Guest Pep Talk

Perspective from Eric Zimmer

Hi, Friend.

Today we have a little (but enormous) pep talk written by a friend of mine, someone whose perspective and wisdom I turn to—Eric Zimmer.

You might know his popular podcast, The One You Feed. You might have heard about his new book, How a Little Becomes a Lot: The Art of Small Changes for a More Meaningful Life, which comes out in just a couple of weeks. Eric is a friend of mine here in Columbus, someone I see at concerts and readings, and I’m honored to share his thoughts—and a poem he selected—with you here. I needed this myself!

Take good care out there.

Love,
Maggie

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Hi, Maggie’s friend—

I’ve been following the news from Iran this week. The bombings, the school, the families trying to get out. I won’t pretend to have anything useful to say about the geopolitics of it.

I just know that when I see it, my brain starts doing that thing where it tries to hold the entire weight of the world at once. Every worst-case scenario, every possible next step, all the tragedy at once.

It’s not a useful mode. But it’s a hard one to shut off.

Maggie talks about poems as a stone we carry in our pockets. I’ve had this one in my pocket a lot lately. It’s a poem by Derek Mahon. He writes:

There will be dying, there will be dying,
but there is no need to go into that.

I love that line because it doesn’t shy away from the suffering. It names it directly. Loss is real. It’s always been real. But Mahon doesn’t let that truth swallow the whole poem. He refuses to.

I tend to do the opposite. I take the hardest thing I know and carry it into every room. I rehearse it. I turn it over until it fills the whole day. You might do something similar. Most people I talk to do.

But we are not able to solve the entire human condition before lunch. (Probably not even by dinner.)

Mahon writes again:

the sun rises in spite of everything
and the far cities are beautiful and bright.
I lie here in a riot of sunlight
watching the day break and the clouds flying.
Everything is going to be all right.

Today, somewhere, there is still a morning. Light coming through a window. A cup of coffee going cold on a table. A decision about what to do with the next hour that has nothing to do with what’s on the news.

For me, the practice is simply returning to the next right thing. The one that moves the world toward the sun, toward a direction I actually want to go. Send a message. Go for a walk. Write the paragraph.

Little by little, a little becomes a lot.

We can’t fix all of it. (Any of it?) But we can take care of the small piece of the world sitting right in front of us.

Eric Zimmer is an author, teacher, speaker, and the creator of The One You Feed podcast—an award-winning show with over 50 million downloads across 800+ conversations exploring meaningful living. At 24, Eric was homeless, addicted to heroin, and facing prison. His journey from those depths sparked his lifelong inquiry into human transformation and resilience. Through his behavior coaching, workshops, and mentorship, he has guided thousands worldwide in creating sustainable habits that last—not through willpower or epiphany, but through steady change. His approach combines cutting-edge science with timeless wisdom, providing practical pathways to greater integrity and deeper meaning.

(PS: My favorite conversation about my 2020 book Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change was the one I had with Eric on The One You Feed. You can listen to it here.)