Think About It

The Man and his Glass Jar

I watch a man walk in with a large glass jar and a tan bag containing several large items. He takes a few large rocks out of the bag, that barely fit through the glass jar, and places them within it. Is the jar full? He asks the audience. Nope, it isn’t. After that, the bag of smaller rocks comes out. He rips open the bag and dumps them into too, filling the crevices between the small rocks. “Most of you would have thought this is the end of filling it.” Not even close, I think. He pulls out a bag of pebbles and dumps them in. Following the pebbles is a large bag of sand. We must be done now. Almost everyone would agree, but a few keen minds know the last step. The man takes a large gallon of water from the bag and pours every drop into the jar, filling it to the rim. Now you can get to work. Know what you want and balance what you do. 

This reminds of a quote that discusses how we don’t trip over mountains, we trip over pebbles. The path of mastery is watching yourself place your foot on the path, instead of just knowing what you need to do. Gaze into the future, glance at your foot on the path. It’s the how of the how. The philosophy behind the action. 

Scheduling your priorities is about seeing the different sized rocks in your life. The big rocks are things like family, health, relationships, finance, basic needs, etc. They seem impossible to handle because of their size, but they are vital. Unfortunately, the smaller and easily recognizable pebbles, sand, and even water can distract us from the big rocks, which encompasses the big picture. We tend to focus on the small stuff because it distracts us from the unfathomable and scary questions dealing with the bigger rocks. We confuse activity with accomplishment.

Spend most of the time on the long term and valuable activities. Have the awareness to recognize the large scope of both extremes, water and the entire jar. Let’s face it, the water is powerful enough even in small amounts over time.

Pay attention to what you put in the jar too, you don’t want only water, only big rocks, or only small pebbles. Balance them. : )

I think life is about creating yourself and enjoying who you are. Know yourself well by getting your priorities straight. =)

Boredom - Too Much Human Thinking or Random Activity

Let’s surround our minds around boredom.

The continuation of a monotonous and repetitive day gets most people. The force of mediocrity and going on autopilot. Meaningful situations can become so minuscule and unnoticeable that we begin to dread daily routines and focus on the struggle with it instead of the benefits. Confucius wants all of us to find a job we love so we never work a day in our life. The key isn’t the right job; it’s the right attitude. Unfortunately, we do work. We need to make money. It doesn’t come by itself (Oh, if only it did). Our search for meaning and productivity in our work is a challenging journey. The big question is: are work and fun really separate? I think work and fun can be one to some degree. Boredom is good and bad. Work is good and bad. Fun is good and bad. You need some moderation.

Here we go again with seeing the large scope. There will be days when work seems impossible and when work is a piece of cake. Depending on your mindset, boredom can be good, bad, or BOTH. If you don’t wake up in the morning with goals and the determination to do things and grow, you will be bored. Simple as that. Too much human thinking. If you wake up and just be busy all the time, it’s too much human doing. Activity does not always equal productivity. Doing what is right does. Balancing it achieves being a  HUMAN BEING. You BE. You think and do together. As they say, bored people are boring. Okay, not in a fixed mindset and permanent way.

There is healthy boredom and obsessive levels of boredom. The challenge is fighting boredom with all your willpower, with meaningful activity and self-directed growth. Stop at nothing to start something. Just go for it. 

Rage against the tepidness of the mundane with every fiber in your being that makes you…well…YOU. Wake up with determination, end the day with satisfaction.

Alright? Now make a bucket list and create yourself! : ) 

7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: Habit 7 - Sharpen the Saw

Balance physique, mentality, emotion, and spirit to sharpen the saw

Classic Sawer Story and Car Tire Analogy:

There are two men in a sawing challenge. The one that takes time to sharpen his saw finishes faster than the man that goes full force and doesn’t take time to replenish. We all know the better way.

The other analogy is when one car tire (aspect in your life) becomes blown it affect the performance in the rest of your life. It is all about balance. Moderation in all things, all things in moderation. 

Exercise can do so much for you. Sometimes activity clears our minds and releases stress, causing is to rejuvenate and rethink. Forrest Gump just felt like running, and he did until he thought his life through. 

Self-conscious about self-image. More about feeling good than looking good. Looks can be deceiving, so don’t dwell on not looking your best because the truth is sometimes even deeper than that. Looks can be deceiving 

Addiction is harder to quit then you think. 

Refusal skills: ask questions, name the trouble, state consequences, suggest alternatives, or take-off. Keep that win-win attitude. 

Brain:

Nothing in life comes easy. (Socrates almost drowns man and states, “When you want to learn as badly as you wanted air just now, come to me again.”)

Develop an educated mind to succeed. READ BOOKS as much as you can.

Build upon what you enjoy to do and read in order to strengthen your mind. Reading is to the mind as exercise is to the body. 

The world is your campus. Try different things and discover more about yourself that you may never have thought possible. Go out and do more than just watch and read though. plant a garden, travel, watch TED videos, read the newspaper, play board games, debate, play chess, attend concerts, watch the news, and MUCH MORE.  

Grades are important, but becoming educated is more important. Why do you go to school anyway? To learn, get inspired, try different things, establish a work ethic, etc. It’s basic training for life. Make mistakes and learn as fast as you can. Your opportunities are plentiful, so take advantage! 

OMG. Read this, please, even if you aren’t an athlete: http://books.google.com/books?id=jEazeIS0tgYC&pg=PA221&lpg=PA221&dq=sean+covey+-+a+letter+to+an+unknown+athlete&source=bl&ots=OO_9hftnMv&sig=u6QO96od1JNK0AieDNsSe682iA0&hl=en#v=onepage&q=sean%20covey%20-%20a%20letter%20to%20an%20unknown%20athlete&f=false

My favorite line: Since when does liking something determine whether or not you should do it? Sometimes you just have to discipline yourself to do things you don’t feel like doing because of what ou hope to gain from it. 

You know what companies look at most when they hire people? LIFE SKILLS. SOUND MIND. They look at DESIRE, TESTS SCORES, EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, LETTER of REC, GPA, and COMMUNICATION SKILLS. 

Ironically, as I say, mental barriers: screen-time, the nerd syndrome, and pressure. 

COME ON! Take pride in mental abilities and being smart! Nerdfighters for the WIN! Be proud of being who you are and not having a lack of neurons in your area of expertise. 

The Desire to Learn: 

If you want to be successful, you need to be a LEARNER. You need to want to improve or else you lose track and kind of “sleepwalk” through life. Life can drive you around for all you care. 

Heart: 

- building relationships nourishes the heart. Think RBA and PBA.

- Laugh often and at yourself (Not convincing enough? The average adult laughs seventeen times a day. Kindergartner? 300 times…..)

- Laugher reduces stress, helps us cope, lowers heart rate and blood pressure, connects us with other people, releases endorphins, and so much more. 

- Keep funny jokes, stories, movies, and people on your mind. When strange things happen to you personally, laugh at yourself a little. We’re all human

Soul:

- source of values, purpose, meaning, and pure loneliness. Self-leadership occurs here.

- feed your soul in ways that make you feel inspired: writing, reading, listening to uplifting music, serving others, drawing, praying, thinking deeply, etc.

- selfless selfishness exists here because when you help others, you help yourself feel better. Wait. That’s a WIN-WIN!!! HUZZZZZAH! 

- find places that you can relax and think - silence in some part of your day is crucial

- I suggest keeping a journal just to write in about stuff. IT’S FUN!

- Great principle for feeding yourself emotional fuel - GIGO - garbage in or garbage out. You decide. 

- Addictions create short term pleasure, make you obsessed, eliminate pain temporarily, gives artificial sense of control and worth, and worsens feelings of problem you want relief from. Recognize symtoms of this to change or EASILY PREVENT it first.

- Analogy: a frog doesn’t recognize temperature change from cool to hot when it’s in the water from the start. The key is not starting in the first place. Things can sneak up on you.

Lastly, life is complex and never simple, so expect different circumstances. Achieve balance and healthy lifestyle as much as possible and only go tough on yourself temporarily when necessary. 

EVERYTHING YOU DO sharpens your mind in some way, whether teaching you a mistake or good life lesson, or rewarding you for good effort. It may not appear at first, but it’s there. 

Make time for yourself. As Ralph Emerson says, “Make the most of yourself, because that’s all there is of YOU.  

Today’s Thought - Talent & Discipline

Thinking…thinking…thinking. Brain dump time. 

I’ve met many people with both talent and discipline, but rarely do I find people that have balanced both, and continue to develop each every day. 

Just another one of the many qualities I try to look for in people that I meet. 

Talent is mostly given. It’s your gift, your strengths. You see it in America’s Got Talent when random people are given the chance to show what they love to do or have mastered (From strange…to unbelievable). You never know what walks on that stage.

Discipline on the other hand isn’t granted. You need to develop self-leadership and understand how to discipline yourself through experience. It reminds of the statement that nothing worth learning can ever be taught, and must be learned experienced. Tough, it is, but that’s the truth.

The more and more I focus on combinations like these (fun/professionalism, talent/discipline, vulnerability/confidence), the more I understand that so many factors play a role in healthy self-leadership. Each understanding is like a puzzle piece in the big picture. One by one you learn more about who you are and how to best balance your life and achieve your potential.

It’s no wonder that everyone is different in some way.

What examples of balance in talent and discipline have you seen?