Week 49

Week 49.  After 49 weeks of coming up with something to say, I'm not sure there is much left.  There is only so much profound knowledge one can come up with... notice I didn't say there is only so much profanity one can come up with... because that is different, and I have not yet found a limit there.  Believe me I've tested it.

Moving on

Forest Gump's mamma says "life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gona get".

An interesting and somewhat fatalistic approach, but there is a ring of truth to it.  You can work hard, eat right, exercise and get smooshed by a bus.  But Man!  Your heart and lungs will be the talk of the morgue!

We are always talking about mastery.  Which basically translates as work hard, do your best and don't settle.  A good approach, but it is still just hedging your bets.  There are always X factors that are beyond our sphere of influence.  By working hard, doing your best, and not settling you are laying the foundation for success.  This definitely increases the chances for success.  But it can't over ride the X factors.

It can, however, help us deal with those X factors when they do come up.  Sometimes stuff happens.  It's what we do about it that can be as defining as what we do to prevent it.  I have witnessed a sense of entitlement, for lack of a better word.  People who "do everything right" and still have a heart attack.  Of course they are  shocked from it happening, but in many cases they go to the "not fair" well.  Hate to break the bubble but life isn't fair.  Doing everything right doesn't guarantee us anything and life doesn't owe us anything.

That is the down side of reality, we have to be grown ups.  Mastery helps us to cope I believe.  Because there has to be a degree of self realization.  To paraphrase - Correction is essential to power and mastery.  You must be able to correct without invalidating one's self. -

Self realization, self correction, self accountability.  These things are essential for success.  These are the things that truly empower a person to practice mastery.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it?  Fine, but how do you find out if it's broke or not?  Self realization.  How do you maintain it?  Self correction.  How do you deal with it in the end? Self accountability.  Not the most fun things, but they make a difference.

Lisa Freitag