Month: July 2022 (Page 1 of 4)

It’s jarring for me when I’m speaking with someone and they interrupt me in mid-conversation because they can’t help themselves and jump to the punchline.

But often times, (and this happens to me frequently) I’m telling a different joke and it’s not the one they think it is.

Nobody likes being cut off in a conversation while speaking. Why would we do it to somebody else.

Maybe we should focus on listening to what they have to say rather than focusing on what our response is going to be.

Most importantly, maybe we shouldn’t focus on being right, but being wise. This can only happen by absorbing the information around you.

Not jumping to the punch.

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

What?

Basically, what’s good enough for you is good enough for me. And vice versa.

However, that can get a little distorted when we are only able to view the world from our own perspective as we navigate through the ups and downs of this wonderful world.

We can get caught up in the details of our own “issues” and fail to see the other person’s point of view. Especially when we’re young. That’s okay. That’s our job when we’re in our teens and early twenties. It’s all about us and “what’s in it for me.” Most of the time anyway. We all get through fairly unscathed.

Through age and our evolvement we come to empathize with others and possibly view each situation with a bit more objectivity. We realize there are numerous points of view to be taken rather than just our own.

Or at least I’d like to think we do.

Glad to be here having this life experience.

Happy to help you.

Honored to know you and be able to spend time connecting with you.

Regret not giving that a shot because I was debilitated by fear.

Hopeful I will square my shoulders up the next time I face those feelings and push through.

Sad because of all wonderful people I’ve lost over the years, but so very grateful to have them be a fabric of my life.

Ready for the next endeavor and curious how I will respond.

Astounded by the sheer intensity and beauty of my waking day.

Humbled to have the opportunity.

But, what about the rest of us?

I come from a generation where hard work, discipline and grit has value. Not only from your own point of view, but others as well. It was viewed as sort of a badge of honor to only get 5 hours of sleep the night before and still be able crawl out of bed and stumble through your day.

Nowadays, study after study show how unhealthy a consistent lack of sleep can be for us in the long run. Bringing on diseases and ailments due to the absence of valuable REM sleep in order for your body to repair and recover.

In fact, with today’s technology you can track (with precision) your body’s workout, recovery and sleep performance by wearing a monitor on your wrist synced to an app your phone.

Times have changed. When I was a teenager during the school year my father would make sure I wasn’t sleeping in too long on the weekends – even though I played three sports and probably needed the rest. After all, it’s been said teenagers need up to 12 hours of sleep at night due to the major changes their bodies are going through.

I guess I didn’t need it. I was wicked.

How are you supposed to know what you don’t know?

There have been so many times where I’ve looked back and wished I would have known that piece of information 20 years ago, or 5 years ago or even yesterday. I convince myself it would have been a difference-maker and everything would have changed.

I’m not so sure of that, but no doubt, the more we know in the moment, the better choices we tend to make about our future.

I realize we can’t go back in time and focusing on the past doesn’t help our present moment and so we move forward taking what we’ve learned and do the best we can.

Maybe if we become more curious, learn to love the process and find a way to learn, grow and evolve everyday, then we’ll know just a little bit more than we did the day before.