"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17) I have heard many people say, "If you're the smartest in the room, you're in the wrong room." I personally was not too concerned about this. Although I was good in sports, I was not the best. I got good grades, but I am not an academic. If truth be told, I would "like" to be the smartest in the room, so what's up with this saying?
Think about it. If every day you know you are the smartest in the room, would you become complacent? Would you be fulfilled and happy? Would you be at your best or feel superior to those surrounding you? Would your ego feel safe knowing you are the smartest in the room? Ryan Holiday says, "Ego is the Enemy", "Just one thing keeps ego around, comfort." You want to be stronger, add more weight. You want to get faster, run harder. You want to get smarter, surround yourself with minds that will allow you to grow and learn. If you are the smartest in the room, there is no stressor, and you are the only one not growing. We need stressors in life. The Powhatan Indians bathed their babies in cold water, it started at birth and continues through life to,"toughen them up". Winter? No problem, they broke the ice and jumped in. This created courage and hardiness. So how can you become courageous and hardy? The perfect acute stressor is.......cold. A 22 page document shows the benefits of cold exposure are: brain health, pain management, longevity, fat loss, athletic performance, immune health and mood. Aubrey Marcus, founder of Onnit, suggests a "power shower". Turn on your shower warm and wash as usual, then start to breathe and turn on the cold. Focus on keeping the breath under control and then repeat this sequence of hot and cold for 3 minutes. This also allows you to practice mental toughness. God knows most of us could use a little more of that! So as Friedrich Nietzsche said, "What does not kill me makes me stronger" In case you were wondering. I am clearly not the smartest in the room, I am in a room with 6th graders all day! Ego. Check! "Feel the Rush"
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"To have Christian hope means to know about evil and yet go to meet the future with confidence."- Pope Benedict XVI
I attended the funeral of my best friend's mother this past weekend. The loss of loved ones can often leave us feeling lost. The world can seem dark and our lives can feel pointless. Death tends to cause us to look for meaning and purpose. Hope is the answer. Hope is knowing the future will be better than the present. So to have hope we mush have future goals, a belief those goals are possible, and have a path to attain them. Without hope, we may become depressed and hopeless. Fr. Mike Schmitz says , "Hope is almost always connected to action." He says hope is not simply optimism, although optimism can be a good thing, it is almost always useless when needed the most. Too many of us spend our days wishing for a better future, and wishing is just another form of hopelessness. To have hope is to have meaning and action is required. He tells a story of a former military man captured during Vietnam, Since he was of high ranking he was tortured more and and was in the POW camp for 8 years. When asked how he survived when so many other succumbed, he replied. "Oh that's easy." The optimists said, "We will be out by Christmas" then, "we will be out by Easter", then "Thanksgiving". And when the time came and went, they died of a broken heart. He and the others fought "to live". They acted and had a clear fundamental purpose and belief. What do you hope for? Do you want a better job? Want to lose some weight, run a marathon, or have more time with family? Do you want to sleep more, have more money, have less stuff, find a partner to love, or create a better relationship with a family member? I do not wish you luck in your future endevour. My hope, (this is my action) is you will choose action, not wishful thinking to make tomorrow a better day! "The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature." —Marcus Aurelius "Feel the Rush" |
AuthorToday is the first day of the rest of your life. What do you want your life to look like? The amazing thing is the choice is yours. I have spent many years of my life being passive, allowing things to happen to me. How many of us are spectators in our own lives? I know I was for years. I watched my energy decrease. I was tired, bloated, and had brain fog. Most days I woke up only to look forward to my next nap.Then I began an active quest for energy, peace and joy! I can honestly say it was a long journey, which I am still on. I am no longer looking for the magic pill! Magic hacks....yes! At 51 I feel more energetic than I have in years. If I were to give everyone the top 3 things to allow you to live your life with energy, peace and joy... Archives
July 2022
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