Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring

Ever since I've been young, I can remember a slight feeling of discontent. When I was much younger, I remember feeling powerless against this feeling and not in control of my life.

However, as I've grown, I've gained exposure to ideas that I believed could quell this discontent. From sports, popularity, making millions, making a difference, eating raw foods, to enlightenment through spirituality - I've full-heartedly tried many methods that I believed would bring happiness at the time. Looking back, I not only feel fulfilled that I've given my all to these methods, but that I've explored so many without losing hope.

I've gone multiple days without eating (fasting), traveled cross-country on train to spirituality retreats, started multiple businesses geared to making money and making a difference, and most recently went on a 10-day, silent meditation retreat in Illinois. What have I learned?

• Learning seems to never come on the first try. There seems to be this belief out there that it is ok to make a mistake once as long as you learn from it. If you don't learn from it the first time, you're somehow incompetent. I don't know about you, but I find myself making the same mistakes over and over until I finally master them. Even then, I still make them on ocassion.
  
• Learning seems to be related to cycles of remembering and forgetting. In my opinion, most people could increase the quality of their life 10-fold or more with the knowledge they already have. Look, it isn't a mystery that eating McDonalds everyday isn't healthy and makes you overweight and sluggish. That overwork leads to exhaustion and unproductiveness. That losing sleep makes you more grumpy and unproductive. That drinking too much alcohol makes you throw up and feel really sick the next day. That being on time, looking both ways before you cross the street, and so on can be helpful. The issue seems to be that french fries taste good. Drinking & partying is fun. Watching TV is easy and relaxing. etc. We all have our weak spots. We are constantly confronted with the same decisions. Sometimes we make the 'right' decision and feel good about it and other times, we're tempted by 'evil' chocolate cakes and forget about their effects until they start to show and then we remember the 'right' decision again.
  
• Learning Seems to Happen via Tipping Points. I find myself learning most potently when I'm at the bottom. It is at these moments that I commit myself to never doing something again. Even when I see myself going down and try to recommit myself to what I know is right, my thoughts seem to have no power. For example, if I'm making a commitment to eat healthy food, sometimes I know I'm just fooling myself and I will cave in on my first temptation. However, there seem to be moments when I make commitments to myself and I know without a doubt that I will follow them. These moments are incredibly empowering.
  
• It's a journey. On the back cover of The Student Success Manifesto, the words "Plan, Prioritize, and Pursue Your Vision Today!" are written in big letters. I believe in this statement more today, than when I wrote it almost two years ago. You can't learn by not trying. I believe that if you want to achieve something, you have to:
  1. Pick a strategy (plan)
     
  2. Commit to it (prioritize)
     
  3. Pursue it
     
  4. Repeat steps one through three (this step is for all you Brian McNight fans) with lessons learned.
  To me, it seems that the worst thing one could do is just use the same incompetent strategies over and over.
  
• Vipassana Meditation Works. At least it did for me. Perhaps it was the right time, and I was ready for it. I don't know. However, I feel that I would be doing the people who are reading these words a disservice by not pointing that out. It's not easy work, but for me it was well worth it. From my personal experiences, aiming for happiness by trying to make a lot of money, become famous, and/or make a difference DEFINITELY do not work as methods to happiness. I'm not against these or anything, but I'm not fooling myself that once all these happen that I will be happy

Besides being one of the best movies I've seen this year, the movie, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring, illustrates the idea of life's cycles better than I've ever seen it done before. It won't make you jump out of your seat because of suspense or action, but it is such a beautiful movie. If you have Netflix, rent it!

Now, what are you waiting for? Plan, prioritize, and pursue your vision today! Be the change you want to see! Taking constant, calculated risks; fall forward and have fun.

Posted at January 10, 2005 11:42 PM | TrackBack