We like to stack the odds in our favor. It’s a natural thing. We love to feel that there is someone in our corner, rooting for us to cross that finish-line, even if that person is a cosmic being who’s put a lifetime of obstacles on your path to carve you into your “perfect self”. And, hell, what do I know, that may very well be true. But, as many of you reading this may find from your reaction to the title of the blog, it doesn’t feel good to think of the world in such a way.
The truth, however, is that the pile of poo thrown in your face through the constant challenges is actually eco-friendly fuel that merely needs conversion. Whether or not something cosmically coincidental was at work really doesn’t make a difference, as, if it was for you (cosmically coincidental) then it was for everyone, and if it is for everyone then you saying is more of a mantra to convince yourself than a real need to say it aloud. The reminder we all need is that learning to convert poo into fuel is a mental skill. The only way to develop that skill is to stop lying to yourself.
[(https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/turning-poop-into-power-not-pollution) – Great article on the literal conversion of poop]
David Goggins wrote in his book about a “cookie jar” of reminders for you to dig into every time your mind starts trailing down the dark side of self-pity, blame, remorse, fear, and so on. He called it the “Goggins’ Laws of Nature. It went something like this:
1. You will be made fun of
2. You will be insecure
3. You may not be the best all the time
4. You may be the only Black, White, Gay, Lesbian, or fill in your identity here
5. There will be times when you feel alone, get over it!
He goes on to argue that our minds are “so fucking strong” but that we have stopped using its potential; that because we have access to so many more resources than ever before we have become much less capable of achieving.
When you stop to think about all of the great minds of the past, some more distant that others, and acknowledge their feats amidst the immense adversity they faced in their time, it makes our strife seem so trivial. By no means do I intend to trivialize anyone’s emotional or physical pain, yet there is a lesson to be learned when we admire a man like Gandhi for motivating nations amidst such chaos. It really makes your relationship issue look a little small, no?
The lesson here is relativity and, ultimately, perception. I doubt Gandhi knew what he would be doing a year prior to him doing it. The same is true on the negative end of things. So, what makes the difference is our mindset. Where we place ourselves mentally vastly changes the way we feel, and if we take constant control over the way we feel our outcomes are far more likely to be as intended or better. At the end of the day, folks, we care about the results. Either way, you will experience bad results from bad people, let downs, insults, the shattering of trust, loss, and bla-ba-bla-ba-bla. We all experience this at some point or another. If you want a good life. If you don’t want to drown in your own misery, then you need to start training your mind to perceive that pile of shit as fuel for your mental fire.
Joe Rogan Motivational Video:
More David Goggins
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