Claven-Y tackles 2026’s youth crises—rising stress, anxiety, and depression tied to social media, academic burnout, and fear-mongering news—by prescribing 20-minute daily prayer/meditation, strict screen time limits (e.g., "two times a day"), and walking away from cyberbullying while advocating karate (their son holds a "triple, double black belt"). Rejecting media-driven panic over climate change or global conflicts, they urge faith-based solutions: church attendance, in-person connections (like post-service coffee hours), and structured daily tasks to regain mental control, dismissing drugs as a last resort. Success hinges on divine support and disciplined habits, framing resilience as a spiritual and practical battle. [Automatically generated summary]
The new year is here and it is time to make new year's resolutions and also to keep those resolutions.
And I've been noticing there are things that young people are worried about and facing in 2026 that maybe people haven't faced before or that haven't faced them in quite the way we're facing them now.
So I'm going to read off a list from our old friends on the internet and say maybe recommend some New Year's resolutions that might help.
So let's start with mental health challenges, stress, anxiety, depression.
These are becoming much more common and they're often linked to academic pressure, social media and uncertainty about the future.
I would make a New Year's resolution to adopt some practice that is going to help you cool off.
All right, everyone, chill.
Because most of the things we worry about in life don't happen.
And every now and again, you need to stop.
Every day, you need to stop and take 20 minutes, meditate, pray.
I think prayer is one of the most helpful things you can do.
If you talk to God, he will listen and he will tell you things that you didn't know, that you wouldn't come up with yourself.
And one of the things about prayer that I've noticed is it really helps in your prayer to leave a space of silence in which God can speak.
You may not speak into that silence in the moment, but if you leave that silence, he will speak to you eventually.
Don't be afraid.
Make a resolution that you're going to take 20 minutes a day by yourself to meditate or pray or walk and pray or walk and meditate and simply get away from the things that are bothering you because most of the things you're worried about are not, you don't need to worry about.
All right, academic pressure and burnout, high expectations, heavy workloads, and fear of failure can lead to exhaustion and loss of motivation.
Well, this is easy.
I mean, again, you've got to schedule your day.
Time is one of the most, it's funny, it's one of the easiest things to arrange, but people don't do it because they feel they get drawn out.
You've got to leave time that's open.
One of the best suggestions I've ever gotten, we've gotten it from Ben Shapiro.
Charlie Kirk, I think has written an entire book about it, is take a Sabbath.
Make sure you have a Sabbath.
Make sure you have a day when the phones are turned off, when the work stops, when everything stops, and you just gather with the people you love and do the things that you need to do.
You know, turning off that phone is like medicine.
It really is.
And if you make, I've made that resolution.
You should make the resolution that you are going to find time either an hour in each day or a day in the week when you just turn that stuff off.
And I think that that is really important.
Again, all of this stuff, all of the academic pressure, all of the high expectations, you're going to be fine.
You know, God has got you.
You are going to be absolutely fine.
And so just relax.
Look, I'm a high expectation guy.
I'm a guy, a triple A personality.
I work very hard, but I know to stop.
And I know when I stop, I have to stop completely.
So make that resolution that you will do that.
Social media pressure, constant comparisons, online drama, pressure to look or act a certain way can hurt self-esteem.
This stuff is poison, pal.
I mean, it is poison.
Social media is just, you know, I know there are some benefits to it.
I have to use it sometimes, but you have got to make a resolution that you are going to control the amount of time.
And the way to do that is to be very specific in your resolution.
Don't make a resolution to use it less.
Make a resolution to use it X amount of time or two times a day for X amount of time or whatever it is.
Cut way back on it because it's bad for you.
And, you know, using it a little bit, it can be useful, but like anything else, too much of it, it's bad.
So make that resolution.
And again, resolutions like that do not help unless you make them specific.
Two things I know about resolutions.
Make them specific and make them below what you think you can accomplish.
So in other words, if you think you can go on social media only once a day, give yourself twice a day.
You know, give yourself a little bit of breathing room so that way you don't fail.
You know, in other words, that way you can do it easily and not make it such a hard thing to do.
But cut back on it.
Whatever you're doing now, resolve that you are going to do less and be specific about how much you're going to do.
All right, another one.
Bullying and cyberbullying, harmful behavior can follow young people everywhere, especially online, making it harder to escape.
There may be nothing I hate more than bullies.
I mean, you know, I have traded punches with a lot of bullies when I was a kid because I just hated to see them pick on little people.
And I just, I just absolutely, I hate seeing men pick on women.
I hate seeing big guys pick on little guys.
I think if you are a big guy in any way, whether you're big physically or whether you're a girl who has popularity in there, that makes you big, or whether you know how to use social media or in ways that other people don't.
And that makes you big, whatever it is that you have size in, you were given that size to help people who are smaller than you, not to hurt them.
And it is a deep, deep sin to do it.
There's one reason I became a conservative instead of a leftist is because I could not stand the politically correct bullying.
If I had to cite one reason, though there are others, it is that is bullying.
I just can't stand it.
If you are being bullied, the best thing you can do, if you can't avoid it, I mean, the best thing you can do is just avoid it and walk away.
But the best thing to do is to tell people to buzz off.
People are toxic in your life, they are not your friends.
And sometimes, you know, Shakespeare said a man can smile and smile and be a villain.
If you have somebody who is pretending to be your friend, but your life gets worse, cut them off.
You do not need people in your life.
You're not being kind to someone saying, oh, I have to stick with this person even though he makes me feel bad, even though he treats me badly.
You know, you don't have to do that.
You can protect yourself first.
You have to love your neighbor as yourself, which means you have to learn to love yourself first.
And you have to stand up to cyberbullies, report them, stand up to them, avoid them.
All those three things, not necessarily in that order.
You've got to do it because bullying can have an effect on your whole life.
And I know these guys, they get all their strength and sustenance from hurting people.
And so they try and hunt you down, but you got to stand up to them.
And I'll tell you something else, by the way, and this is especially for guys.
If you have somebody who's physically bullying you, go and take self-defense lessons.
Go take karate lessons.
Like I'm a black belt.
I trained to be a black belt.
I had my son put my son in karate lessons.
He is a triple, double black belt.
I can't remember what he is.
It's a good thing to know how to handle yourself physically in a fight.
You won't win every fight, but once you've been in a fight or two, or at least you've been in a class and you've sparring matches in a class, you'll realize that getting hit is no fun, but it's not the worst thing in the world.
And you can wade into a fight and survive it.
And I think it's just an important thing to do.
Prepare for that if you are being threatened physically, especially if you're a guy.
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Train Your Mind Peacefully00:07:29
Uncertainty about the future, worries about careers, college money, and job stability can feel overwhelming.
Remember this, like because you're young, because you're young, you don't have perspective.
What going old gives you is perspective, right?
So I remember worst moment in my life, suicidal, absolutely depressed.
I thought I was in the blackest, deepest hole imaginable.
I thought there was no way out of this hole but death.
The truth was that I was about three yards away from the light at the end of the tunnel.
I mean, seriously, I wish I could go back and slap that kid for even thinking about throwing away the gift of life.
But the thing is, you don't have perspective and you think this will never be over.
This is the worst thing that ever happened.
I'm humiliated.
I'm destroyed.
I've failed.
Believe me, believe me, when you get perspective, you will see like, eh, not so bad.
You know, there's a new day.
Joy comes in the morning.
You'll be fine.
And so that's the only thing.
I have no resolution except to remember that.
You're not seeing the whole story.
And sometimes the end of the tunnel is right around the corner and you will be so distressed with yourself for thinking the things, for despairing.
You know, never despair.
Neil Desperando, never despair.
All right, let's take another one.
Loneliness and social isolation, even with constant online connection, many young people feel disconnected or misunderstood.
Well, that I have made a resolution about in my life that is to get out and join something.
I'm not a joiner.
I'm a writer.
Writers are solitary people.
I like to be alone.
I'm comfortable being alone, comfortable doing my work alone.
But when I was young and I got into a state of depression, I made a resolution.
I am going to go out and join things.
And it was hard, but I made the resolution.
And because I keep my resolutions, I followed through.
Make a resolution.
You are going to join something.
It could be a club.
Second rule of fight club is.
And it can't be an online thing.
It's got to be a club or a sport or, you know, a church, some kind of gathering where you will be in the flesh with other people.
I'm painfully shy, as a lot of people will tell you.
For me to go into a church that I haven't been in before and go to coffee hour, like climbing Mount Everett.
I would rather climb Mount Everest than go down to a coffee hour.
I have done it a dozen times because I make the resolution.
I'm going to church and after church, I'm going to coffee hour.
And it's one of the joys of my life that I can do that.
So make that resolution that you are going to actually go out and join some business where you come into real life contact with other people.
All right, another one.
Identity and self-confidence struggles, figuring out who you are, values, interests, beliefs can be confusing and stressful.
That is true.
But again, perspective.
When I went through what is commonly called a midlife crisis, it was not a crisis because I thought, oh, this is my midlife crisis.
Suddenly everything is meaningless.
So I thought, well, it'll come back.
The meaning will come back.
Your identity will come to you.
It will come to you.
And I know, believe me, I've been there.
I know how tough that is.
I know how tough that is.
But again, this is not a resolution.
Just remember, when this stuff comes to you, you don't have the perspective to see it's going to be all right.
If you can find faith, if you can find a church, if you can find prayer, all of those things really help because they will lead you to where you need to go and you won't wander around so much.
One of the things that every angel in the Bible says and Jesus says repeatedly, don't be afraid.
Do not, that's your resolution.
Don't be afraid.
Exposure to negative news and global issues, climate change, conflict, and world events can create fear or hopelessness.
That is because our press stinks.
Okay, that is, our press is corrupt and stinks.
Mistakes are precisely the reason that people should trust the media.
And they live off the misery and fear of other people.
The climate is not going to kill you.
you know, the world is not going to blow up.
And if it does blow up, it won't matter because you'll be gone.
You know, this is the way that every story is written.
And it is, it's just unforgivable that they cannot teach you about nature without talking about the threat of climate change.
Tomorrow and for the rest of eternity.
They can't teach you about, you know, walking in the woods without making you afraid and hopeless and fearful.
You've got to learn they are as corrupt as you think they are.
They're more corrupt than they think they are.
And you don't need to worry about the things they're telling you to worry about.
Most of the things we worry about in life do not come true.
What the f is this?
And by the way, if they do come true, worrying didn't help.
If you only had one resolution to make, it would be do things that train your mind, that put your mind in your control.
Meditation and prayer are the best ones that I can think of.
But if you can learn to train your mind, I'm shocked that people don't do this more.
I'm shocked that people say, oh, I have anxiety, like it's a disease.
It's a state of mind.
You can change it.
You can change it with meditation.
You can change it with focus.
You can change it sometimes through therapy.
If you need therapy, don't be afraid to get therapy.
But do the things that help your mind get better.
Do the things that help your mind get better.
Stay off drugs, get some sleep.
You know, don't smoke dope.
Do not smoke dope.
Do not smoke dope.
Don't do it because it's bad for you.
And it will make your life worse.
Don't do drugs.
If you're doing it, stop it.
Get some help.
But just train your mind.
Use the healthy ways that we have.
Yoga is great.
Yoga will train your mind.
Prayer, you know, church, meditation, all of those things that train your minds.
Do them.
Make some time for them in your day.
They will improve your life 100%.
That's a resolution you should have.
Lack of balance between school, life, and rest.
Many teens feel there's little time to relax, sleep, or just be themselves.
That's something, by the way, that you might want to talk to your parents about.
You know, just say, I'm being killed.
The stress is killing me, you know, because they can help with that.
Parents can actually, if you've got good parents, they can help with that.
They can say, okay, let's cut this out of here.
You know, start to look, do you have to really do everything?
Do you have to constantly have a schedule that's just overdone?
It's ridiculous.
You know, you got to take the time to do it.
I mean, I think I've dealt with this already, so I don't need a specific thing.
But you might want to talk to your folks about that because sometimes they don't understand how much they're overscheduling you, or you've gone to them and said, I've got to do this and I've got to do that and I got to do this and I got to do that.
And they think, okay, okay, okay.
And then, you know, sometimes you are the one who has to say, like, you know what?
I don't got to do this and that.
You know, you don't have to do this.
The other thing about this, by the way, is lists.
Really helpful.
If you make a list of what you need to do in a day and cross them off as you go, you'll get through it and you'll find out, oh, I can handle it.
Next time it comes along, you won't panic.
If you don't make the list, you tend to panic because those things are just swirling around in the air.
But if you make lists and cross off what you have to do, it's much easier.
All right, those are your lists.
That's your assignment.
Make a few, a few resolutions.
Make them easy so you can keep them and learn to train your mind.
All kinds of ways.
Karate.
Karate!
Self-defense things are another way you can train your mind.
All these things help.
You do not have to live with an unruly mind.
You can train your mind.
And maybe you need therapy, but probably you just need some meditation, some practice like karate or yoga, prayer, all of those things.
Do them, resolve to do them, and make time in your life to do them.
It only takes like 20 minutes a day sometimes to bring you back down to earth.
That's the resolution that you should make.
Train your mind to be at peace.
And with that, I say to you, peace and have a happy new year.
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