Retired U.S. Navy chief explains how to end discipline anxiety with wholesome ‘butler’ trick

Who wouldn’t love their own personal butler?

By

Mark Wales

Mar 4, 2026

By Mark Wales

March 4, 2026

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(LEFT) A cluttered closet. (RIGHT) Chase Hughes. – Photo credit: Canva and YouTube

During an interview on The Diary of a CEO podcast, retired U.S. Navy chief Chase Hughes explained how to end discipline anxiety. Using a simple perspective shift, often referred to as the “butler” trick, he describes a method of “prioritizing the needs of our future self.”

Hughes shares that understanding discipline is one of the fastest ways to change everything in our lives. We might wish discipline would arrive like a lightning bolt of motivation. However, Hughes suggests the solution lies in our relationship with discipline and the perspective we take on it, which ultimately relieves our anxiety.

End discipline anxiety

Hughes begins by explaining the importance of understanding what discipline actually is: “I define discipline as your ability to prioritize the needs of your future self ahead of your present self.” He goes on to explain that a simple reframing can change the link between discipline and anxiety.

“If I can start looking backwards with gratitude, [it] is the fastest way to make discipline dopamine-generating,” Hughes says. “I want past-tense me to be a source of dopamine for present-tense me. Cause most of us look back with regret. ‘I shouldn’t have drank that much. I shouldn’t have mouthed off at the family reunion. You know whatever it is, I shouldn’t have overslept.’”

discipline, butler tick, anxiety, service, community — A butler ready to be of service.
Photo credit: Canva

The butler trick for discipline

Instead, it’s possible to prioritize long-term endeavors over short-term desires. In the full YouTube video of the interview, Hughes describes the butler trick as a way of treating your future self as someone you can serve today, just like a butler. The concept of looking forward with concerned awareness and backward with gratitude can help release the connection between anxiety and discipline. This reframing and release of negativity help people better motivate themselves and manage their present circumstances.

A 2025 study in SAGE Journals found that future self-orientation directly impacts discipline-related outcomes. This trick can lead to meaningful behavior change. By reframing our relationship with the past, we directly affect our relationship with discipline and procrastination. A 2023 study published by Springer Nature found that procrastination and self-control significantly influence attitudes toward time. How someone relates to time ultimately shapes whether discipline feels easy or overwhelming.

Butler trick, discipline, time management, consistency, habit loops — A woman realizes she is late.
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Thoughts on the butler trick

Viewers seemed universally impressed by the solution Hughes offers in the butler trick for discipline. Here are some of their thoughts:

“I love it when Past Me has done something great to support Future Me. Sometimes it’s all I got, but it’s enough.”

“This is the best advice on discipline I’ve ever heard in my life”

“He’s giving you the blueprint for ultimate self care”

“Be methodically organized and make your life less complicated and more suitable to your needs.”

“I’ve heard everything can be looked at as a learning opportunity. Selfless gratitude + learning seems like a strong combo.”

“Be my own butler. Love this!”

self-discipline, self-mastery, perseverance, determination, butler trick — Self-discipline is defined as controlling one’s own desires.
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Discipline changes everything

Hughes underscores the value discipline has in changing our lives:

“Discipline is kind of the gateway drug to everything else in authority, and it’s the gateway to composure. But getting your discipline modified is one of the fastest ways to make everything else change.”

Discipline can mistakenly be associated with punishment and rigid routine management. With Hughes’ framing, it might be better described as stewardship. Instead of battling the present, you can serve the future. The butler trick can help us all be more thoughtful toward the person we are becoming.

You can watch the full interview with Chase Hughes on The Diary of a CEO podcast below:

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Experts say you can ‘talk’ to someone using your eyebrows regardless of language or culture

Here are some eyebrow-raising facts.

Erik Barnes

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In order to communicate and read others effectively, people need to pay attention to others’ body language and their words. Of course, it’s not always easy to decipher. People can interpret body language very differently from one another, but some physical signs are universal (like a smile). However, more than just smiles are universal. New research suggests that, regardless of culture or language, understanding can be found in our eyebrows.

Communication expert Vanessa Van Edwards shared how important eyebrows are for conveying and interpreting curiosity, engagement, and interest. Van Edwards explains that raising our eyebrows comes from humans wanting to widen their eyes to visually get a closer look at something. This behavior has since translated into nonverbally communicating the same thing in conversations. Seeing a person raise both eyebrows indicates that the conversation is in your favor. If their eyebrows are neutral or furrowed, you may want to make pivots or switch topics.

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According to psychologist Dane Archer, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times, eyebrows are especially revealing. The eyes, brows, and forehead tend to show more authentic expression and are less performative than the lower half of the face. “If we are trying to mask our feelings, we do it with our lower face,” Archer said. “The upper face is under a little less control.”

These aren’t the only experts vouching for the importance of eyebrows in human communication. A 2025 study at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics found that eyebrows were essential for signaling problems of understanding. An audience member raising or furrowing their eyebrows can indicate to a speaker whether listeners understand or need more information.

A speaker can tell how they’re being received by reading their listeners’ eyebrows. Either the audience is tracking with them, or the speaker needs to elaborate on a point. If a listener furrows their eyebrows and the speaker notices, they can pivot mid-speech to provide a clearer example. Once eyebrows return to a neutral position—or signal understanding—the speaker can move on.

According to research from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, eyebrows are “initiating repair during conversation” to fix any misunderstandings on the fly.

Researchers say this eyebrow movement isn’t just helpful for verbal communication, it also plays an important role in sign language. In American Sign Language, furrowed eyebrows while signing indicate that someone is requesting information. When asking a question, ASL users rely on brow movement to signal whether the question is genuine or rhetorical.

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While eyebrows primarily help keep sweat out of our eyes, psychologists argue there are other reasons we have them. Eyebrows are key factors in how humans evolved for communication, helping us express emotion to one another without words.

This helps explain why expressions conveyed through eyebrows are nearly universal, regardless of differences in culture or language—and, in some cases, even species. Domesticated dogs, for example, have evolved prominent inner eyebrows that help them communicate more effectively with humans.

The next time you’re conversing with someone, it’d be worth looking at their eyebrows to see what they’re truly saying back to you.

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How birdwatching makes your brain stronger and healthier

Know your birds, build your mind.

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Birdwatching, or “birding,” is a calm hobby that many people, especially older adults, tend to gravitate toward. It allows people to increase their knowledge and appreciation of our feathered friends flying above us. It can also, according to a published study, help maintain brain health as we age.

A Canadian study of adult birdwatchers with varying levels of experience found something interesting: the brains of more seasoned birdwatchers had denser areas related to perception and attention than those of novices. This density was also present in older participants.

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Compared to their less experienced counterparts, expert birdwatchers also showed increased activity in three brain regions when identifying non-local birds: the bilateral prefrontal cortex, bilateral intraparietal sulcus, and right occipitotemporal cortex. These regions are involved in attention, memory, object identification, and visual processing.

This suggests that taking up birdwatching could help maintain brain function and encourage neuroplasticity as we age. That makes sense, given how mentally engaging birdwatching can be.

“[Birding] combines fine-grain identification, visual search and attention to the immediate environment and sensitivity to motion, pattern detection, building these elaborate conceptual networks of different related species,” said Erik Wing, a research associate at York University in Toronto and lead author of the study, according to NBC News.

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Should birdwatching be a part of senior living?

Caregivers for seniors can vouch for birdwatching as a brain-stimulating activity for older adults.

Debra Maddox, director of community relations at Springs Ranch, a memory care senior living center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, tells GOOD that birdwatching has become a regular part of their clients’ activities and care.

“Because many of our residents who are living with dementia enjoy birdwatching, last summer, we installed a wild bird sanctuary outside our dining room windows,” said Maddox. “Since then, watching the various bird types has become a popular activity enjoyed by residents, families, and team members.”

“The activity offers sensory stimulation, promotes relaxation, and provides opportunities to reminisce, all of which are especially meaningful for those living with memory loss,” added Maddox. “Additionally, when our residents and their families birdwatch together, they connect on a unique level and discuss what they see outside.”

A geriatrician weighs in on birdwatching

Dr. Manisha Santosh Parulekar, a geriatrician at Hackensack Meridian Health, confirmed the potential brain benefits of birdwatching to GOOD.

“[Birdwatching] is a mentally stimulating activity that can be as simple or as challenging as you choose to make it, from identifying common backyard birds to learning complex bird songs and migration patterns,” said Parulekar. “Research has shown that learning new, cognitively demanding skills can enhance memory function in older adults.”

Parulekar added that birdwatching can help an older person’s brain for reasons outside of the actual activity.

“Furthermore, hobbies like birdwatching can become a meaningful part of one’s daily routine, providing a sense of purpose and accomplishment,” she said. “It can also be a social activity, connecting you with a community of fellow enthusiasts and warding off the loneliness and depression that can contribute to memory loss. Consistently engaging in such purposeful activities is a powerful, evidence-based strategy for lowering the risk of dementia and extending your ‘healthspan,’ the years you live without chronic disease or disability.”

While evidence can’t prove that birdwatching prevents cognitive decline, it’s helpful to know that staying active and participating in hobbies like this can help our brains “stay in shape” as we grow older and wiser.

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Oxygenating hydrogel and a tiny battery may heal chronic wounds and transform recovery

Self-oxygenating gel could save limbs, heal chronic wounds, and grow organs.

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Researchers at the University of California, Riverside created a new gel that oxygenates and regenerates damaged tissue. By attaching a tiny battery about the size of a hearing aid, the gel becomes an electrochemical device capable of healing previously unhealable wounds. This breakthrough oxygenating hydrogel could reshape tissue restoration and address challenges across multiple conditions.

Some injuries develop complications and never fully heal. Without sufficient oxygen reaching the deeper layers of the skin, these wounds remain inflamed and never receive the medication needed to heal.

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Researchers create oxygenating hydrogel

People suffering from chronic wounds—injuries that haven’t healed for over a month—face the risk of potential amputation. In the absence of oxygen, bacteria continue to flourish and the deepest layers of tissue worsen instead of rebuilding—a condition known as hypoxia.

The 2026 UC Riverside study described a soft, flexible gel containing a nontoxic, antibacterial liquid and water. When an electric current travels through the hydrogel, the water molecules split, releasing a steady trickle of healing oxygen. By placing the gel-and-battery system into an absorbent patch, the hydrogel can be replaced as needed.

Iman Noshadi, an associate professor at UC Riverside who led the research team, described the problem this way:

“There are four stages to healing chronic wounds: inflammation, vascularization where tissue starts making blood vessels, remodeling, and regeneration or healing. In any of these stages, lack of a stable, consistent oxygen supply is a big problem.”

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A steady flow of healing oxygen

A 2024 study published in Oxford Academic revealed that hypoxia is a natural part of the healing process. In the early stages, it helps wounds form and promotes cell migration. However, chronic hypoxia in long-term wounds harms immune function and limits tissue regeneration.

There are significant benefits to using the oxygenating hydrogel. First, the gel adapts to a wound’s specific shape. By seeping into small gaps, it reaches areas where oxygen levels drop and infection risk is highest. Second, it delivers a continuous flow of oxygen that can last up to a month. Because tissue regrowth can take weeks, brief oxygen spikes don’t solve hypoxia. With controlled oxygen release, cells that were once unstable can begin to regrow.

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Oxygenating hydrogel has future applications

One of the major challenges in organ-growing research has been oxygen supply.

A 2025 study by researchers at Stanford University revealed that a lack of internal blood vessels limits oxygen delivery to growing cells. As a result, engineered tissues have restricted growth and never reach full maturity. Another 2025 study by a team at the University of Tokyo attempted to mimic the placenta to enhance liver growth, again aiming to counter the challenges posed by hypoxic conditions.

Noshadi believes the gel could be a “bridge to creating and sustaining larger organs for people in need of them.”

Whether scientists are trying to heal chronic wounds or grow fully functional organs, the challenge often comes down to oxygen. Innovations like oxygenating hydrogel aim to solve this problem. By delivering oxygen exactly where it’s needed, the technology could become a turning point—transforming stalled healing and organ engineering into life-changing medical breakthroughs.

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