Off the Mat: Everything I’ve learned is wrong.

The more learning that I do, the more I realize that all of the conceptions that I had growing up were wrong. I’ve now spent the better part of the last 3 years undoing the systems I’ve put in place and installing new systems of thought [philosophy]. For instance, I thought that life was all about going to school and getting a good job. After that, owning a house, making a lot of money, and working diligently as much as possible. Whoops. This appears, is not the case.

I guess I should consider myself lucky, because I still have the next 2/3 of my life to live and I’ve come to certain realizations sooner than many twice my age. Even so, unlearning and relearning your reactive thoughts and actions is more than just relearning theory; it involves learning and practicing this theory through conscious effort to the point that it becomes subconscious – and that’s REALLY f****** hard.

So, just for fun, here are a few other things that I’ve realized within the past few years, and are completely contrary to what I believed and practiced as I was growing up. The bolded text are misconceptions. The following text is an explanation of the contrary.

1. The point of life is to find an amazing person and derive all of your happiness from that relationship; because of what the other person gives you. Damn you, American movies.  The point of a relationship is to give yourself and share as much good as you can with somebody who wants to do the same for you. You don’t receive from a relationship; you give.
2. Work is work. It can be fulfilling, but mostly it is something that we all put up with in order to make money to support the activities that we like to do outside of work. NOPE. Work is not work. Work is your purpose. It’s what you do for fulfillment. If work is what you enjoy, then why should there be separation between work and personal life? How amazing would it be if that was the reality? Well… it is, if you want it to be.
3. Making fun of people is cool. Making fun of yourself is even cooler. That’s called judging other people. It’s not cool. And though we tend to only do it around close friends, that negativity then becomes part of our subconscious. Making fun of yourself just for a joke is even worse. Entertaining others at your expense eventually adds up, and soon you’ll think that you actually are a joke.
4. Accepting responsibility is a burden, but you must to do it because it’s the right thing to do. Accepting responsibility isn’t a burden; it’s empowerment! It’s the acknowledgment that you have the ability to determine your situation in life.
5. Yoga is for women. I had to put this in here. It’s not. It’s for people that want to improve their health.

It’s okay if you’re not 100% every day or every week. Some weeks you feel more motivated than others. That said, finding a purpose and placing restrictions on yourself helps to keep you motivated and focused.

Book I’m reading right now:
Seneca: Letters from a Stoic

Fitness focus:
Sprinting. Running in a field with cleats on, getting exhausted, and continuing anyways.

Food of the week:
Smoked salmon. I get mine from Costco.

Finding inspiration from:
The support of my friends.

Talk soon,
Dean