Sep 18, 2026 · A new chapter for path to becoming
Feeling Friday - Edition 37
| A new chapter for path to becoming |
| Hello everyone! |
| This week’s Feeling Friday looks a little different. We hope you like the new look! If you are reading this, you are among the first to know that Amalia and I have been working hard behind the scenes for the past few months. |
| We started Path to Becoming nine months ago with an idea and a great deal of hope. We never imagined how much it would grow and evolve in such a short time, and we are excited to finally give PTB the upgrade it deserves. |
| When our newsletter first launched, it was created specifically to support men in strengthening their mindset. Over time, however, PTB began reaching people far beyond that original audience. Our community now includes athletes, cancer survivors, caregivers, and people of different ages, genders, and backgrounds. We also recently asked for your feedback through our reader surveys. You told us what you value about the newsletter, what could be improved, and how you would like to see it evolve. One thing became clear: there was growing interest in making Mental Monday and Feeling Friday available to everyone. |
| Starting next week, our weekly mindset newsletter will officially welcome a broader audience. However, the heart of these emails is not changing. You will continue to receive my honest storytelling, personal experiences, and meaningful conversations about mindset and personal growth, followed by a practical exercise each Friday. |
| Supporting men’s mental health also remains deeply important to us. We have decided to create an optional monthly men’s newsletter that current readers and new subscribers can choose to receive. These editions will explore mindset, identity, growth, and experiences that often affect men. I am incredibly excited about this new project and the opportunity to support a cause that remains a true passion of mine. |
| Our website has also been completely redesigned to reflect what Path to Becoming has become. It now brings together our story, services, workshops, public speaking, newsletter, and the work we are continuing to build. |
| The truth is simple: we want PTB to grow because we want it to help more people. These changes are part of that growth, and there is still so much more to come. Thank you for being here and for continuing to make space for our weekly messages. We cannot wait to keep delivering the mindset content you have come to know and value. |
| You can explore our new website here: pathtobecoming.ca |
| Now without further ado, onto Feeling Friday! |
| - Michael & Amalia |
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| Feeling Friday |
| Theme of the week: The choice to stand |
| “A man becomes honourable when suffering gives him every excuse to fall, and he still chooses to stand.” - Seneca |
| Seneca’s quote this week points to the space between suffering and surrender. Life can give us every reason to fall, but our circumstances do not make the final decision for us. The choice to stand often begins internally, with how we interpret what is happening. |
| When pressure is high, the mind can move quickly from an event to a conclusion. A mistake becomes, “I always fail.” Uncertainty becomes, “This will never work out.” A difficult moment becomes evidence that we are incapable. |
| These are known as automatic thoughts. They often appear before we have had the chance to examine whether they are accurate. They may also contain distorted thoughts, such as catastrophizing, all-or-nothing thinking, or using one experience to make a larger conclusion about ourselves. |
| This Weekend’s Practice: Cognitive Reframing |
| Cognitive reframing is a technique used to identify an automatic thought, examine the evidence behind it, and replace it with a more balanced interpretation. |
| Reframing does not erase the difficulty or require you to convince yourself that everything is fine. It creates distance between what happened and the meaning your mind immediately assigned to it. Over time, this practice can strengthen your ability to respond to pressure with greater accuracy and control. |
| Choose one stressful situation from this week and work through the following: |
| 1. Describe the situation using facts only. What happened, without adding assumptions or judgments? |
| 2. Identify the automatic thought. What did you immediately tell yourself about the situation or what it meant about you? |
| 3. Examine the thought. What evidence supports it? What evidence challenges it? Are you treating a possibility as a certainty? |
| 4. Replace it with a neutral or positive statement. The new thought should feel realistic enough for you to believe. |
| For example: |
| Automatic thought: “I always fail under pressure.” |
| Neutral reframe: “I made a mistake in one high-pressure moment, but that moment does not define my overall ability.” |
| Positive reframe: “I can learn from what happened and prepare myself to respond more effectively next time.” |
| If a positive statement feels forced, begin with a neutral one. The goal is accuracy, not false optimism. |
| Reframing will not change what happened. It changes the position from which you meet what happens next. Sometimes, the choice to stand is simply refusing to let an automatic thought become an unquestioned truth. |
| Stay strong, even when you are not. It’s okay, you are not alone. |
| With love always, |
| Michael Argyrides |
| Book a free consult |
This edition was sent to subscribers of Path to Becoming.
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