a sign next to the trail and…

A Psychologist Rates The Strategies I Use To Deal With Stress And Anxiety

by brendan on July 9, 2020

Like you, I am trying to get better at dealing with stress and anxiety. I…

Weren’t We Lucky

by brendan on June 18, 2020

Thanks for reading. If you’d like…

Why We Can Still Listen To “What’s Going On” 50 Years Later

by brendan on June 4, 2020

Thanks for reading. If you’d…

Zen And The Act Of Washing Dishes

by brendan on May 21, 2020

—Brendan Thanks for reading. If you’d like to help keep Semi-Rad…

How To Win When There’s No Finish Line

by brendan on May 7, 2020

…

An Illustrated Story About Anxiety

by brendan on April 23, 2020

—Brendan Thanks for reading. If you’d…

A Bicycle Crash

by brendan on March 19, 2020

In my memory of the house, which is from when I was much smaller, the…

How To Show Up

by brendan on February 13, 2020

I looked at the menu at a booth in Morg’s, a diner in Waterloo, Iowa,…

Make 2020 The Year Of Maximum Enthusiasm

by brendan on December 26, 2019

Note: I first wrote and published this post on December 29, 2011, calling it “Make…

Choose Wonder

by brendan on November 21, 2019

The South Rim of the Grand Canyon can be a magical place: You stand with…

Remember When We Were Young?

by brendan on April 25, 2019

Mark and I sat in the front window of a Denver coffee shop, talking about…

Morning Rituals For The Reasonably Productive And Moderately Successful

by brendan on March 27, 2019

You may have heard or read a lot about the morning rituals of high-functioning people—CEOs,…

Ski Boots Are Ridiculous, Long Live Ski Boots

by brendan on March 21, 2019

You know what this ritual feels like: You loosen every buckle on your ski boots,…

Yes, A Friend Can Make Miserable Things Less Miserable

by brendan on March 14, 2019

I trudge forward, the muddy road tugging at my running shoes, splattering my ankles and…

Lessons From Eight Years Of Writing An Adventure Blog

by brendan on February 14, 2019

One afternoon last August, a delivery truck rolled up outside my house in Denver. Two…

Experience The Joy of Not Bringing The Noise

by brendan on January 24, 2019

Here’s a crazy story: I spent four and a half hours outdoors alone the other…

Make 2019 The Year Of Maximum Enthusiasm

by brendan on December 27, 2018

Note: I first wrote and published this post on December 29, 2011, calling it “Make…

A Simple Way To Write Your Own Ending To 2018

by brendan on December 13, 2018

If you’re anything like most of us, another year ending means a lot of things:…

Why Finish Lines Will Get You Every Time

by brendan on November 29, 2018

I didn’t know why it happened. I was doing OK until the guy with the…

I’m Meditating (I’m Just Not Sitting Down)

by brendan on November 8, 2018

I tried. For a while, it seemed like everyone was talking about how meditation changed…

Gratitude And An Honest Mountain Wedding

by brendan on October 11, 2018

Here’s one thing we always say about weddings: “It’s the biggest day of your life.”…

Nostalgia Is A Mother

by brendan on July 26, 2018

Last Wednesday, around the ninth switchback in the M Trail at the University of Montana,…

Learning To Be Funny

by brendan on June 28, 2018

Probably every other time my friend Lee and I came to the end of an…

What Happens When You Leave Cell Service Behind

by brendan on June 21, 2018

Here’s a thing you may have experienced: You’re about to head out on a trip…

Summit Day

by brendan on May 17, 2018

A couple hundred feet from the top of Avalanche Gulch on Mount Shasta last Monday…

The Gas Tank Is 1/4 Full, Or 3/4 Empty

by brendan on April 26, 2018

Just east of Green River, Utah, on Interstate 70, I looked over from the passenger…