Lately, my son and I have been doing something simple every morning. After breakfast, we set a five minute timer and we “be gorillas.” That’s it. Gorilla time. It started as basic roughhousing and nonverbal play. Chest pounding, crawling around, making ridiculous noises. The kind of physical father son play every study says is good for kids. But it’s become more than that. Sometimes we stay in full gorilla mode. Sometimes we’re gorillas while listening to his Toniebox. Sometimes we’re gorillas who count. Sometimes it’s just exercise and eye contact and figuring each other out without words. A few things I’ve noticed about it: We set a timer. When the timer goes off, we’re done. That structure matters. It’s teaching him that activities have boundaries and that transitions are part of life. It’s his choice. I don’t bring it up. If he wants gorilla time, he asks for it. If he loses interest halfway through, the timer keeps running and we move on when it ends. I don’t chase him to re-engage. He’s starting to learn that if something matters to him, he has to prioritize it. There’s physical play, which builds connection. There’s nonverbal communication, which we’re still working on. There’s structure. There’s agency. And it’s five minutes. I love movies. Sharing a film with him feels special. But if I’m honest, there have been plenty of times we’ve just vegged on the couch. That’s not really connection. That’s proximity. Gorilla time feels different. It’s intentional. It’s active. It’s ours. I don’t think everyone needs to “be gorillas.” But I do think every dad should have something small, repeatable, and special that belongs just to them and their kid. Even five minutes can mean something. What’s your version of gorilla time?

It’s about discipline. All four of these pillars are meant to support one another. You can’t act boldly with courage if you don’t have the discipline to ground yourself, and the same is true in reverse. I worked a gig this past weekend as a host. During setup and breakdown, I was asked to roll up my sleeves and help the team. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t scoff, complain, or roll my eyes either. I just got in there and helped. Why? Partly because it was the right thing to do (living honestly).Partly because I knew it would make the rest of the night easier (the people I was helping were also my ride home).But mostly because I saw an opportunity to flex the muscle of “let’s just get this done.” Discipline, at its core, is doing the right thing even when you don’t feel like it. And if you’re ever unsure what the “right thing” is, it’s usually the choice that creates value beyond momentary comfort. The result? A collaborative work environment, a solid pump from the manual labor, and a free McDonald’s to immediately undo that pump 😂 Jokes aside, as someone who’s struggled with discipline in the past, noticing that moment and choosing it felt like a genuine win. When was the last time you dragged yourself through a task simply because you knew it was the right thing to do?

It was 100% better than the nothing I'd been doing before. I haven't moved this body through a proper workout in too damn long. How am I meant to talk about the framework of Train Daily if I'm not training ever?! I realize that Training Daily isn't about the quality but the consistency. The discipline of it. If I went too hard today to prove a point I'd have shot myself in the foot for tomorrow. So I did what could have been a warm up for Pre-Pandemic Matt. But I did it. What about you all? Anyone do any moving today? A Walk, maybe? 30 Reps of lifting your kid in the air as they yell "Again!" Anything?