Month: May 2020

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Self-mastery

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Self-mastery is often about viewpoint. “I haven’t had a haircut.” “My business is closed.” “I don’t have a job, or a business anymore.” “My movements are restricted.” All these things are taking place right now. They can be seen as an opportunity to relax into the oblivion or to, “Seize the Day,” to quote that fine Roman poet Horace, “Carpe Diem.”

Leave My Job

A friend of mine recently left his job. He works in a pot shop in Washington State, Marijuana is legal and it has been declared an essential service so they remain open. My friend handed in his resignation, his 2-week notice. He said, and I paraphrase our conversation, “I’m not like 90% of the people who come in here. The customers, some of them I see daily, I’ve got to get out. I just can’t hang with this, keep me sedated crowd.”

He left a well-paying job in the middle of a pandemic, a bold move. I’m not going to suggest that you make such a bold move but it was appropriate for him. What I am going to suggest is that if you find yourself in a similar situation our position then go ahead and take a moment in order yourself.

Go to the worldwide web. There are more resources on ordering one’s life and building for the future than ever before in the history of humanity. You could go to Pinterest and find something that will work for you about ordering your day or your life or a consultant who would be happy to guide you in your new endeavor.

It is a Bifurcated Choice

The reason you want to solve this is that you have a choice and in reality, it is a bifurcated choice. One path one to be taken in one not to be taken. The one change is to do that thing you’ve always wanted to do. To make that difference and the other one is just to slip into the sweet oblivion and hope that this thing is going to end soon.

When it does end things are going to be different, they are going to be significantly different. And there’s going to be an opportunity. The new times, with a can-do attitude, it looks like nothing but opportunity. Self-mastery will be important.

Or you can go ahead and hope that things are going to remain the same when we come out of this. If you’ve already ordered your life or structured it or made a bold move like my friend then stay the course. You’re on it stay strong, I’m with you, I get it and probably your loved ones get it too. It’s about doing your best for self-mastery because when you do that then, you are going to be in a position where you can serve others but that’s another topic…

Self Mastery TED talk with Master Shi Heng Yi: 5 hinderances

Consistency in life is the cornerstone in self-mastery: Consistency Podcast

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For The Win

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For the win is often swimming upstream. Swimming upstream is a metaphor for the difficult task. Something that is present and constantly pushing against us. The fact is that those things exist.

Philip K. Dick Had Something to Say

One of my favorite quotes is from the science fiction author Philip K. Dick and he said this. “Reality is that which when you stop believing in it doesn’t go away,” and that is what it’s like to swim upstream. All other aspects of the situation are thrown aside and you’re left with the current. That current often is the world and people, because the world and people do with their going to do. They have their agenda.

You could rail against ignorance, the unintelligence, the stupidity, or the bad choices. All the labels that you might use to disparage the world or people. To make them seem less than what your vision of the world or people should be. That is swimming upstream, it’s fighting. Fighting is sometimes called for but it’s the last resort. It’s the last extension of the will and fighting is expensive.

So how might we follow up on this and get a win? Well, without shirking responsibility we can keep a mindset that allows us to move forward. To swim up that stream without having to fight too much. All without having to declare everything and everybody around us stupid, or ignorant.

The Easy Win

Here’s the simple trick you can do, save an easy win in your day. If you’re outlining your day, and I hope that you are, you can find an easy win in there. Something that’s going to make you feel good when you pull that easy when the off. And when you do execute that easy win and take a moment and acknowledge that you had an easy win.

We all know that this win is contrived we set it up. Yet it still feels wonderful. It allows us to push forward with positive momentum into the next challenge. The swimming upstream, the reality that’s not going to go away.

It’s a simple trick satisfying when executed. When ignited you get to use that momentum for the win, stepping forward into the next challenge.

Here is a link from WikiLinks: 3 Ways To Win At Life

Or, maybe a 3 Minute Podcast on: Organized

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Icon of Destiny

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We all need an Icon of Destiny. We need icons. We need those people that have come before, we need those people who espouse truth. we need that person who has risen when life leveled them.

False Icons

The false icons, of course, are the ones that don’t build, that don’t build a positive future. We can find some of that in all of our icons. We don’t want a point to these failed pieces as a warning. But I will say this that it has been my experience that one should not place their trust in functionaries, bureaucrats, elected officials, and intermediaries. The reason is because it is not their nature to be an icon of destiny.

It doesn’t mean that they’re bad people. It means that they’re not that icon of destiny, also know that the statement, “Never be your heroes,” is more than true.

Because people are people. They cannot live up to the constructed idea that you’ve projected upon them. So, it’s not about the person but the attributes.

See the value that they project so choose your three icons. I like three, you might choose four, you might only have one, but perform this little audit on them. Write their name and underneath their name right that positive attitude. That positive narrative, that thing that makes them that special icon for you. Then write the negative.

Teddy Roosevelt

I will give you an example. One of my icons for the longest time has been Teddy Roosevelt the 26th president of the United States. Roosevelt was a martial artist, he did amazing things, and he also was an example of an incredible will to power.

I liked his rough and tumble, no-nonsense approach to life. The mental and physical toughness that he didn’t start life out with. Yet I sadly look at his later years. He acted recklessly regarding his health and to other’s feelings. He’s a real icon, one I can realistically live with and lean into and that’s the drill. Take your great examples of who your icon was and what they embody and recognize their faults as well.

Understand it doesn’t make them a failure. It doesn’t diminish the good, the good of the example of the ascendant behavior the icon of destiny.

Teddy Roosevelt video: Theodore Roosevelt: The Old Lion

Another 3 minutes of goodness on: Uncertainty

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Think Write

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Think Write is a means of ordering yourself. With stress increasing, intelligence gets reduced. Often in stressful situations, choices are made that are not good. Stress can create headaches, increased depression, heartburn, create shallow breathing, blood sugar spikes, and many other things.

Excited State

This excited state of stress is not good for the body. I’m now going to tell you how you can remove stress from your body and more your mind. The mind when it’s in a stressful situation, it leaps from assessment to conclusion in the twinkling of an eye. The tongue is as fast and it can be quick and it can be cutting.

Here is a path to reorganizing to relaxing your mind. To relieve some of the stress that you might be experiencing today. To allow you to become more thoughtful, being the cool head, you get to be the reasonable person, a leader, and not a reactor.

Here’s the method to solve this, and we have the luxury of time, so this works very well. Take the idea that is causing you the stress and to write it out on a piece of paper.

Alleviate Anxiety

I don’t care how long, I don’t care how big, or however you want to go about it, but write it out. Of course, that process alleviates some of the anxiety. But here’s the technique that’s going to change everything at a deep and profound level. Once you’re done go back and cross out all the emotional words all the adjectives, all the adverbs, everything that is designed to intensify.

Sounds Kooky

Then when you’re done go back and read what you’ve written without those emotional words. Do your words still make sense? You are going to want to throw those emotional words back into what you’ve written, it’s only natural. But if you keep them out of the document that you’ve written what have you got? Does it still stand the test? Does it look kind of kooky? Does it seem unreasonable? And if it does, then it isn’t valid. Or at least it requires a retooling

Emotional Creatures

We are emotional creatures we infect each other with emotions. It’s a good thing but like anything else, it can be a bad thing as well. So, let’s go ahead and be the thoughtful person. Let’s be the cool head, let’s be the responsible person, let’s be the leader and understand what we are infecting those around us with. What is that emotion? Is it good, is it reasoned or something less desirable?

Here is an auditing of behavior format to deepen your Think Write process: Auditor Behavior

3 more minutes on the idea of: Self-mastery

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