Month: September 2023

The Luck In Being Prepared

Published on September 23, 2023

For the martial arts demo team I coordinate, our next performance opportunity was scheduled to be six weeks from now.

…Until I got word that there was another opportunity next weekend.

Many of them, for the past six weeks were focused on other things and were waiting for good ol’ procrastination to kick into effect—even though I’ve been encouraging each team member to have something ready sooner.

Lo and behold, when I announced the opportunity, only a handful of them were ready.

And the handful that have been putting in the work are going to get to capitalize on the opportunity.

This is what “luck” is—when preparation meets opportunity.

The prepared team members are going to get “lucky” with the experience they’ll gain from this last minute opportunity whereas the procrastinating team members won’t.

Don’t wait for the opportunity to arise to start preparing. By then, it’ll be too late. Start preparing now and jump ahead of the procrastinators by capitalizing on opportunities the second they come onto the radar.

Mind-Wandering ≠ Meditating

Published on September 22, 2023

Yesterday, I had a client tell me they do their meditation while they shower.

Other times, I’ve had people tell me they meditate while they walk or drive the car.

I’ve even had people tell me that household chores are meditative for them (they’re also probably on the brink of enlightenment).

…And the truth is: everything is and can be meditation.

Because meditation is the act of returning to the present.

The problem is, the second we start acting—be it showering, walking, driving, doing chores, working, etc—it usually isn’t long thereafter that we forget we’re trying to meditate and start mind-wandering instead.

And to be clear, mind-wandering and meditating are not the same thing. There is certainly nothing wrong with mind-wandering and the act itself can feel quite good—especially considering how overstimulated our minds are on average in our modern world. A break from the screens where you can just let your imagination do it’s own thing can feel quite liberating.

But, the value received from meditation is something different.

It’s less about unconsciously watching the movie your imagination plays on the walls of your mind and more about consciously choosing time and again to walk out of the imagination movie theater and back into reality—where you can once again notice the here and now.

Your mind will keep trying to bring you back in to watch the movie of your ceaseless thoughts.

But, every moment you remember to leave—regardless of the tasks you’re doing when you remember—is a moment you get to embrace fully.

…And is a moment worth celebrating, indeed.

Serious About Solitude

Published on September 21, 2023

“Without solitude, no great work is possible.”
Pablo Picasso

As I sit here and reflect on some of the great works of my life—it is undeniably true that solitude was present in each of them.

For every assignment I was proud of in school—solitude was present.
For every martial arts performance I still love to rewatch on YouTube—countless hours were spent in solitude training.
For every article I share with pride—including these short, daily pieces I email out daily—solitude happened.

And my guess is, if you’re having a hard time producing work that you feel is great—you’re probably also the type who’s having a hard time finding solitude in your day.

But, let it be known, if not from me then from Picasso himself—solitude is a necessary ingredient for great work.

And if you’re serious about wanting to produce great work, then get serious about prioritizing solitude into your days.

Be it by waking up earlier, eliminating excess screen time, deleting unnecessary tasks, rearranging the tasks of your day, or buying a pair of over-the-ear headphones that you can start wearing around the chronic distractions—be like Nike and just do it.

And for every excuse that follows and prevents you from building more solitude into your days, remember, it’s you who’s arguing against the great work potential of you.

…And what a shame to be the reason for your own withheld potential.

“Life-ing” vs Living

Published on September 20, 2023

Busy happens when you’re here and you can’t stop thinking about being there.

It’s the byproduct of planning too much into your day, too closely in a row.

…Or, maybe worth considering, it’s the byproduct of simply not being able to be here.

What I’ve noticed is that the people in my life who regularly define themselves as “busy,” tend to be that way on every single one of their days—regardless of the number of tasks they have to complete. And those who never make mention of being “busy,” tend to follow the same pattern.

Now, this might very well be because “busy” people have an increased overall average number of tasks to complete.

…Or it might be because “busy” people have an increased overall tendency to pack their days with tasks so they can intentionally invoke the feeling of busy so as to distract themselves from the here.

My challenge for you, dear busy person, is to challenge “busy” and bring to question how you’re filling your days. Are you really as busy as you’re making yourself out to be? Are there tasks you can delegate, delete, or automate to add more downtime and in-between time? Can you make more of a deliberate effort to be where you are throughout the day and focus less on the next place you need to be?

What a shame, after all, to be so busy getting to the next task that you never have time to be present for the current one.

…What a shame, after all, to be so busy “life-ing” that you never have time left for living.

Not My Job

Published on September 19, 2023

Driving home from work this afternoon, I saw a landscaping crew blowing trash into the street.

And not just grass clippings or weeds or small cigarette butts… I’m talking trash that looked like it was dumped from a trash can—trash. Things like McDonalds paper bags, Super Size to-go cups, plastic food wrappers, empty chip bags, AND grass clippings/ weeds/ cigarette butts…

I can almost see the train of thought in my head: “Cleaning up trash isn’t our job.”

“…We mow, we weed whack, we hedge, we blow, and we go.”

And they’re not wrong.

Cleaning up other people’s trash shouldn’t be anyone’s job except the person who did the trashing—and the greatly appreciated workers who are hired to transport it from our cans/bins to the appropriate community location.

And yet, in that moment… I couldn’t help but feel like they were doing something wrong.

If you’re going to go through the effort of blowing it around and into the street, why not just bend over, pick it up, and put it in a garbage bag that’s preemptively set aside? Why not go the extra mile (or extra few steps) and properly deal with the property you were hired to care for? Why not be the change rather than perpetuate the problem?

I say this not from a place of judgement, but from a place of care. I say this not from a place of being perfect at doing this myself, but from a place of inquisition. I say this not to call people out, but to inspire others—myself included—to step it up.

I say this because I think, it’s what more of us need to hear.

The Tree(s) of Life

Published on September 18, 2023

“The branches of happiness can only reach as high as the roots of sadness go deep.”
Osho

Whenever I find myself feeling sadness, for whatever reason, this expression reminds me that it’s precisely the right time to focus on roots—it isn’t something to avoid or curse. That it’s, in fact, the perfect time for depth and more deeply entrenching my “roots” into the nature of my character.

And just recently, I’m recognizing that it is the same for the relationships we have with others, isn’t it?

The people you feel most deeply connected with, I’d be willing to bet, are the ones you’ve shared the most with in both directions of that relationship’s tree—branches/happiness and roots/sadness.

This is why the relationships you only share happiness with can often collapse and end. Not because it wasn’t happy enough, but, because of a lack of depth… a lack of roots… a lack of sadness or heaviness shared. No roots and all branches cause trees to timber.

….All roots and no branches don’t work much better either.

Without any way of adding warmth/humor/sunlight to the relationship, the tree dies—no matter how deep the roots go. It’s the duality of both that makes the tree’s growth work.

Wherever you find yourself in your relationships—both with yourself and others—the point is to be there; in those moments. And really feel whatever it is your feeling. Let your roots deepen. Let your branches stretch outward. Let what you feel, flow. And let yourself flow freely between all of life’s emotions.

This is how we honor and facilitate the growth of all the tree(s) of our life.

Maybe It’s Time To Try?

Published on September 17, 2023

My team and I completed the 10k, 20 obstacle, mud run today.

…The one everybody was in their feels about yesterday—unsure of how to act as they moved slowly towards that place that’s outside of the ol’ comfort zone.

…But, move forward they did. No back outs; no bad energy; no hesitations. Everybody did their best and many… beat their previous bests.

Old ideas of what their perceived limits were—were smashed; new limits were reached; and many of them left with something they’ll hold onto for life.

Here are some of the things that were shared in our group chat after the run:

“I had no idea our bodies + brains could do so much…”
“This was definitely an amazing memory and experience…”
“Something I will never forget…”
“A Tough Mudder was not something I ever though of doing & I did originally come up with all the reasons not to, but figured I had nothing to lose by trying. Thanks everyone for making this such an amazing experience!”

Some questions for you, dear reader, to reflect on: when’s the last time you challenged one of your perceived limits? As in, actively tried to do something that you’re pretty sure you “can’t” do…? Maybe it’s time to get something into your calendar you can train for…? Maybe it’s time to team up with a group of people who are heading in that direction…?

…Maybe it’s time to try?

P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.