Eric Church’s Six Strings of Life: Are the Things That Matter Most in Your Life in Tune?

Inspired by Eric Church’s powerful 2026 UNC commencement speech, Suzie Price connects his “six strings of life” to six dimensions of Axiology to explore how greater self-awareness can help us notice what has drifted out of tune—and intentionally make the adjustments that matter.

 

TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS

• 1. Nothing has to be broken to need tuning.

Every important part of life can drift—our direction, relationships, roles, work, community, and even our sense of who we are. The goal is not perfect balance; it is developing enough awareness to notice when something needs attention and being willing to adjust.

• 2. Self-awareness gives us more choice.

Axiology and the Acumen portion of TriMetrix help reveal how clearly we see ourselves, other people, tasks, roles, and systems. When we recognize our patterns and biases, we gain the ability to respond intentionally rather than simply reacting from habit.

• 3. One strong string cannot carry the whole song.

Ambition, achievement, resilience, or any other strength can become overused. A meaningful Wake Up Eager life requires paying attention to all the things that matter—not simply continuing to do more of what we are already good at.

 

KEY QUOTES

• “By optimizing sleep, you optimize performance.” 
• “It’s about the quality of what we’re doing, not necessarily the quantity of what we’re doing.”  
• “Your good night’s sleep actually starts with how you wake up.”  
• "Hydrate before you caffeinate.” 
• “A lot of people are tired, but wired.”  
• “When we are sleep deprived, executive functioning is one of the first things that gets affected.”  
• “Good sleep allows you to show up in the rooms that matter most.”  
• “Healthy, consistent, good quality sleep has a trickle-down effect into so many other areas of your life.” 

 

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

• “An instrument doesn’t have to be broken to be out of tune, and neither do we.” — Carol Mettenbrink
• “Axiology helps us see our patterns—and once we see them, we have more choice about what we do next.” — Suzie Price
• “Being right about where the lights were wasn’t nearly as important as being connected to his wife.” — Jim Comenzo
• “One string can’t carry the whole song.” — Suzie Price
• “At some point, I believe we have to stop asking only, ‘What am I capable of doing?’ and begin asking, ‘What is truly worth doing with the life I have?’” — Carol Mettenbrink
• “Once you recognize it, you have a choice. You can react from your automatic pattern, or you can slow down enough to ask, ‘What does this situation and this person actually need from me right now?’” — Jim Comenzo
• “You don’t throw away the guitar because one string is off. You tune it.” — Suzie Price

Think about your life right now and consider these six areas:

Eric Church’s String Axiology Connection

Tuning Question

• Faith Self-Direction - Am I clear about what I believe, what matters most, and where I am going?
• Family Role Awareness - Am I showing up in the roles that matter most to me the way I want to?
• Relationships & Partnership Understanding Others - Am I truly seeing the people I care about—or mostly reacting to their behavior?
• Ambition, Resilience & Vision Practical Thinking - What important result do I want, and what is the next useful action?
• Community Systems Judgment - What system am I part of, and am I seeing it clearly before I follow it or fight it?
• Individuality Sense of Self Am I living as myself—or spending energy trying to become who someone else expects me to be?

These are not official one-to-one Hartman pairings; they are the connections Suzie heard while listening to Eric Church’s speech.

Choose one string that needs a little attention. Then identify one action: a phone call, a conversation, a new system, a boundary, a decision, or simply some quiet time to get clearer.

You do not have to retune your entire life today.

Notice the string. Then begin tuning it.

 

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

Carol Mettenbrink

Carol Mettenbrink is the founder of On the Brink Business Solutions, where she works with individuals and organizations in psychometric analytics, leadership and team development, talent optimization, coaching, and consulting. A longtime student and practitioner of Axiology and TriMetrix, Carol also serves on the Board of Directors of the Robert S. Hartman Institute.

Connect with Carol on LinkedIn
Hear Carol on Wake Up Eager Episode #71: Deeper Than DISC

Jim Comenzo

Jim Comenzo is President of Creating Healthy Relationships, LLC and a licensed marriage and family therapist, organizational development consultant, and coach. He brings more than 30 years of experience applying Axiology and Family Systems theory with individuals, couples, families, leaders, and organizations.

Connect with Jim on LinkedIn

 

FULL SHOW NOTES