The 6-Word Reminder Andrew Uses as a Dad Every Day

Andrew here again 👋🏼

My coach James Franklin used to say something before every game that I thought was about football. Turns out, it was about everything.

“Control what you can control.”

Six words. I heard them hundreds of times and mostly tuned them out because they sounded like something you’d read on a motivational poster in a dentist office.

Then I became a dad.

And honestly, now that summer is here and routines are all over the place — camps, travel, late nights, trying to keep kids entertained without losing your mind 😅 — I think about those words almost daily.

Because here’s the truth about parenting, marriage, work, and life in general: you control way less than you think you do.

Attention Nashville Parents!

Sign up for Summer Camp at KidStrong West Nashville
KidStrong Camps use certified coaches to give kids aged 4-11 a place to have fun while learning social skills, building confidence and getting out that energy with physical activity.

Click here to sign up :)

You can’t control whether your kid sleeps through the night. You can’t control your spouse having a hard day. You can’t control the economy, the diagnosis, the timeline, or the outcome.

But you can control whether you show up.

You can control your attitude. Your effort. The next right decision in front of you.

I used to think commitment meant guaranteeing results. Making sure everything worked out.

Now I think it’s something much simpler and much harder: showing up fully, then letting go of the outcome.

The athlete controls preparation but releases performance.
The parent controls the environment but releases the outcome.
The spouse controls their own behavior but releases the need to change the other person.

That shift — from controlling outcomes to controlling inputs — changes everything.

Because if you commit to outcomes, you’ll eventually burn out. But if you commit to showing up, you’ll outlast almost everybody.

Shawn and I wrote about this all throughout The Courage to Commit, which is somehow less than a month away now. Still feels surreal typing that honestly!

What’s something in your life you keep trying to control the outcome of, when really you just need to focus on the effort?

Reply and tell me. I guarantee I’ll relate 🙂 

Also, quick reminder that Shawn and I are heading out on The Courage to Commit Nights tour in just a couple weeks. Four cities, four nights, and a lot of conversations like this one in real life. We’d seriously love to see you there if you’re nearby.

We seriously can’t wait to see some of you tour!

— Andrew East

Have a topic you want us to cover? Reply to this email or let us know HERE!

If today's newsletter made you smile, do us a favor and tell a friend or family member to subscribe!

We’re All In This Together

You are receiving this email because you've signed up for newsletter updates from FamilyMade, Shawn Johnson East or Andrew East.

Why Failure Isn’t the End of Your Story 

There’s this myth that committed people are the ones who always make the right choice. That they have some internal compass that keeps them on track while the rest of us stumble around in the dark. 

That’s not how it works. 

Committed people are the ones who stay after they’ve chosen badly. Who recommit after the failure, the argument, the season of doubt. 

But we’ve learned something from falling short over and over again… how you respond to failure matters more than whether you fail!

The research actually backs this up in a way that surprised us.

Self-compassion doesn’t make you soft. It makes you more willing to take responsibility, not less.

People who respond to failure with grace — “I’m human, this is hard, and I’m going to try again” — are significantly more motivated to improve than people who respond with self-punishment.

Somewhere along the way, we confused self-improvement with self-criticism. And honestly, it’s costing us.

Instagram post

This applies everywhere. You’ll miss workouts. You’ll forget to journal. You’ll snap at your partner even though you promised yourself you’d be more patient. You’ll neglect the friendship, the prayer habit, the savings plan, the creative project.

When that happens — not if, when — we hope you’ll treat yourself the way you would a good friend trying something difficult. Not like a defendant on trial for their own inadequacy.

When’s the last time you recommitted to something after failing at it? Reply and tell us. Honestly, those stories inspire us more than most success stories ever could.

Commitment isn’t perfection. It’s the decision to begin again tomorrow. And again the day after that. The gap between “I failed” and “I’m a failure” is one of the most important territories in your life to defend.

Also… it’s kind of wild to realize our book will officially be out in just about a month. June 9 suddenly feels very real! 😅

And that same week, we’ll be heading out for The Courage to Commit Nights — four cities, four nights, and a chance to have these conversations in person. If you’re nearby, we’d seriously love to see you there. Tickets and details are below!

We seriously can’t wait to see some of you tour!

— Shawn and Andrew

Have a topic you want us to cover? Reply to this email or let us know HERE!

If today's newsletter made you smile, do us a favor and tell a friend or family member to subscribe!

We’re All In This Together

You are receiving this email because you've signed up for newsletter updates from FamilyMade, Shawn Johnson East or Andrew East.

We moved one thing in our living room & everything changed…

I know this sounds ridiculous. Stay with me.

Every evening had become the same loop. Kids in bed, both on the couch, both on our phones, Netflix on that nobody was watching. Same room, completely disconnected.

So we moved the TV. Put a puzzle and a game on the coffee table.

We rearranged the couch so we were facing each other instead of a screen. Within a week, conversations we hadn’t had in months started coming back.

Not because we became better communicators. Because we removed the barrier.

The standard advice of “just try harder” fails because trying harder works for about three days. Changing your environment works for years.

If you’re trying to pray more, put the devotional on your pillow. Trying to connect with your spouse? Move the phone charger out of the bedroom. Trying to read more? Put the book where the remote lives.

Stop trying to change your behavior through willpower alone. Change the room instead.

We actually put together a few things around this idea while working on the book.

The first chapter is called Calm, and if you pre order, you’ll get early access to it, along with a simple 7 day commitment challenge workbook to help you follow through on the small shifts that actually stick. You’ll also get access to our exclusive community with live Zooms and more from us!

We’re also taking this conversation on the road in June for The Courage to Commit Nights. Four nights, four cities, just us unpacking all of this in real time. We’d love to see you there if you’re nearby!

When you think about it, what’s one thing in your environment that’s quietly working against the life you want? For us, the living room setup was a big one.

Reply and share your thoughts with us. We read every email!

Chat with you all next week!

— Shawn

Have a topic you want us to cover? Reply to this email or let us know HERE!

If today's newsletter made you smile, do us a favor and tell a friend or family member to subscribe!

We’re All In This Together

You are receiving this email because you've signed up for newsletter updates from FamilyMade, Shawn Johnson East or Andrew East.

Hey! Andrew here.

There was a moment during my football career that still defines how I think about commitment. I was fighting for a roster spot — grinding through workouts, competing against younger guys, doing everything I could to stay in the game — when my phone buzzed with a dream job offer. 

Not just any job. The kind of opportunity that made everyone around me say, “Take it. You’d be crazy not to.” Angel investing, start-ups, a clear path forward that didn’t involve getting hit by 250-pound men. 

I turned it down. 

Instagram post

People thought I’d lost my mind. But I’d done the math on something most people skip: the invisible cost of walking away. The trust I’d built with coaches. The muscle memory I’d developed over years. The intricate understanding of a system that would take years to rebuild somewhere else.

Walking away would have cost me more than staying.

And here’s the thing I want to say to anyone reading this:

Commitment has a compounding effect that’s invisible in real time but unmistakable in retrospect.

I’m not saying never leave. I’m saying before you do, make sure you’ve counted the invisible costs. The things that don’t show up on a pros-and-cons list. The relationships, the reputation, the compound interest of consistency.

That idea is actually a big part of something Shawn and I have been working on behind the scenes. We wrote a book about commitment, the hard choices, and what happens when you stay when it would be easier to walk away.

This is the most personal thing we’ve ever done. We wrote this book about commitment through the lens of our own experiences.

Whether you buy one copy or a thousand, thank you for being here with us.
The Courage to Commit comes out June 9.

We’re also taking it on the road with a few live nights we’re calling The Courage to Commit Nights—a chance to have these conversations in person, share more of the stories, and meet some of you face to face!

What’s a commitment that felt crazy at the time but turned out to be the best thing you ever did? Reply to this email with your answer. We read every single one 🙂 

— Andrew East

Have a topic you want us to cover? Reply to this email or let us know HERE!

If today's newsletter made you smile, do us a favor and tell a friend or family member to subscribe!

We’re All In This Together

You are receiving this email because you've signed up for newsletter updates from FamilyMade, Shawn Johnson East or Andrew East.

We are going on TOUR! Tickets available NOW!

Tickets are officially live for The Courage to Commit Nights 🎟️

It’s going to be a night full of laughs, honest conversation, and unpacking relationships, commitment, and the things we’re all still figuring out along the way.

We’ll share behind-the-scenes stories from our lives and the heart behind the book, including what we’ve learned through the highs, the failures, and everything in between.

The biggest thing we keep coming back to: commitment doesn’t trap you, it actually sets you free.

We’re only doing a few cities:
Nashville — June 7
Philadelphia — June 8
New York City — June 9
Chicago — June 10

We seriously can’t wait to see you!

— Shawn and Andrew

Have a topic you want us to cover? Reply to this email or let us know HERE!

If today's newsletter made you smile, do us a favor and tell a friend or family member to subscribe!

We’re All In This Together

You are receiving this email because you've signed up for newsletter updates from FamilyMade, Shawn Johnson East or Andrew East.

Day of Delight 🌞

Every Sunday, we practice a “day of delight.”

We keep actual lists of activities that bring us joy, and on Sundays we do the things on the list and nothing else. No email. No errands. No productivity guilt.

The key is the “nothing else” part.

Psychologists call it “attention residue,” the energy we waste constantly switching between tasks. When you’ve already decided this time is sacred, you can pour yourself fully into the experience.

By being more structured about joy, we’ve actually become more spontaneous within that structure.

This works for anything. Block your deep work hours and you’ll be more creative, not less. Commit to a workout schedule and you’ll feel more free, not more constrained.

Boundaries don’t limit freedom, they create the conditions for it.

And honestly, this idea of choosing what matters and committing to it is what led us to write this book in the first place, and now to take it on the road!

We are going on TOUR!

We’re so excited to share that The Courage to Commit Nights are officially happening this June! A few intimate evenings to hang, laugh, and talk through the real stories behind the book.

We’ll be in Nashville (06/07), Philadelphia (06/08), New York (06/09), and Chicago (06/10).

Tickets go on sale this Friday, and we’d love to see you there!

Do you have a “delight list”? What would be on it? Reply, we’re always looking for ideas to steal.

—Shawn & Andrew

Have a topic you want us to cover? Reply to this email or let us know HERE!

If today's newsletter made you smile, do us a favor and tell a friend or family member to subscribe!

We’re All In This Together

You are receiving this email because you've signed up for newsletter updates from FamilyMade, Shawn Johnson East or Andrew East.

 We made a big decision in the cereal aisle (seriously)

Andrew and I were in the grocery store, both exhausted, our three-year-old going boneless in the cart like a protest noodle. Andrew grabbed the sugary cereal. I grabbed the organic one. We looked at each other.

Tiny moment. But here’s what I’ve realized:

We make about 200 of these micro-decisions every day on autopilot. And our defaults are quietly shaping the life we’re building.

It’s something we’ve been thinking a lot about lately — honestly, enough that we ended up filming a whole video series unpacking it. If you preorder The Courage to Commit, you’ll get access to those behind-the-scenes conversations and the deeper “why” behind what we’re learning. It’s only available before 6/9!

But here’s how this all actually plays out:

By evening, after a full day of decisions, you’ve got nothing left. So you default to whatever requires the least energy.

Planning meals ahead of time has been one of the biggest defaults we’ve changed!

So we started designing our defaults. Moved the TV out of the main family space. Put Andrew’s guitar where he’d trip over it.

Even started thinking about how our home itself can create moments together — spaces that invite us to play, move, and be off our phones. Especially activities outside as a family!

We made the path of least resistance lead toward connection instead of distraction.

This isn’t a home organization tip — it’s a life strategy.

Put the book on your nightstand and the phone charger in another room. Lay your workout clothes out right next to your bed so you see them right away. Delete the apps that steal your first 20 minutes

The most disciplined people you know aren’t operating on superior willpower. They’ve designed their environments so the right choice is the easy choice.

What’s one default in your daily life that’s working against you? Reply and tell us. We all have one.

—Shawn & Andrew

Have a topic you want us to cover? Reply to this email or let us know HERE!

If today's newsletter made you smile, do us a favor and tell a friend or family member to subscribe!

We’re All In This Together

You are receiving this email because you've signed up for newsletter updates from FamilyMade, Shawn Johnson East or Andrew East.

My gymnastics coach, Chow, had this approach…

and I didn’t appreciate it until I became a parent.

When I fell — and I fell approximately 8 million times — he didn’t lecture. He just said…

“One rep closer.”

Whether I stuck the landing or face-planted, I was accumulating information. The falls weren’t failures. They were investments.

I think about this watching our daughter learn gymnastics. She gets frustrated when she can’t master a cartwheel, and I want to tell her: The goal isn’t to never fall. The goal is to fall better.

The research is clear: People who practice self-compassion stick with difficult tasks longer, recover faster, and are more motivated to improve. Self-criticism makes people avoid the thing that hurt. We’ve got it backwards — grace is the actual rocket fuel.

Think about the last time you dropped the ball.

Your first response was probably: “What’s wrong with me?” That voice isn’t motivating you. It’s paralyzing you. It’s why people quit diets on Day 3 and abandon the journal after a two-week gap instead of just picking it back up.

The alternative isn’t lowering your standards. It’s changing how you respond to falling short of them.

Our book ends with a chapter on grace because everything else falls apart without it. Pre-order The Courage to Commit HERE!

Where do you need to hear “one rep closer” instead of “what’s wrong with you”? Hit reply!

- Shawn Johnson East

We’d Love Your Input! 📊

We want to make this newsletter something you actually look forward to opening. Not just another email in your inbox! 

So we’d love your help. This is a quick 1–2 minute check-in to better understand what you enjoy, what you skip, and what you want more of from us.

Nothing fancy, just honest feedback so we can make this better for you 🤍

Shawn’s outfit links! 💃🏼

Have a topic you want us to cover? Reply to this email or let us know HERE!

If today's newsletter made you smile, do us a favor and tell a friend or family member to subscribe!

We’re All In This Together

You are receiving this email because you've signed up for newsletter updates from FamilyMade, Shawn Johnson East or Andrew East.

We almost didn’t include this in the book…

After months writing about the power of commitment, it felt dangerous to admit: Sometimes the bravest commitment is knowing when something needs to end.

After my second Olympics, I went through every option before walking away from gymnastics. What I eventually realized was that I wasn’t trying to save the sport — I was trying to save the version of myself that the sport had defined.

Instagram post

There’s a crucial difference between quitting and graduating. Quitting is abandoning something because it’s hard. Graduating is recognizing that a season has served its purpose and making room for what’s next.

The career path you chose at 22 that no longer fits at 35. The hobby that clearly isn’t working. The plan you’re holding onto because you already invested time. That’s not commitment — it’s the sunk cost fallacy wearing a commitment costume.

The hardest part about endings isn’t the letting go. It’s trusting that what you’re making room for is worth the loss.

This is from Chapter 10 of our new book—the one we were most nervous to write. The Courage to Commit comes out June 9, and we can’t wait for you to read it! 🙂

Is there something you’re holding onto out of stubbornness rather than conviction? No pressure at all, but if you want to share, just hit reply. We’re listening.

- Shawn & Andrew

Have a topic you want us to cover? Reply to this email or let us know HERE!

If today's newsletter made you smile, do us a favor and tell a friend or family member to subscribe!

We’re All In This Together

You are receiving this email because you've signed up for newsletter updates from FamilyMade, Shawn Johnson East or Andrew East.

“We need to do values!”

In 2011, Andrew came home from football practice and blurted out: “We need to do values!”

So we Googled “list of values,” picked fifteen that sounded nice, and forgot about them by dinner. That was Attempt #1. There were four more.

Instagram post

Attempt #2: Andrew borrowed his football team’s values. Official-sounding. Someone else’s words.

Attempt #3: We typed up company values in beautiful all-caps. RESPECT. PASSION & PURPOSE. INTEGRITY. Sincere. Still not real.

Attempt #4: Three full days. Got closer.

Attempt #5: We finally stopped asking “What should we value?” and started asking “What do we already value?” The values we discovered were…

playfulness, curiosity, togetherness, faithfulness, and generous stewardship!

Felt like coming home.

In our book The Courage to Commit, we share these attempts and how creating family values has completely changed our lives. You can pre-order it now. Click here!

The shift was looking at evidence instead of aspirations. What consistently frustrates you? That points to a value. What makes you beam with pride? That’s data. Where does your time and money actually go? Your bank statement reveals truths your vision board might obscure.

This process applies to way more than families. If you’re leading a team, starting a business, or in a season of transition, naming your values is the fastest way to stop agonizing over decisions and start making them with confidence.

We built the worksheet we wish we’d had on attempt #1. Grab it free by clicking here!

What’s a value you hold that you’ve never formally named? Hit reply.

- Shawn and Andrew

Have a topic you want us to cover? Reply to this email or let us know HERE!

If today's newsletter made you smile, do us a favor and tell a friend or family member to subscribe!

We’re All In This Together

You are receiving this email because you've signed up for newsletter updates from FamilyMade, Shawn Johnson East or Andrew East.

Before I moved to Nashville, before any of this..

the kids, the business, the life we’ve built together — I sat in a hotel room between competitions and wrote Andrew an email I almost didn’t send. 

My entire life fit in a suitcase. Competition credentials from cities I barely remembered. Leotards covered in chalk. Just enough normal clothes to remind me that somewhere, a regular life existed.

But not for me. 

I’d learned to be self-sufficient in ways most people twice my age hadn’t mastered. I’d traveled the world, stood on Olympic podiums, felt the weight of a nation’s expectations. And somewhere along the way, I’d convinced myself that independence equals strength. That needing others is a weakness you can’t afford. 

So when it came time to move to Nashville — for Andrew, for us, for a future I couldn’t quite picture — I poured out every anxiety in that email. About how fiercely independent I was.

The email revealed the core fear I’d never articulated: that I’m “unlovable” if someone gets too close. 

I rented an extended-stay hotel room first. Couldn’t bring myself to fully commit. But each day, each dinner shared, each ordinary moment of just being together, something shifted. I realized that commitment isn’t about losing yourself. It’s about growing into a fuller version of yourself. 

And here’s what I wish I could tell everyone sitting in their own version of that hotel room right now: 

The scariest commitments aren’t the big public ones. They’re the quiet, private decisions to let someone in. To depend on someone. To stop hedging and say: I’m here. Fully. 

This doesn’t just apply to romantic love. It applies to anything that asks you to be vulnerable. Starting a business with a partner. Joining a community where people will

actually know you. Committing to a church instead of church-hopping. Moving to a new city. Going all-in on a friendship. Asking for help. 

Whatever you’re considering committing to right now — a person, a project, a conversation you’ve been avoiding — the scariest part is always the email you almost don’t send. The conversation you almost don’t start. The first step toward needing someone. 

Independence isn’t bad. But it makes a lousy fortress. 

Independence isn’t bad. But it makes a lousy fortress. 

This story is one of eighteen in our book The Courage to Commit (out June 9th)!

Each chapter is a different lesson about what happens when you stop looking for the exit. Pre-order by clicking the image below! 

What’s the email YOU almost didn’t send? The conversation you almost didn’t start? We’d love to hear. Hit reply. 

— Shawn & Andrew

Have a topic you want us to cover? Reply to this email or let us know HERE!

If today's newsletter made you smile, do us a favor and tell a friend or family member to subscribe!

We’re All In This Together

You are receiving this email because you've signed up for newsletter updates from FamilyMade, Shawn Johnson East or Andrew East.

16,250 hours… ⏰

Let me hit you with a number that changed how I think about literally everything: 16,250 hours.

That’s how many hours I spent training as a gymnast. Of those, about 108 were spent in actual competitions. My entire Olympic experience? Sixteen hours total.

The balance beam is four inches wide and I fell off it approximately 8 million times before I stuck that Olympic routine. 

So when people see the highlight reel — the gold medal, the podium, the national anthem — they’re seeing 0.098% of the work.

I wish I could give you some Olympic champion secret that makes consistency easy. That would be a lie. The truth? Most of those 16,250 hours were mind-numbingly boring.

The same skills, over and over, until my hands were calloused and my brain went numb. 

But here’s what I learned watching hundreds of talented gymnasts come and go: The most naturally gifted weren’t always the ones who made it.

The Olympic team often ended up with the last person standing — the one who could handle showing up when it wasn’t exciting anymore. When her body screamed for a break. When the beam felt like a medieval torture device.

Now apply that to the rest of your life. 

The highlight reel of a great marriage — the vacation photos, the anniversary posts, the wedding day — is the 0.098%. The other 99.9% is loading the dishwasher, negotiating bedtime, and finding someone’s missing shoe for the fourth time today.

That’s where actual love gets built. Not in the grand gestures but in the repetitions. 

The same is true in business. Andrew and I started creating content years ago, and our earliest videos had the charisma of two people being held hostage by their own ambition. Our families were our only loyal viewers, and even they sometimes forgot to watch.

But our sports backgrounds taught us the one thing that matters: The plateau is exactly where most people give up — and exactly where you shouldn’t. 

Whatever you’re building right now — a career, a family, a side hustle, a habit, a faith — the boring middle is not a sign that you’ve stalled.

It’s the system working as designed. Mastery and boredom are inseparable. The people who achieve extraordinary things aren’t the ones who never got bored. They’re the ones who showed up after the novelty wore off. 

My best advice? Design your life so that showing up requires less willpower than backing out. Hire the trainer who texts you when you don’t show up. Put the book where the remote usually lives. Make the path of least resistance lead toward the person you’re becoming. 

We built a 7-day micro-commitment challenge for people who want to practice showing up in the boring, beautiful middle. It’s free. Download below!

What’s the thing in your life right now that’s in the boring middle? The thing you’re tempted to quit? Hit reply and tell us! Sometimes naming it is enough.

— Shawn and Andrew

Have a topic you want us to cover? Reply to this email or let us know HERE!

If today's newsletter made you smile, do us a favor and tell a friend or family member to subscribe!

We’re All In This Together

You are receiving this email because you've signed up for newsletter updates from FamilyMade, Shawn Johnson East or Andrew East.

“I wish I could get married to him today!”

I said that recently in an interview, and I meant every word. Not because our wedding wasn’t beautiful — it was.

But because I had no idea what love truly was back then. 

Here’s what ten years has given us that the wedding day couldn’t: private languages. Inside jokes that make zero sense to anyone else.

The ability to communicate across a crowded room with just a glance. Shared history that turns the most mundane Tuesday night into something meaningful. 

These are treasures that only commitment can unlock. You can’t get them on a first date. You can’t fast-track them. They only develop through years of showing up. 

There’s actually research behind this.

When you’re dating someone new, something like 30% of your mental energy goes toward wondering if they like your texts, if that joke landed right, if you’re being too much or not enough.

In a committed relationship, all that bandwidth gets freed up for something else: the creation of shared joy.

Silly kitchen dances while doing dishes. Comfortable silences that feel like home. 

And here’s where it goes beyond marriage.

This pattern repeats across every domain where humans find deep satisfaction. The musician who commits to daily practice discovers beauties in the music that casual listeners never hear.

The writer who shows up at the desk every morning — even when inspiration feels distant — experiences the thrill of watching rough ideas become something real.

A joy invisible to the outside world, but electric to anyone who’s earned it through persistence. 

When you commit fully to something — a relationship, a craft, a calling, a community — you develop what psychologists call “perceptual expertise.”

Like a sommelier detecting notes in wine that others miss, or a bird-watcher identifying species by their calls.

Committed attention reveals layers of richness that were always there, waiting for someone willing to look deeply enough. 

The researchers found that long-term couples turn mundane moments into connection. A trip to the grocery store becomes an adventure. A minor mishap becomes tomorrow’s funny story.

The security of commitment lets you find gold in the ordinary. 

But this isn’t just about romance. It’s about any relationship, any craft, any pursuit where you’ve chosen to go deep instead of wide. The world rewards sampling.

But the deepest joys are reserved for the people who picked one thing and stayed. 

We wrote a whole book about this — about how commitment is the most underrated force in the world.

It’s called The Courage to Commit and it comes out June 9!

But honestly? The best parts are just us telling you the stories we’ve been living. 

When’s the last time you experienced joy from something that only came because you stuck with it? We’d love to hear. Hit reply. 

— Shawn & Andrew  

Have a topic you want us to cover? Reply to this email or let us know HERE!

If today's newsletter made you smile, do us a favor and tell a friend or family member to subscribe!

We’re All In This Together

You are receiving this email because you've signed up for newsletter updates from FamilyMade, Shawn Johnson East or Andrew East.

Mom vs Olympian 🏆

Here’s something they don’t tell you about winning Olympic gold: It does absolutely NOTHING to prepare you for a newborn who communicates exclusively through five different intensities of crying.

I remember being so shell-shocked as a new mom, wondering if I was remotely qualified for the life I’d stepped into. My gymnastics discipline and Andrew’s football training suddenly seemed as relevant as a chocolate teapot.

This wasn’t something I was competent in. This wasn’t something I was confident with. I wasn’t ahead. I wasn’t practiced. I was just overwhelmed.

But then I started seeing familiar patterns from my athletic career… the “I’ll never figure this out” feeling right before something clicks.

The exhaustion? That wasn’t failure. It was repetition.

The chaos? It wasn’t proof I was bad at this. It was proof I was new at this.

The importance of consistency over perfection. Adjusting my technique based on results rather than a rigid plan.

In gymnastics, mastery didn’t come from feeling ready. It came from showing up before I felt ready. From adjusting mid-air. From correcting after the fall instead of abandoning the routine altogether.

Parenting humbled me in ways the Olympics never could. The podium is easy. Toddlers are the real final boss.

And here’s the bigger thing I learned: The process that builds excellence in one arena doesn’t disappear when you step into another. It just gets repurposed.

Whether it’s parenting, marriage, starting a business, switching careers, or stepping into a calling that feels bigger than you, the pattern is the same.

You won’t feel qualified at first. You won’t feel graceful. You won’t feel certain.

You’ll feel behind.

And that feeling doesn’t mean you chose wrong. It usually means you chose growth.

Mastery requires two things that don’t seem to belong together: unwavering commitment and complete flexibility.

The commitment keeps you in the room. The flexibility helps you adapt once you’re there.

Parenting just happened to be the arena where I learned that lesson again. But it applies everywhere.

Andrew and I actually spent a whole chapter in our upcoming book exploring this tension — how to stay committed without becoming rigid, and how to adapt without quitting. More on that soon.

For now, we’d love to hear from you:

What’s the moment you stepped into something new and thought, “Oh no… I am wildly unqualified for this”?

Hit reply. We read every one :)

— Shawn & Andrew

Have a topic you want us to cover? Reply to this email or let us know HERE!

If today's newsletter made you smile, do us a favor and tell a friend or family member to subscribe!

We’re All In This Together

You are receiving this email because you've signed up for newsletter updates from FamilyMade, Shawn Johnson East or Andrew East.