I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.
Prosperity reveals who a person really is. This is something I’ve been working on myself because I have career success. I fall into awful habits. Thankfully I’m also willing to recognize and try to improve upon them.
I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.
Thursday - It Could Happen To You
Unexpected things are always right around the corner. I’ve realized that when things are going well that in the future things may not go so well. It’s a lot like riding a roller coast. There are highs and lows. I try to be prepared for the lows of it all.
Yesterday - The Vulnerability of Dependence
Test my dependencies. I feel like I’m fairly easy going in life and can adjust to situations where I don’t have the things I need or want. A day without power is an opportunity to play board games or read or clean the house.
Today - What Time Off Is For
I should always be learning new things. I feel like this can be done in almost anyway. The stoic talks about not just watching TV or traveling from place to place. I think there are opportunities in each of those activities to learn something new. I may be just justifying my video game habit.
I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.
This is about training my mind to be resilient to outside influence. To get to a point where good choices are made without thinking. I liken this to my golf practice today. I was frustrated with how some shots were going. Then I realized that I just needed to let go of all the thoughts and swing. I’ve swung a club thousands of times already either on the course or in practice.
When I let go my ball was flying farther and straighter. I’ve noticed this in rounds. Every bad shot could be tied to a thought in my back swing. External noise doesn’t bother me. Internal noise does. This is why people go to the range and have wonderful shots that don’t translate to the course. The range shots are thoughtless and free. The course shots are filled with all sorts of thoughts of hope and desire and watch that bunker or those trees. I need to learn to just let go.
I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.
How I handle adversity says a lot about me as a person. In video games it’s easy to blame the other team for cheating or worse our teammates for not pulling their weight. I’ve used these as opportunities to search inward and replay how I could have done better. In my youth I had the hand and eye coordination to play video games at a high level. Those are fading as I age and I have to look for new opportunities to improve. I have to out think and out strategize people because they will be quicker than me. The obstacle is the way.
I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.
The stoic uses wrestling as a metaphor for life. I agree with it because it requires a lot of practice and struggle and patience. Some times things are out of your control. I can practice and practice and the opponent will still be better, faster, and stronger. I have to accept that and go back to work for the next match. I have to learn from my mistakes and failures and try to be better next time.
The pandemic and working from home was a full-time adjustment. A year later I am going back into the office. That too is an adjustment because it throws off my home routine. I got into a grove and now I’m adding back in 30 minutes to my day. I have some people working for me that too will head back into the office. I told them it is an adjustment and takes time. They can take the time they need to get adjusted.
