The Essential Ten: A Year's Worth of Daily Yamabushi Posts in One

Trying something new.

Jan 03, 2026

Shonai at dusk. That mountain in front of the sun there (left of centre) is Hokari-yama. Which I know, of course, because of the curse of Yamagata’s mountains.

Trying something new here today.

I started writing a daily blog on January 1st, 2019.

That’s 2,559 days non-stop.

But who’s counting?

The articles are all there on my website but it’s quite a lot to trawl through. So I thought I would give you taste with a more easily digestible Q&A format of my top ten posts (as chosen by me) from 2025.

This is just one year’s worth, but if you had 2,558 blog posts, what the hell would you do with them all? Let me know in the comments or send me an email by simply replying to this.

Chur.

Tim.

The Two Engines of This Archive

Before we dive in, you must understand the two concepts that power every lesson below:

1. No Heroics Necessary

This is a warning against the “Sprint Mentality.” Many people approach a new goal with a burst of “heroic” energy. They wake up at 4:00 AM, go to the gym for three hours, and cut out all sugar in a single day.

The Kiwi Yamabushi Perspective:

Heroism is unsustainable: You cannot be a hero every day. If your plan requires you to be “superhuman” to succeed, you will eventually fail because humans have bad days, get sick, or lose motivation.
Systems over Miracles: If you do the “unseen work” (the boring, daily discipline) correctly, the crisis moments don’t require a miracle to solve. You just show up as the version of yourself you’ve been building all along.
The Goal: Make your “baseline” effort so strong that “doing the work” is just a habit, not a heroic feat of willpower.

In short: Don’t try to be a hero; just be the person who shows up every single day.

Original Article: No Heroics Necessary

2. Different Degrees of Discipline

Discipline isn’t a “Yes/No” switch. It’s a dial. The quality of your life is directly linked to where you set that dial.

The Three Degrees:

Low Degree (The Amateur): You do the work when you feel like it. You follow the rules when they are convenient. Your results are inconsistent because your discipline is.
Medium Degree (The Worker): You do the work most of the time, but you allow exceptions when things get a bit hard. You are reliable, but you aren’t growing.
High Degree (The Professional): You master the basics. You avoid the pitfalls, even the ones you create for yourself. You do the work precisely because you said you would, regardless of how you feel.

In short: If you want “Professional” results, you cannot be an amateur. You have to turn the dial up and keep it there.

Original Article: Different Degrees of Discipline

How they work together:

These two ideas create a perfect loop:

You turn the dial up to a High Degree of Discipline (doing the small things every day).
Because you are so consistent, No Heroics are ever needed to save you from a disaster.

Now onto the articles:

1. Q: How do I handle a reality that feels like a “punch in the gut”?

A: Acknowledge its existence immediately. Once you acknowledge a new reality, you are on your way to acceptance (Uketamo). It fixes the “if onlys” that keep you living in a dreamland.

Original article: A New Reality

Related: Anything on Uketamo

2. Q: How do I break the “gravitational pull” of my smartphone?

A: Use physical tethering. Charge your phone in a separate room so that using it becomes an intentional, annoying choice rather than a reflex (another “hack” I came across was turning the apps you use most but don’t need all the time to ‘wifi-only’ mode).

Original article: Tether Your Smartphone

3. Q: Is “Inaction” a safe choice when I am undecided?

A: No; inaction is as big a decision as action. Deciding not to do something is the type of decision that most often leads to regret.

Original article: Inaction in Action

Related: The Step in Front

4. Q: I have too many goals; where do I start?

A: Find the Lead Domino. Identify the one action that makes all other actions easier or unnecessary and push that first.

Original article: The Lead Domino

Related: One Drum at a Time

5. Q: When is the “perfect time” to start?

A: Now. If you wait for the stars to align, you are stalling; get started making the stars align instead.

Original article: Perfect Timing

6. Q: How do I handle physical or mental discomfort?

A: Go Shoulders In. In cold water rituals, fighting the cold is a fool’s game; going all-in immediately switches the sensation from “unpleasant” to a reminder that you are alive.

Original article: Shoulders In

Related: No Heroics Necessary

7. Q: Why do I feel like I’m failing even when I’m working hard?

A: You are likely seeing “real false gains.” Just as muscle weighs more than fat, your progress may not show up on the “scale” immediately, but your foundation is becoming stronger.

Original article: Real False Gains

8. Q: How do I become a master of my life?

A: Act like a Professional. A professional cares most about the basics and knows how to avoid common pitfalls, including ones they create themselves.

Original article: The Professional (admittedly from 2024)

9. Q: How do I stay present without checking the clock?

A: Practice “Cognisant Ignorance.” Be aware of your surroundings, but ignore the time. If you are too focused on the clock, you aren’t appreciating what is right in front of you.

Original article: What it means to be in the moment

Related: Everything is Sekkaku

10. Q: What is the point of all this “Mountain” work?

A: To put your life into Easy Mode. You do the hard work now—building resilience, health, and financial independence—so your future self lives with less friction.

Original article: Putting your life into easy mode

Related: The Jigsaw Puzzle