📖 Current Read; The Obstacle Is The Way — Ryan Holiday
Channel Your Energy
When jarred, unavoidably, by circumstance revert at once to yourself and don’t lose the rhythm more than you can help. You’ll have a better grasp of harmony if you keep going back to it. — MARCUS AURELIUS
Arthur Ashe
Holiday opens up this chapter with the story of Arthur Ashe, who was not just a tennis player, but a beautiful contradiction.
He had a duality about him that worked in his favour;
- Within his mind, he was tight, always with his emotions masked.
- Yet, on the tennis court, he was fluid, graceful, brave. He attempted shots that made the audience gasp!
He knew that to be a black tennis player in the 50’s and 60’s would require great strength and determination, and he also knew exactly what he couldn’t be; emotional.
He knew that to demonstrate too much emotion, such as arguing with the referee or celebrating a win, would do him no good. And so, when something displeased him, or overjoyed him, he’d keep it masked.
He had all these emotions that he’d keep locked up, but what did he do with them?
He had an epithet for himself, ‘physically loose and mentally tight’.
Despite being mentally tight, physically, he was loose.
He channeled the emotions into his play, his form, his tennis game. He took risky shots, made the dives; he was brave and bold
He turned the emotional anguish into energy that could be directed where it was needed most; his tennis game.
He knew that to win the respect of others, be it the coaches, players or referees, that he’d have to show them what he was capable of, rather than argue with them. He understood the futility of words, and so channelled that energy into his performance.
Rather than lashing out, arguing or making a scene, he simply channeled the energy into where it would be best spent. This enabled him to perform brilliantly on the court, playing with great flare!
Ashe was free where it mattered; his mind. He knew that the external sources could not beat him down, knew that they couldn’t control him.
Rather than waste time fighting a losing battle, he worked on himself, and became unstoppable.
ADVERSITY
With adversity, there are two ways it can go.
Adversity can;
- Harden you
- Loosen you up and make you better.
When faced with a difficult or unpleasant situation, you have those two options.
You can either let adversity get you down, and bring about more turmoil, or you can yield to it, and let it strengthen you and make you better.
In the face of adversity, there is no use in fighting, arguing or making a scene. Do not let it harden you up.
You’d be much better off channeling that energy, all the negative emotions, elsewhere; let it fuel your actions, your power, your ambition, your drive, your motivation.
Take the anger, the nerve, the fear, whichever emotion it is that you may feel, and channel it into something useful. Channel it in a place where you can make a change, where action happens.
Channel those emotions into your work and power through the adversity! Better yet if you can find an opening in the adversity, an opportunity for growth.
Idea of the Week. 💭
Effort and Talent ⚙️
You need both effort and talent to become who you want to be. You cannot get there with just one.
Yes, individually, they have sheer benefits, but if you put them together, there’ll be nothing stopping you.
Talent; you have the natural skill.
Effort; you are willing to put in the work and expend energy.
With talent on its own, it becomes wasted potential.
With effort on its own, it’s just the things you could’ve done but didn’t.
Combine both the natural skill in an area you’re passionate about with your determination to put in the work.
Your talent can become a strong skill, and your effort can make things blossom.
Tweet of the Week. ✍🏻
Overthinking? Write.
Underthinking? Read
This tweet from @therossharkness outlines perfectly what one should do if they’re overthinking or underthinking.
Overthinking
Overthinking, when you think about something too much or for too long, plagues the majority of us.
It’s something that, although so ever present, is so hard to overcome. It works against us, getting in the way of our productivity and overall happiness.
When you find yourself overthinking, write. Grab a pen, maybe your laptop if you prefer, and just get some words down on a page.
Forgo the need for perfection, forgo the need for coherency, and just get your thoughts down.
Writing, in this case, acts as a weight being lifted off your shoulder. It takes the thoughts out of your mind, and acts to oppose the overthinking.
It can help shift perspective, encouraging you to remember that things are not always so serious.
Getting things out of your mind is incredibly beneficial.
Underthinking
If you’re in a particularly mellow state, with little workflow and not much going on, pick up a book!
The book could be on anything, really; science fiction, business, self development.
What matters is not the genre but that it gets you thinking.
It needs to be something that you can delve deeply into, something that captures your attention, propels you to ask questions and find out more!
This, hopefully, will encourage you to think a little deeper about things, and encourage action.
Quote of the Week. 🗣
“Happiness is not the absence of problems; it’s the ability to deal with them.”
— Steve Maraboli.
To end, here’s a question from me! ⚡️
Are you sacrificing your happiness for someone else’s?
Thanks for reading!
Sam. 😆
