Want to see your world in a new light? Approach your issues from a fresh perspective? Then consider stepping outside your comfort zone. Travel to a place you’ve never been before. Do something you’ve never done before. Hike a glacier. Eat vegemite. Go camping. Do Yoga. Live life. Breaking from your element can reboot the system, teach you something about yourself, and contextualize your everyday concerns within the greater context of the world around you. Heightened perspective herein can unlock inspiration and passion you never knew existed. Stepping outside your element, if even for a moment, could change your life forever.
Category Archives: Life
Passive Aggressive
Confront the issue directly. Blow steam to someone else first if you need to, but don’t wait to deal with the tension at hand. It will only blow up in your face later. Like water boiling on a stove, you may get burned if you wait too long. Definitely do not ignore the situation and let the water to boil out entirely because you will be left with a charred and unusable pan.
Sweat the Big Stuff
Grade school taught us through graded assignments to sweat the little stuff. As we get older, the sweat never seems to dry away: monthly bills, quarterly reviews, weekly status meetings, to-do lists, deadlines, and more. A constant influx of “urgent tasks” and minutiae attack with little patience. It never ends. Stressed or overwhelmed? Ask yourself: “Will it matter in five years?” Odds are, probably not. Day to day, we preoccupy ourselves with problems that cease to be relevant long-term. Invariably, we solve the issues, or they go away. No big deal. So why hurt ourselves?We need to put daily burdens at bay. We need to raise our children and teach our students to see the big picture. We need to learn to invest in the long-term. We need to learn to live in the higher context of our own lives and appreciate how every beautiful moment adds to the greater whole.
Don’t sweat the little stuff. There are bigger and more important things going on.
Vacation
To fuel consistent hard work and quality, it is absolutely necessary to take real breaks. No human being can sustain a high level of effort and thoughtful decision-making without rebooting regularly.
You need to keep the pencil sharp if you want to write a full book.
I’m taking my own advice for the next five days. Please forgive me if posts are more succinct than normal!
No Regrets
You made the choice and took action. There’s no turning back. You are where you are now because of it. What’s the point of dreaming back to that decision and wondering how your life could have panned out differently? You cannot wish your life back, so do not waste your time. You can only take a new action and move forward. It if means recreating that choice again and choosing the other road, great. But that opportunity rarely arises again, so you may very well be stuck on this path.
Dare not reflect on your past, unless it helps you discover a positive life lesson or take pride in the path you chose. Embrace every choice you made in life; those choices define you today. Regrets are a waste of time and a damper on your soul. You cannot undo what has already been done. But don’t forget: you can always make a new choice.
Find Your Meditation Space
Where can you go to clear your mind? Where can you go to let your thoughts flow freely? A forest? On a jog? In the game room? Where can you go to free your mind?
With all the noise day to day, it’s difficult to pause and reflect on your own life. It’s difficult to set your emotions and stress aside. Without a moment to rest, you can lose sight of your values, stumble away from your path, or threaten your health. I understand that rest is difficult to find, but I encourage you to make something work.
The best way to do this, I’ve found, is to assign a space (or time of day, if you can commit) exclusively for resting your mind. The shower is my meditation space – it is disconnected from the rest of the world, physically relaxing, and built into my day. Find a place that works for you. Treat this space as holy. Do NOT defile it with stress or let any other part of your life in. Keep it sacred. Visit it any time you feel unhealthy, lost, or overrun.
Say It in Person
If you have something important to say, say it in person. Do not cower behind the ink of a letter. You may think you have more control with the written word, but you don’t.
In writing, you can only wield spaces and punctuation between words. In person, you have your body and environment to help articulate your point. And there can be no pensive or awkward silences on the page.
In writing, the reader sets the tone. In person, you can set the tone. A smile or frown makes a big deal.
In writing, errors and tangents hurt your argument. In person, you have the freedom to revise your statements and make mistakes. We’re human after all.
In writing, the dialogue is asymmetrical (a one-way street). In person, your conversation can be mutual. You can alter the flow of your monologue based on the listener’s questions or reactions.
It will take you longer to think your way through a letter than to speak from the heart in person. Your listener will appreciate you more in person, no matter how good or bad the news. And there’s far less room for misunderstanding and error in person. Trust me.
I wish I could tell you this in person.
Decide When to Grow Up
Growing up is not about age or education; it’s about reaching your next milestone. After college, milestones get fuzzy and unique to each person. For some, marriage is the next logical step. For others, a job promotion. What’s your next logical step? It’s okay if you do not know right now. You’ll know when the time is right.
One thing is certain: you’re the only one who can decide when it’s time to grow up. No one else can decide for you. It’s really rare to be promoted without you asking for it first. You’re the only one who can decide when you’re done paying your dues. Likewise, successful marriages build out of mutual consent – each partner agrees it’s time to take the next step together.
Other people can make suggestions, but only you can put one foot in front of the other.
Full Schedule, Healthy Mind
When you have nothing to do, your mind wanders. Sometimes that’s a great thing, especially if you’re in a good place in life. Other times, a wandering mind is a bad thing. When you are in a rut, you can spin yourself deeper by thinking too hard about your situation. Most individuals diagnosed with depression tend to be less active people. Simply put, inactive people have time to think about how unhappy they are.
The mind never stops, no matter who you are. So rather than sitting around spinning it aimlessly, put your mind to something. Anything. A hobby, a game, a project, a better job search, a sport. It all counts. Fill your schedule until you have no time to think. You should never be bored unless you choose to be (after all, no one can keep going without a break).
With a full schedule, you will find yourself considerably more stimulated and inspired (especially if you are able to choose your own activities). If work hours have you beat, you must take the reins of your free time and keep the party going. Don’t just come home at night and go to bed. The mind is healthier when it is free to make its own choices, so use what time you can to do things you want to do.
Happiness and health directly correlate with the amount of time you spend doing things you want to do.
Be Your Dream
Don’t wait until you’ve grown up to be who you want to be. I understand the value of working and learning under someone. But be careful doing that too well and for too long. Other people will have difficulty seeing your potential because they see you as an expert servant. Try to avoid being the best at anything out of line with your goals. Focus on your dream, and pursue it with a vengeance. Live it, breathe it, and ignore anyone who stands in your way. Break the hierarchy. Skip steps. Knock the ladder down. Do not compromise. Do not wait. Be who you want to be NOW.
Craig Ormiston 