Month: August 2021

We wake up with a plan and then we go about our day following through. On a good day at least. And then something happens, we alter the plan, then continue.

Couple thoughts on this mindlessness we fall prey to:

We live out our day based on a few decisions.

Where I work eats up at least 40 hours of our lives every week. It potentially adds a commute (let’s just say hour and half each day). Your salary dictates where you live. Which effects where you kids go to school, where you recreate, how you exercise, how much debt you accumulate to keep up with the Jones’, who your neighbors are, what city you live in, who you vote for…and on and on.

But then a pandemic comes along. Smashing our best laid plans.

The alternative to making plans is to set commitments. Commit to a practice. And in 20 years, you have a large body of work. Despite a terrorist attack, a housing crisis, a recession or a pandemic.

The decisions we make send us on a path that we follow. Be careful which path you choose. And understand that even with the best intentions, life can come in with a hammer and smash them up. Often.

Pivot, pivot, pivot. Like paddling a river, you’re forced to keep making course corrections. Count on it. When one emergency ends, another begins.

A “No” doesn’t mean there is something wrong with your request.

We hear the words of the objection but do we actually listen to them?

What is the story behind it?

What are their hopes, their dreams, their fears, their worries, their pain?

Does your ask nudge them closer to the person they seek to become? If not, how can you alter your words to better align with someone else’s story.

Sometimes, it isn’t enough to say, “Please wear a mask to protect the people around you.” You could be more specific. “That person right there needs you to wear a mask, will you do it?”

Anonymous online behavior has changed us. If we can show you someone that you know, you are more likely to alter your behvior.

We won’t do it for everybody, but we will do it for someone.

Be human.

When I fall while climbing, as much as I don’t like it, I can’t change the laws of gravity.

It’s pulling. Constantly.

Wishing it would go away only causes more pain than necessary.

Most climbers spend an enormous amount of time thinking about falling. For good reason. But it also wasting energy that could be used to imagine the alternative. Sending.

When we are feeling sad for no apparent reason, it may be worth examining:

What attachments am I holding onto?

Attachment is the killer of joy. When we are attached to outcomes, we close the door of possibility.

For better or worst.

Something that blows spectacularly in our face isn’t a failure. It is a sign of courage.

Because those who never rush into things are cowards.

If you are not saying “Hell yeah!” with all the excitement and enthusiasm you can muster, then it’s probably not a project you should be doing. If you are saying No to most things and Yes to the few things that sparks joy, you are more fully able to commit.

Have the courage to run full steam ahead on the one thing you feel like you were born to do.

Over 1,000 years ago, Layman Pang noted:

“What I do every day is nothing special: I simply stumble around. What I do is not thought out, where I go is unplanned. No matter who tries to leave their mark, the hills and dales are not impressed. Collecting firewood and carrying water. Are prayers that reach the gods.”

Often translated and simplified to: Chop wood. Carry water.

No narrative. No drama. Just simply do the work. Perfecting the practice.

Chop wood. Carry water. Repeat.

Carry on.

HT The Practice

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

Time is consistent. Always moving forward.

The urgency, the emergency, that feeling of uncertainty and doubt we are feeling in this moment–it’s going to fade.

And what we thought mattered so much probably won’t even be a memory in two weeks from now. (Do you even remember what you had for lunch that day?)

When we move past this emergency, we just move on to the next one. Perhaps then, the question we need to ask ourselves is this:

Why all the drama?

Just a PSA: The Bogeyman doesn’t exist.

The Bogeyman is a weapon, a story we tell to scare people, particularly children, into compliance.

It’s true. Our fears will never completely go away. But when we flip the lights on, we will see, that the Bogeyman was just a figment of our imagination. Running amuck without a leash.

Sure, it’s possible that your worst fears will come to fruition. But it’s also not likely either.

We fear what we can’t imagine. A world of uncertainty scares us to be compliant. To follow the simple set of instructions for unremarkable outcomes. Or we can embrace the alternative. Shun the Bogeyman.

If you are good at your craft, if you are a professional, it’s expected to be comfortable on stage when the spot light is in your face.

This takes years to perfect. But it isn’t an added bonus to the audience. Either you can perform to your crowd or talk about your work in a way that pleases others or you can’t.

Step by step. Showmanship is part of the presentation we need to make a sale.

The reason we struggle so much to listen to what others have to say is because we think we know better than the person talking to us.

Because we are locked in with of how we see the world around us, we are quick to dismiss narratives that are contrary to the story we tell ourselves.

As a result, we miss opportunities of possibility because we are too afraid of the state of incompetence–not knowing what happens next.

Fear of groundlessness is one of our greatest fears. We want to know the effect after the cause. And since we can’t predict our future, we do our best to make one up. A self-fulfilling prophesy–actions fuel believes that then cause us to react that then reinforce our believes. And on, and on, and on.