If you had to be an animal for a week, which one would you be and why?
It’s ironic that I’m sitting down to answer this tonight, on the night of the Midsummer Classic. While the baseball world is buzzing with the energy of the All-Star Game, I’m over here thinking about bears.
I’ve answered this prompt before—in fact, I wrote a post titled “I Wanna Be a Bear” a little over two years ago. Re-reading it, I realize my answer hasn’t changed, but the reasons have deepened. Back then, I liked the contrast: bears are kind of cute and cuddly, yet ferociously strong. They are wild, yet they carry a strange, haunting resemblance to us.
But if I were to step into that skin for a week in 2026? I think I’d lean less into the “cuddly” aspect and more into the hibernation of it all. As a teacher, a podcaster, and a constant creator, the idea of a creature that has the biological permission to simply shut down and exist in a state of quiet, restorative solitude is incredibly seductive.
And let’s be honest—as a baseball guy who lives for the rhythm of the season, the idea of sleeping away the entire off-season? That’s not just a survival instinct; that’s a feature. The world starts moving too fast, the news cycle gets loud, and the empty space between the last out of the World Series and the first pitch of Spring Training is just a long, cold wait. A bear wouldn’t have to wait. A bear would just close its eyes and skip the static.
Maybe the bear isn’t just an animal I want to be; maybe it’s the teacher armor I’m trying to learn how to shed—to be strong enough to be gentle, and wise enough to know when it’s time to go into the cave.
Building an Empire
We spend our lives performing for an audience that doesn’t know our real name. But what happens when the stage collapses? This Thursday, we’re tearing down the ‘tomb’ of the past and building an empire on our own terms. Join me for a deeply personal look at finding sovereignty in the Serengeti.
“Building an Empire”—Episode 3 of Rebuilding Rob: The Podcast—drops this Thursday on Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts.
Rebuilding a life takes grit, consistency, and a lot of ‘Option C’ thinking. Having crossed the 1,000-day milestone, I’m now charting the territory beyond. The mission remains the same: No glitz. Just the work. New to the blog? Start your journey here to see the blueprint and the ‘Tricorder’ perspective behind the rebuild.
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The article “The Bear Paradox” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.
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