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What If?
What if everything in this life has happened exactly as it was supposed to? What if all the injustices (perceived or real), the missed opportunities, the almosts, the not quites, the coulda woulda shouldas disappeared? And all that remained was life…exactly as it is in the present moment. No regrets. No remorse. No worry about the future. What if the yardstick by which we measured life never came up short? What if our lives were laid before us like a hand of cards? Not to be judged as winning or losing but rather to be played…joyfully…thoughtfully…with great gusto! How would your day be different if it were free from regret, worry, and doubt?…
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What Would The Hulk Do?
The Hulk always wins. Whether the challenge is facing a super villain or answering the question, who is your favorite superhero? In my book, The Hulk always wins. But, would Dr. Bruce (David) Banner agree? One of the reasons I have long appreciated the Hulk is that his “human” struggles are obvious and visceral. We may wrestle internally with anger or struggle to express our feelings appropriately showing only a flicker of frustration through a clenched jaw or closing a kitchen drawer with a bit too much force. The green guy has virtually no self-control. He always goes for the SMASH! There are few better illustrations of the effect of anger on us that Banner and…
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The Struggle Is Real
One of our greatest freedoms is the freedom to choose. Regardless of the degree of complexity of the choices, being able to choose is a gift. As with our other freedoms, this gift comes with a cost. In 2011, John Tierney wrote an article for the New York Times Magazine entitled Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue? It centered around the idea that we have a finite cognitive budget and each decision we make has a physiological cost. The more choices or decisions we make, the more energy we expend (spend). Now, it doesn’t take one of the several scientists quoted in Tierney’s article to tell us that we have more brain energy at the beginning of the day…
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Neon Signs
Always in motion the future is. — Yoda Everyday, we are faced with deciding our future. When we were younger, the “right” answers may have seemed more obvious. Maybe it had to do with immaturity or a lack of sophistication in our thinking. Perhaps the issue was more universal. In our twenties, we often only have ourselves to consider. No spouse or children yet. Parents in relatively good health. Should we apply for the job? Should we buy or lease? Should we take a roommate? While these were big life choices, they were simple in comparison to the complexity of the decisions we face later in life. Today’s choices are more complex in part because of the impact upon our…
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Tests and Lessons
The difference between school and life? In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson. — Tom Bodett It is tempting to treat the tests in life like dogs that beg for scraps of our attention. Too often, we sustain them on a diet of negativity. We bemoan what we believe is our undeserved fate. “Why has this trial befallen me? How could he/she/they do this to me?” Our thoughts are dominated by how our vision of perfection is being destroyed by (or at the very least inconvenienced by) the world about us. We complain, gossip, and attempt to build…
