You certainly don’t have to be a musician in order to appreciate music. No more than you need to be an athlete to appreciate a good football or basketball game.

Music has a way of calming my soul and grounding me in order to begin again. Or invigorate and inspire me.

For me, the simpler the better. Listening to an instrumental of an acoustic guitar in the wee hours of the morning while at my desk and writing these blogs can be exactly what I need to get the day started.

It can put me into a wonderful flow state and/or calm my anxious mind as I get some tasks done and slip into the work day.

Who knows, you just might find the urge to pick up an instrument and play a bit.

As I move forward in age, I tend to be a bit more reserved with whom I share my time. Someone once said, “the most valuable thing you can give to a person is your attention/time.”

Maybe this is why I’ve become more reluctant to reach out to new horizons. The flip side to that coin is how wonderful it is when you find a person or group of people who you can trust, share intimate fears, hopes and dreams and who inspire you to be the best you can be.

This group of trusted comrades can be a real game-changer for us to get out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary. Don’t underestimate the power of healthy people who care. It may take some time, some risk and a bit of patience, but if you follow your instincts and take it slow, your payoffs can be ten-fold.

There’s a reality show called “Naked and Afraid.” The premise of the show is to pair two complete strangers with each other – usually a man and a woman – in the middle of nowhere without food, clothing and shelter to see how long they can survive until they call it quits.

More times than not, the big burly man that has 45 plus pounds on the slender-framed woman taps out first. Why? Because it’s a mental world, not a physical one.

Sure you have to be able to execute tasks of strength in order to extend your days in the bush, but many of these obstacles can be overcome with problem-solving skills and primitive tools. What’s more difficult to overcome is your own mind. Especially, when you give up.

The men talk themselves out of the game before giving themselves a fair chance to stay put and overcome the challenges the couple face.

Such is life. Don’t talk yourself out of it because the task/problem/challenge seems too daunting. Just take one piece at a time. You never know, everything may shift in the next minute.

But, you will never find out if you don’t hang in there.

The fixed flame of creativity within has no intention of burning out.

The purposeful disregard of it’s presence is a repeated offense.

The question becomes: At what cost?

The spirit of playing games can relieve us of the pressures we experience in day to day life and bring out the playfulness, creativity as well as the spirit of competition in many of us.

Why not bring that same approach to our workplace and private lives when facing challenges and difficult problems we repeatedly can get stumped on? Where’s our childish curiosity then?

Maybe we should lighten up a bit. Maybe we can find the gamesmanship in the usual and ordinary times by having some fun with our “unsolvable” problems and make it a competition.

Life is only as serious as we make it.

After all, remember rule #6 (Don’t take yourself so f#+@ing seriously).