Time Will Tell

“Your habits will determine your future.” 

-Jack Canfield

In your early 20s you can't really tell who's following good principles and who isn't. We can't tell because we're all starting out at roughly the same spot: We're all young, full of energy fresh out of school and feeling invincible. 

Over time, our habits will define who we are.

Fast forward 10-20 years and you can see more clearly who has and who hasn't followed good finance/health/relationship... principles. If they continue on the same path they'll have similar result for the next 10-20 years as nothing will change unless they do. A quote related to this, often attributed to Albert Einstein, says "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results".

Those that don't live intentionally are more likely to end up somewhere they never wanted to be to begin with. Always set yourself small goals in any important areas of your life and work towards them.

Same Or Better

Almost 20 years ago now, I attended a leadership seminar where the speaker said we should always leave things the same or better than when we arrive. Since then, I've attempted to use the same strategy everywhere I go whether it be in an hotel, a hockey game or work - when I leave things are either the same or better than when I arrive.

Often this simply mean to clean up after yourself. Sometime it's about insuring that the project is in a better state when you left than when you came in. Before I leave somewhere I ask myself how I can leave the place the same or better than when I arrived?

If everybody did this the world would be a better place. I hate seeing piles of garbage after a show or chair not properly stored after an event. If everyone did a small part there wouldn't be a need for people to pick up after ourselves.

Weird Universe

The Universe is weird regardless of its size. If it was smaller, and only included the Sun and the Earth, it would still be weird to us. It's weird because we have a degree of awareness to it - it's weird because being aware, and able to make these observations, is weird.

The Universe is as infinite as our curiosity. Perhaps if the Universe was smaller, we wouldn't be as curious. After all, what else would there be for us to do once we've learned everything that there's to know about our theoretical small Universe?

The frustrating part of this existence is that we only get to live through a tiny fraction of it. We're only aware of this infinite Universe for a 100 years, if we're lucky, which is painfully inadequate for anyone wanting to understand infinity.

Expanding Our View

Years ago, I was working at a software company. I was sitting in the lounge, on one of my breaks, reading a book on Philosophy when the CEO walked in and asked "Why aren't you reading books on software?" to which I replied "Because there's more to life than software...". With a puzzled look on his face, he left.

Recently, I read the "A Thomas Jefferson Education" book by Oliver DeMille and was reminded of that interaction. In his book, Oliver DeMille argues that people today are highly trained but poorly educated which creates situations where people aren't aligned morally. This is partly the reason why morally bankrupt individuals have found support in some areas of the world.

"It is only he who has learned to like himself who can be generous and friendly with other persons." -Les Giblin

In order to live, what I would consider to be, a complete human experience one must be proficient in one area of his life while also be knowledgeable in other areas such as relationships, health, philosophy, politics, finances... To only focus on one area is to miss out on all others and the narrow view creates situations where your beliefs aren't being challenged which opens the doors to being taken advantage of.

Spend time learning about your area of expertise while also looking at other subjects.

Where It's Okay To Scream

My sister won lodge tickets to a hockey game and invited both my dad an I. We had an amazing view of the game and it was one of the best matches I had seen in a while.

While I'm not much of a sports fan, I realized that arenas are a great outlet for stress. Throughout the night, people screamed/cheer/booed at whatever was happening on the ice seemingly forgetting, for a brief moment, the troubles of their lives.

The more I got into the game, the less my troubles seemed to matter. As I was screaming/cheering, I felt a weight getting off of my shoulder.

If there's anger inside of you and you feel like screaming - go support one of your local sports teams (where these behaviours are usually encouraged). Obviously, remain polite as you let it all out.