Life – xangst

maintain a macro level view

we must maintain a macro level view most of the time to keep things in order in our lives and to keep sane.

many times, we take the micro level view on things – we look at things very closely and we look at them over and over and over – and we over analyze all the time. these are all micro level views – which we do need to make decisions and to help move us forward in life.

micro and macro views on life work together to create a fulfilled and satisfying life. but many times we stay in the micro view too long on certain things -which can last days, weeks, months or years. this is not healthy and can lead us down rabbit holes that are hard to come back from – to the macro level again.

always start at the macro level with all things that you are thinking about. then go to the micro level to create your analysis and decision. but once that decision is made – quickly move back to the macro level and maintain the macro level view as your normal every day view.

if you get stuck in the micro level view – then force yourself out of that view

always go back to the macro level for sanity and clarity in life – it’s the only way to get down the road the right way

we must overcome our weaknesses

we will be challenged in the mind. we will have thoughts that are negative. we will have thoughts that are bad. we will have thoughts that are not in our best interest. we will have thoughts that will try to lead us in the wrong direction.

these are all the challenges of the mind. these are the thoughts of every human to ever live. these are the trial and tribulations of life. these are the thoughts that will cause us stress and give us pause to think about our path, our life, our choices. these are the thoughts that make us who we are, make us who we become and decide how we are remembered.

it is the battle of strength against weakness. will we be strong and push these thoughts out of our mind to reach our true destiny or will we be weak and take the negative path to a negative outcome.

we must fight to be strong. we must overcome our weaknesses

we must win the battle in our minds to fight against our weaknesses

humans vs animals

you ever notice how the animals just get on with it? every day they wake up and do what they are supposed to do. this is not the same with humans. because our brains are more developed, we tend to think more than animals. our brain gets in the way of waking up and just doing what we are supposed to do. our brain says don’t do what you are supposed to do – do what you want to do or do nothing at all. the animals work away every day and the humans think away every day.

of course i am not comparing humans to animals but it is interesting to look at the animals and see that they are just getting on with what they need to get on with while humans toil away in their thoughts.

don’t get me wrong – thoughts are good – they can change the world for the better

but maybe we should act more like animals once in awhile and just get on with it

real power is continuing on

do not give up

do not give in

do not stop

do not yield to evil

do not sacrifice yourself

do not follow bad thoughts

do not say bad thoughts

do not yield to bad people

the real power of life is to continue on in your life without giving in to bad things. stay on the right track. keep your tight grip on life. follow your strong good habits. follow your consistent good routine. keep getting out of bed. keep doing what you are supposed to do. do not give up your life when you still have life to live. this is real power. to stay in the fight of life. to not leave the ring until it is truly your time. if you can make it to the end with your honor intact – with your dignity intact – with your character intact – it will be then and only then when you have won the game of life. stay strong and stay in the game – do not yield to things that want to pull you out of the game. this is real power – staying the course no matter what.

20-40 years

once you hit 50 years old – that’s all you have left to live – 20-40 years if you are lucky. so think about life that way. think to yourself – “i have 20-40 years left in my life – and that’s it”

when you start to give a damn about what people think about you – think 20-40

when you start to care if you are not included in events, etc – think 20-40

when you have people that don’t reciprocate a friendship – think 20-40

when people don’t have time for you – think 20-40

when people don’t ask questions about your life – think 20-40

when people think they are better than you – think 20-40

when people show off – think 20-40

when people are rude to you – think 20-40

That’s it! 20-40 years left! so why do you give a shit about any of these things, when in 20-40 years, you will be dead!

in other words – do what makes you happy, do what makes your family happy, do whatever you want – and stop caring about anything else because in 20-40 years – you will be dead and the world will go on without you – and in a couple of generations, no one will know your name – live YOUR damn life the way you want to live it – and the sooner you figure this out, the sooner you will stop caring about things that don’t matter and you will stop worrying all the time – and you might actually do more with your life!

goodbye – nothing else to say here – the message is crystal clear!

it is what it is

and it ain’t what it ain’t. this is an old expression that states the obvious, but it also makes everything so clear and so simple. it tells you what you already know – don’t fight reality, don’t fight your instinct, don’t fight your gut. you know deep down that whatever is happening is supposed to happen and there is nothing you can do about it. you must accept what is happening as reality and you must act based upon that acceptance. yes, you can still go on for awhile without facing the facts, perhaps waiting for people or things to change, but the odds are against changing reality. it is possible only if other elements of the equation change to create a new reality. other than that – it is what it is and you need to start accepting that fact – and you need to act on that fact instead of wasting time

limbo

limbo is ok. it is ok to be in limbo sometimes in life – in you job, with friends or family. it gives you time to reflect, to think, to plan for the next step. limbo is something that always happens in life to everyone at some stage. we keep going on a constant path, juggling all the things in life – our goal is to keep busy, to be productive, to strive for more, to gain more order in life, to understand more, to learn more, to experience more, to make mistakes, to learn from our mistakes, to be positive, to push harder, to have bad days, to have good days – and to be in limbo – long or short – we go into limbo in areas of our life. we get confused, we get out of sync, we get worried, we want to have routine back, we want to know what is next, we want to know what to expect each day, we don’t like limbo. but if you look at limbo as a good thing – as a thing to help us get through change, as a thing to help us understand who we are, as a thing to appreciate, as a time of reflection – then we can accept a state of limbo. but you must use limbo to prepare for the next organized phase. do not waste limbo. use limbo to your advantage to make the next stage better. limbo is good. embrace limbo like you should with all change. change will always come. limbo will sometimes come. embrace both and use them both to your advantage.

familiarity

it does breed contempt – no doubt about it. this is another part of human nature that you cannot control. it is in all of us. even the people closest to us like family – we do not like everything about them – we can’t because no one is perfect and no one can meet every expectation you have. you like every part about them, but there is always one habit or behavior you dislike. the longer you know someone – the longer you are around someone – you will eventually find something that you do not like about them. this is not a bad thing – this is human nature and the “endless” march of time coming together. it is inevitable that this will occur. your best friend for 50 years – there is something you do not like about them. your spouse of 50 years – something that gets to you. your parents – eventually they get on your nerves – and you breed some contempt. as long as we know this is part of human nature – just like hate, love, war, jealousy, greed, kindness, etc – then we know it is a natural thing that is a part of who we are. it is ok if this happens but try to keep it in check or you might find yourself alone one day. just another thing we have to manage as we try to keep our grip and keep our place in society.

last day…(of your 40s)

what can you say about your 40s – except wow and shit. so much happens during the 40s decade. if you have a family – you are in the thick of it – kids grow up, expenses go higher, tensions develop, fighting, yelling, laughs and tears – all bundled into 10 key years of life – right in the middle of your journey. you are forced to finally grow up – you’re not the kid anymore – not the young one. you have more responsibility, more pressure, more decisions, more people dying, more health issues, parents on the way out. you have good times too – exploring more places with friends and family – you re-connect with old friends and lose some as well. you stop saying “yes” all the time and you stop trying to be the life of the party or trying to go to every party – it doesn’t matter as much as before – it never really did, but it takes awhile to figure that out (sometime in the 40s) – on the career side – your try to make more money because you have to (saving for college, cars and braces ain’t cheap) – you try to make good moves from job to job – this is supposed to be your prime – so pressure is on to get all you can out of your job/career – more ups and downs. on the health side – you need to work harder at staying fit – you take up more activities – running, tennis, golf, etc – and you actually find that you feel better than the 30s and 20s – less booze, better eating and more exercise – this trend of the 40s does help you feel better than before. then the inevitable getting closer to death thing seems much more present – you look back and say “50 years, really?” – it must be true since we lived in the last century – back before cell phones, internet, cable and seat belts?!?! – and when you look ahead, you say – “oh shit” – time is running out – only 10-20 years of work left (if you are lucky) – and then a brief retirement, then break-down of body/mind – burden to kids, then death – sounds fun! – but no need to be too negative at 49.99999 – half will say your still young and half won’t even pay attention to you (except your own kids/family because they have to) – anyway – it was the hardest decade yet – hope it gets easier (not)

victory

victory is an amazing feeling – especially in sports. you play a sport to have fun but sometimes you join a team to compete for a title. you develop good connections with your teammates and you work together to win – to beat the other teams. nothing beats the moment your team clinches a title – with everything on the line – coming down to the last point, the last game, the last match. you are alive and in the moment – more alive and in the moment than most times in life – you feel the pressure of the moment – you feel the tension of the next move – will you respond the right way – will you stay focused in the moment and push through to win. it is truly a microcosm of life – the pressure is on – will you handle the pressure and prevail or will you buckle under the pressure of the moment. this is the true test of life and the true test of sport. your team is relying on you – they are watching you, they are praying for you to win – to help clinch the title for your team. and when you do push back against the pressure – when you do focus on the moment – when you do make that last winning shot to help take your team to the next level – to claim victory – to shout out loud your victory – only then will you truly feel alive – when you feel victory, you really feel alive on this earth at this moment – it is so exhilarating. go play a sport, join a team, feel the pressure and clinch victory – there ain’t nothing like it.