👣 Step 41: Shave It Off

Going bald taught me a lot. It was one of the hardest inevitable things I’ve had to overcome.

No matter what I did - Rogaine, Finasteride, Biotin, natural remedies, etc. - nothing stopped it. It may have slowed it, but it was still gonna happen.

I built a part of my identity around my hair when I was in high school and early college. I loved it. I felt cool and so “me.” I remember how a high school coach even mentioned how much he noticed that I loved my hair.

Then I started noticing thinning my freshman year of college and immediately started applying Rogaine.

That slowed down the inevitable. I was able to hold onto my hair until 2025. But it didn’t stop what was coming.

I could’ve held on for longer. In fact, I pushed back my “shaving date” at least 5 times over the course of 3 years. I could’ve been in denial that this was happening.

But in July 2025, I just committed and shaved it off.

I owned it before it owned me.

And what came next was truly surprising. The next day, it genuinely felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. Like I took a weighted vest off my body.

Yea, it took about 2 weeks to get used to walking past the mirror and subconsciously expecting my hair-full self. But once I got used to the mirror part, I wished I’d committed to this bald lifestyle sooner.

I felt more confident, and I had less thoughts racing around in my head.

Instead of baldness happening to me, I’d chosen this for myself. I hurdled my mental barrier.

That’s the crazy thing about our mental barriers. We place them because we don’t want to:

• Be embarrassed.
• Lose a part of our identity.
• Try something new.
• Fail.

But when it's inevitable: at some point you’ll need to face it. Own it before it owns you.

And when it's optional: you’re never going to know if it works if you don’t take the leap.

So, what’s your life’s equivalent?

• What have you been pushing off or not wanting to start?
• What have you been embarrassed to do?
• What do you know you need to handle but keep postponing?
• What’s that wild dream you want to pursue but you’re scared?

We all have them, and that's fine! For me, my next one is publicly doubling down on this newsletter/content and becoming a thought leader.

But now that I’ve done this process with something as meaningful to me as my hair and identity, I can genuinely tell you this: do it.

Own it before it owns you.

Shave it off.

See you next Thursday, Steppers.

We will succeed,

Grayson

​graysonstepanek.com​

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Song of the Week:

stupid song Olivia Rodrigo PREVIEW   ​

Olivia really came back with another classic pop album - her most mature yet. Stupid Song is exactly what I want from a pop banger. Great instrumentation, chorus, melodies (yelling, background vocals, etc.) and a powerful crescendo throughout the whole song. Would not be surprised if this song ends up in my Top 10 Songs of the Year.