This past weekend, I had the chance to read the chapter Dude Wipes at Stay Gold Bookstore in Pittsburgh. We talked about anger and rage—how it builds, how it manifests, and how, sometimes, it’s not about what we think it’s about.

For a long time, I thought my anger was caused by my then-husband. Now ex-husband. I thought he was the reason I felt miserable. He refused to pay taxes on time, took forever getting ready, and constantly snored. These are irritating things, right? But as it turns out, the rage wasn’t really about him. It was about me ignoring myself. I knew—deep down—that this was not the relationship for me, and yet I kept going. I tried to force it. And the more I pushed myself down a path that wasn’t meant for me, the more my anger grew. The more I ignored my inner knowing, the more it demanded my attention—until it became rage.

How often do we do this? Override our own nudges, our check engine lights, our inner compass?

• By pressing on when we feel tired?

• By eating when we aren’t hungry?

• By stepping over a comment that didn’t sit right with us?

• By saying yes when everything inside us says no?

I ignored my inner compass for so long that realignment wasn’t a minor shift—it was a complete overhaul. My life had to be taken apart and rebuilt.

And yet, here I am, still learning this lesson.

This morning, my Monday mind wanted to hammer through emails, pay bills, check all the boxes. Yet, as soon as I opened my laptop, I felt a headache creeping in. I tried to push through, and it only got worse. My wife, my greatest love and teacher, suggested I listen to my body.

So I did.

I stepped away from the laptop and went outside. It was close to 70 degrees in Nashville, and my heart soared. I filled the cold plunge, cleaned the hot tub, and putzed around the yard. I went from hot tub to cold plunge and felt myself come back alive, back online. Then, I returned to my work. And guess what? It was like a time warp—I got so much done. Not all of it, but enough. More than enough.

Later, I picked up my kid from school on the Vespa. We rode around, sat outside, did homework together. It was easy. It was fun. They were in a great mood. And then I realized—it wasn’t them that had changed. It was me. My energy was completely different. Instead of fighting over homework, we sat outside and tackled it together. Then we played a little football.

Will this happen every day? Probably not. But today was a reminder: slow down to speed up.

Our bodies will get our attention one way or another. The headaches, the exhaustion, the rage—they’re signals. And when we listen? Turns out, the body is pretty damn wise. Hasn’t steered me wrong yet.