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Tag: Analogies

Juicing Experiences

Published on May 22, 2022

You either win or you lose.

—Eh, we can do better…

You either win or you learn.

—Better. But, not as good as it could be…

You either learn or you don’t learn.

—That feels pretty solid.

Because if you don’t learn when you win you’re doing it wrong.

And learning from failures is talked about so much it’s essentially cliché at this point.

It’s worth remembering that what’s required to maximally squeeze the sweet learning juice from every experience isn’t what’s natural. Reacting emotionally to wins and losses is what’s natural.

Wins lead to celebration parties and losses lead to pity parties—and both tend to distract us from our work (and its improvement).

If maximally learning from every experience is important to us then we need to consistently prioritize a dedicated chunk of time to “juicing” each one.

Time when we can carefully reflect on what went well, what we could’ve done better, and how we can promptly implement our learnings into our lives.

Because the reality is this: experience is not the best teacher—learned from experience is.

If you’re winning and losing and not learning—you’re losing.

If you’re learning and learning and not letting winning and losing discourage or distract you from continuing to try—you’re winning.

Stuck? Or Weighed Down?

Published on May 16, 2022

The more you hold on to, the heavier life feels.

When you get in the habit of clenching tightly on to:

  • People
  • Places
  • Pains
  • Things
  • Thoughts

Your life eventually becomes so heavy that it drags to a halt.

How could this not be the case if day-after-day you continue to hold on to more than you let go of?

The knapsack that’s full of everything you’re trying to control will eventually surpass your ability to carry it forward. And you’ll be presented with a choice:

Either (1) let go of more so you can start moving forward again or (2) stay where you are and keep a tight grasp on all that you have.

And here’s the question you have to ask yourself: is what I’m holding on to serving me or is it just familiar (and comfortable)? Because if what you’re holding on to isn’t serving you…

Maybe it’s time to start letting it go.

Stuck? Or Opportunity?

Published on May 11, 2022

What might feel like “stuck” might actually be cocooning.

Take this time of stillness as a disguised opportunity to accelerate your evolution.

  • Read.
  • Write.
  • Meditate.
  • Build.
  • Sleep.

Eventually, “stuck” will no longer be able to hold you in place.

Become “unstuck” by outgrowing your current situation.

Flirting With Tickets

Published on April 30, 2022

The average pace of today’s world is fast.

Most of us are sprinting to and from and mostly because that’s what everybody else is doing.

It’s like when you’re on the highway and everybody is driving 69.5mph in a 55mph zone—you don’t want to be THAT guy (just me?).

The question is: are we running because we’re enjoying or because we’re trying to quickly get to a different place where the enjoying is supposed to happen?

Which makes me wonder: does enjoying ever sprint? Or does enjoying cruise so as to not miss a moment as life sprints by?

Be Water, My Friend

Published on April 28, 2022

Understand this: we are a vessel that carries either water or gas to and from each of our daily interactions—it’s rarely anything else.

With that in mind, our mission becomes quite clear.

We must take the time needed to fill ourselves up each day until we are overflowing with “water” rather than allowing our internal chemistry to unwillingly produce and start spewing “gas.”

Then, with every “fire” we cross, we have to let what comes from inside of us dilute the harsh flames rather than further enrage their fury.

After all, do we want to be contributors to even more uncontrollable chaos in the world? Or do we want to be the facilitators of fresh air?

And to my idealist friends out there: the key isn’t to let the number of fires in the world—or their size—intimidate you to inaction.

The most grandiose plan to extinguish all fires in the world pales in comparison to the fire that’s actually put out in your own backyard.

Today, as you embark on the path of your day—be water, my friend.

And focus on the actual flames that present themselves at each step along the way.

Happiness Masks

Published on April 12, 2022

Superficial happiness is a smiling mask that’s put over an unhappy face.

It can be quite convincing, too.

Not because people aren’t good at distinguishing masks versus faces—but because most people are wearing masks themselves.

And calling out your mask puts into question the mask they’re wearing.

…And most of us don’t want to talk about the face that’s hidden under our masks.

It’s precisely why we put masks on in the first place.

And so we carry on smiling and nodding at other people’s masks while we discreetly hide our upset and frown through our own. And that becomes a sort of accepted and forgotten about norm.

Every now and again though, we sit down with a person and they actually take their mask off.

Not to burden us. Not to complain. Not to shower sadness on our superficial happiness.

But, to share what’s real. To express something deeper than a portrayal of happiness. To give their vulnerabilities some space to breathe out from under the tight compression of plastic pressed up against their cheeks and forehead.

And what’s interesting is that the people who tend to wear their happiness masks less, and are able to share and express what’s real to them more, are often the ones who experience deeper joy as a result.

Because the byproduct of wearing a superficial mask of happiness—isn’t happiness.

Happiness is the byproduct of connecting more deeply to (and better understanding) ourselves.

Lego House Or Skyscraper?

Published on April 10, 2022

Daily affirmation: “I am not building a Lego house.”

Continued: “I am building a skyscraper. I am building a towering and intricate legacy of work that deeply reflects a long-lasting and firm commitment to steel, brick, and mortar—not cheap, plastic toys.”

Repeat as needed when things get tough.