I think about the debt I’ve avoided…
I think about the tens of thousands of dollars I’ve saved…
I think about the people I’ve repelled and the ones I’ve attracted…
I think about the time I’ve saved, the space I’ve created, and the contentment I’ve cultivated…
And I think about how one of the best decisions I ever made was that I didn’t need luxury in order to live my best life.
P.s. I also published: A Motivational Excerpt From Tom Brady’s Hall Of Fame Speech—”You Don’t Have To Be Special…”
Landscaping today, I got to thinking about how certain tasks are easier after it has been dry for a few days (e.g. mowing the lawn) and how others are easier after it has been wet (e.g. digging).
It would be counterproductive to try and mow on wet days and dig on dry ones.
It would be much better to align the tasks you’re trying to do with the weather you’re in.
…As it is with inner work.
When things are happy… when you’re immersed in an adventure… when you’re enjoying quality time with friends or family… maybe that isn’t the best time to dig. Maybe that’s the time to let the branches of your happiness stretch as high as your presence will allow.
When things are sad… when you’re heavy in your feels… when you’re grieving the loss of a loved one… maybe that isn’t the best time to try and stretch your happiness (by suppressing those heavier emotions)… maybe that’s the time to let the roots of your sadness dig as deep into your feels as your presence will allow.
Digging when you’re happy and stretching your branches when you’re sad are possible… just like mowing the lawn when it’s wet and digging when it’s dry is possible… but, aligning with the weather and season you’re in might make for a much more productive use of time.
Inner work prompt: What season are you in? How can you align your present efforts to maximize that current experience?
Last week, my martial arts students and I reflected on the question, “Who is a rich person?“
This week, we reflected on, “Who is a strong person?”
And the question I asked to help them gather their ideas was, “Who is one of the strongest people you know in your life?” And “Why?”
…And not a single person mentioned someone because of their sheer physical strength.
Each person mentioned somebody because of their emotional and/or mental strength.
They mentioned people who showed resilience, grit, patience, kindness, and courage in the face of adversity and unfairness in life… Parents who brilliantly juggled family, career, health, and more in spite of incredible challenges… People who were diagnosed with life threatening illnesses yet maintained a constructive outlook and found ways to carry through.
While physical strength is certainly impressive, the takeaway for me is that it’s built mostly for the individual… whereas emotional and/or mental strength is a strength that benefits every single person that individual interacts with.
I’m sure you have crossed paths with a muscle-head who was an absolute a-hole… who was, yes, utilizing a type of emotion and/or mental strength to develop their physical strength—but it was for the sole purpose of vanity… it was for themselves.
Whereas the people who develop their mental strength—by building discipline, courage, focus, respect, etc… or the people who develop their emotional strength—by practicing mindfulness, patience, openness, and do inner work… become sources of strength for us all.
P.s. One of the strongest people I ever knew was my great grandmother. Here’s why.
I can get into a flow state for writing much quicker when I follow my normal routine of inspirational primers (uploading quotes from various sources to MMQ) → nap → coffee → write.
It’s much harder to get into a flow state for writing when I do something more like I did today which was inspirational primers → nap → coffee → look up flights → search for cool EDM concerts → playfully imagine fun vay-and-day-cation itineraries → write.
Those added variables of flight, concert, and trip planning would have been MUCH better inserted at the end of the writing session. Because it doesn’t take any priming, focus, or discipline to playfully do trip planning. It’s fun and automatic.
Writing, however, requires each of the above in sacred measure, proper order, and more.
Otherwise, at least for me, my Muse feels betrayed… overlooked… ignored… and will require copious amounts priming, attention, and discipline (aka blank page staring), due in full, to make up for it.
Order matters.
P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.
In Tae Kwon-Do, we practice forms—traditionally constructed and precise patterns of moves—for a variety of reasons.
To the untrained eye, one might wonder what their purpose is… here’s a traditional form I performed in 2015 for context.
…They certainly don’t look like moves you might use to defend yourself. Which, as most people might understand it, should be one of the primary goals of training in martial arts.
To which I’d say it is… and that they actually are… moves to help you learn to do exactly that.
…The translation just isn’t literal.
In the same way an allegory is a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning… forms are carefully constructed (artistic) patterns of moves that are densely saturated with hidden meaning.
…Which makes them one of the most important mediums through which our art’s sacred lessons are handed down from one generation of martial artists to the next.
To those who look at and judge it by what they see on the surface… the lessons will forever remain a mystery.
But, to those who humble themselves enough to become a practitioner and try… and learn… and experiment… will slowly… slowly… reveal a world dense with knowledge and lessons that will forever change how they engage with the art and mystery of life.
Today’s inner work prompt is this: what’s something you only understand superficially that you’d like to get to know more deeply? Be it a spiritual text, a culturally rich form of movement, or even yourself… pick something, block out some reoccurring time for it, and begin to explore.
There’s far more than what’s on the surface.
If your top criteria for doing something is that it be fun… then you’ll eventually regress to doing things that give comfortable thrills, dopamine hits, and easy wins.
If your top criteria for doing something is that it be meaningful… then you’ll push yourself to do things that are uncomfortable up front, but long term rewarding… things that are accompanied with progress, deep-seated gratitude, and fulfillment… things that challenge you to fail, learn, and grow.
Fun is for lazy Sundays, nights out with the boys, day trips with the girls…
Meaningful is for career paths, health and fitness efforts, community service, legacy…
The trick is to do meaningful work that you also have fun doing that you’d STILL DO even during the times when it isn’t so fun (no meaningful work is fun 100% of the time).
Expecting meaningful work to feel like an arcade isn’t practical. What you can expect, however, is to feel a deep sense fun/joy/reward from meaningful work that superficial “fun” work could never provide.
Something that comes from seeing others and feeling yourself improve… that comes from building something of value and awe… that comes from seeing your art/ creative visions come to life… that comes from thank you letters and unprompted gifts… that comes from changing lives.
Fun-only is almost always absent of meaning. Meaning-only almost always includes some sense of fun. Maybe not immediately, but almost always over the long run.
On my drive to work this morning, I pissed a guy off very much.
While crossing the street in the middle of traffic, he started yelling and swearing at me for driving too… slow… because I didn’t drive past him fast enough which made him slow down his stride and (god forbid) wait an extra few moments before he could finish his jaywalk.
Looking in my rear view mirror, he didn’t continue in any kind of hurry either… just continued walking across the street, mumbling to himself, with anger oozing from his mannerisms.
The experience as a whole couldn’t have cost the guy anything more than 10 seconds. And yet, probably cost him upwards of at least 10 minutes from his exacerbated response… maybe even hours—who knows. And here I am, furthermore, thinking about it and writing about it hours and hours later.
Coincidentally, as the universe would have it, I discovered and uploaded a quote to MoveMe Quotes today that said, “Patience is not passive, it is concentrated strength.” And this little experience does a great job exemplifying why.
Ten seconds of patience—concentrated strength—could have given him and me (and anyone else involved) an exponential return in time saved from anger/ frustration/ and irritation… time that could be used instead for joy/ presence/ creative thinking/ etc.
And to those who take the time to develop that concentrated strength and actively flex those patience muscles in their every day lives—thank you. Not only is the ROI phenomenal for you, but it is for all of us. Your strength gives us more time and space to develop ours—and for that I am (we are) grateful.