Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi passed away at 88 years old and wrote my favourite book of all time titled FLOW which I bought first in Dec 15 2018 after a suggestion from Austin Kleon in “Steal Like An Artist.” I am sad at his passing but his words will live for many years to come… and continue to help those searching for ways to make their existence a more meaningful and enjoyable experience.
Here we go…
Today I learned that the further you go into agony and discomfort… the easier, “Pain in the ass” becomes.
When walking 10,000 steps is currently uncomfortable then run 1 minute. It makes the walking easier in the future. Run to make walking easier.
When opening jars of jam is hard… do some deadlifts. It makes opening jars in the future seem easier.
When ungrateful for the house, warm toilet and furnace. Go winter camping. Appreciation for the simple things will grow.
When stressed about the people talking behind your back at work, volunteer at a homeless shelter. Gossip seems unimportant when faced with homelessness.
When anxious about tests and new job performance, realize the strength gained from always accepting challenge and pushing comfort zones. Failure is an input to learning. Where failure isn’t an option, laugh at the ultimatum, face the challenge and shoulder the outcome.
Dealing with big stuff every now and then makes normal life easy. Staying on the edge all the time leads to burnout, so build in rest. Walks in the woods, cats on the lap, shutting the world out with headphones. Then come back ready, stronger, able to handle chaos.
That’s all for now. Please leave any of your thoughts below.