Essays
Learning well
“Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Only believe what you yourself test and judge to be true.” – Buddha
Siddartha Guatama memorialized this wisdom sometime during the 6th or 5th century BCE. While profound, applying that mantra in an information-saturated world is challenging. To learn well requires trust in others to “test and judge to be true.” Rather than simply judging, we’re tasked with synthesizing vast amounts of information to distinguish truth from lies and fantasy from reality.
Think like a beginner.
Picture yourself sitting on a comfortable couch, focused on a child attempting to take their first steps. You’re doing nothing more than observing what’s going on, not participating in the effort. The child can pull themselves up to a standing position, but their ability to balance, shift their weight, and take steps is slightly beyond their capacity. Nonetheless, they continue to try, fall, pull themselves up, and try again.
The power of awareness.
Consider the idea that we influence the world we inhabit. What I mean by “inhabit” is the environment or space we occupy physically, mentally, and spiritually. We have choices in our physical world with where we live, whom we associate with, the material things that attract our attention or possess, and so on. Our mental space is comprised of inputs provided internally and externally. Much of our internal thoughts are influenced by what we choose to see, read, or hear. We may be spiritually guided by an internal compass or follow a given religious or philosophical ideology, manifested internally or influenced by the outside world. The challenge with living a full life is to recognize your role, where you are, how you got there, and what you allow to provide your sense of what is true and what isn’t. We are equally the architect of our domain as we are prisoners to it.
Fail forward.
One of the purposes of these essays is to convey universal thoughts and ideas. Truisms that, if applied to life, would reap benefits or limit the possibility of disappointment and failure. Which brings up the idea of failure as a consequence of action. There’s no guarantee that you’ll be successful at anything. If success were guaranteed, you would feel less, if any, accomplishment or gratitude for the effort.
Comfortable being uncomfortable.
Imagine being the new person in a place of 1,000,000 people, many of whom will expose your deepest-held fears and challenge your long-held beliefs about what is true. You have two choices; you can go back to the comfort of what you know but sacrifice any chance of evolving into the person you were born to be, or you can navigate this unfamiliar environment and experience everything it offers.
Why goals?
Some of my earliest memories are thoughts about setting goals. Earning money to buy something I wanted, performing well in sports, or making better grades were all goals I had as a kid. The goals became more involved as I grew older, and I often didn’t accomplish them. That didn’t stop me from setting more audacious and unrealistic goals—the possibility of what could be usually overpowered my perspective on what was realistic.