Mastery is no fun most of the time

You know the ant and the grasshopper story.  The kids who hung out on the street, while others toiled away doing their homework, projects, or learning one skill really well.

Now we are adults, and those of us who have mastered something have it to lean on, to earn with, and to satisfy our deep need to be important and feel we are really good at something.  

That mastery didn’t come by having fun all the time, constantly engaged in activities that were stress relieving and entertaining.  It came by self-discipline and hard work.  Were we having fun?  Not the kind of fun everyone else was having.  We were not having fun most of the time as we labored and focused, so we may get a feeling of satisfaction that we had just taken a new step towards mastery.  The feeling was fleeting, but enough of its own reward. We moved on to ascending the next step right away – seeking the feeling again.

In the end, we will have reached a greater portion of our potential than we would otherwise; and maybe that’s the most fun of all.

Scar tissue is stronger than regular tissue.

We can interpret the bad things that happened (to us) as unfair, troubling, disturbing, and a liability, or we can see them for what they are; just events that made us who we are – smarter and stronger.

Realize their positive effects, and move on.

The power to choose our response

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is the power to choose our response. In our response lies our greatest growth and freedom.”            – Victor Frankl

It’s not so much what happens to us that shapes our lives and results, it’s how we choose to respond to what happens that matters more.

No matter what happens, we can decide to accept it, lash out, love it, hate it, carry it, dismiss it, make it mean this or that, learn from it, or forgive it. And it’s never too late to change our response to something that already happened that we have already responded to a different way.

How have you shaped your life with your responses?

Off Track?

If you are off track of pursuing your goals, off track of your health, off track of your finances, career or relationships…there is always this moment to get back on track.  

You always have this moment, and it’s the only moment you will ever have.

How about now then?

Get Influenced

The other day my son ran a marathon – 26.2 miles. Not just any old marathon though – it was through the northern Vermont woods with 5500 feet of vertical elevation change. Oh yeah, and it was -8 degrees F. You read that right. -8 degrees F. (It was supposed to be a snowshoe marathon but there was not enough snow.)

So, after listening to his incredible tale, I went out and ran 5 miles in 19 degree F weather the next day. My motivation came squarely from what Tanner did.

We are influenced by the people around us. Get around people you SHOULD be influenced by. Listen to and read books by people you want to be more like.

Bad Hope and Good Hope

Bad hope is hoping for things to come true that won’t; deluding ourselves with thoughts of things that can’t possibly happen.

Good hope is when we can see an achievable future and take action toward it.  

They did a test of swimming rats. They gave one group hope that they’d be saved – and they swam 200 times longer than the ones who had no hope.  

What good hope do you have?

Share Happiness, Kindness and Goodwill

“1000s of candles can be lit from a single candle – and the life of the first candle will not be shortened.” – Budda

Happiness never decreases by being shared.

Share today, and see what happens.

Grit

Grit – “A combination of passion and perseverance for a long term goal.”  

Grit is a better predictor of success than natural talent and ability, and natural ability does not make a person more likely to have grit.

Research shows that on average, the higher a student’s test scores, the less gritty the student tended to be. A child that has to work harder usually gets farther in the long run.

Pursue what you love, work hard, and don’t give up.

Sands of the hourglass

Last month I was 24. Now I am 52. Soon, I will not be 52. I will be 53. 52 will be gone for me – never to return. Like 51 is now – gone.

Soon I will be 60, and my 50s will be gone. The next day, I will be 70.

Life is passing you by. This is your time. Nobody gets out of here alive.

What are you waiting for?

Dark and Light

“You have to die a few times before you can really live.” – Charles Bukowski

Bad things happen to us. Some of us more than others. We don’t like the pain, and get through it as best we can. But the lows are there so we can recognize the high marks in our lives when we live them.  

There would be no light without dark.  

It’s all a gift – when we see it as so.