If we knew exactly the story someone told themselves about the world, then we could understand their decisions. But because that voice is only for us, we can’t know. Which leads us to fill in the blanks. It’s filled with our imagination, not what is actually happening.
I do a lot of backcountry skiing. After a while, you have to come up with games to keep you interested. For me, the rhythm of skinning up a hill, the crunch of the snow, kicking, sliding, then finally 60 seconds of skiing.
The thing is when you focus on just skiing down, you won’t enjoy the backcountry cause you spend 99% on the up. It’s about process. Not the results. A walking meditation.
Treat people well.
You don’t know what they are going through in the moment.
Life is short.
There should be a long list of ideas that don’t work. That’s how you know you’re on track for something great.
With enough time, money, popularity, reassurance…what can’t be accomplished?
Except, we never have enough of the thing we need to do the hard things in life.
We have to go forward regardless of perfect.
Most of us are comfortable stepping back. But as we get closer, we are reminded of the uncertainty. We also can’t live on that edge forever.
As a child, parents were worried about the noise of MTV and then it was Grand Theft Auto. Now, the noise is louder and more accessible.
The thing is noise is noise. We can tune in and listen or have the will power to shut it off.
The irony is, we yearn for a quieter world. Because that is the one that makes more sense.
The idea is if you win the lottery, you wouldn’t have to work again. But, of course, this isn’t true. If you win the lottery, someone else will do your work for you. So instead of fantasizing never have to work again, perhaps the better question to ponder is: What kind of work do I want to do? Where are you best served?
We think when bad stuff happens, we must be doing something wrong. And when good stuff happens, then we must be doing something right.
But rarely, that is the case. The truth is stuff happens. No matter what we are doing. Sometimes we get the outcome we deserve. Other times, we just don’t. Life can feel more like chance regardless of effort. Instead, we can adopt this posture that people like us do hard stuff like this regardless of the outcome, you keep go.
A string of bad outcomes can get us thinking the universe is conspiring against us. But really, it is the other way around.
The universe is not conspiring against us. We are conspiring against the universe.
Josh Allred's Blog 