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BE THE GAZELLE OR BE THE LION
Saturday Jan. 12, 2019
A few days ago I began my work year, January 2nd – first day of work, first day of ‘action’ this year. It turns out a lot of people were still away until the 7th while others were limping back into work-mode. If I could reach anyone it was largely futile because they, like me, wanted to focus on getting into the swing of things, catching up on things and before we know it life will be ‘like normal’ again.
And by that I don’t mean ‘failing early on new year’s resolutions’ but rather ‘that we don’t change’.
No matter how much we try over and over to change our lives, our habits, our physique and health – we fail. We fail often. Why is that?
All of us can intellectually wrap our minds around sensible strategies to make our work lives more efficient, to fuel our bodies better, to rest/sleep and exercise more prudently and to strive for excellence with no less vigour than high achievers bringing their A-game.
Big changes, life-altering impacts, begin with little changes do they not?
A few minutes more of this, a few less mouthfuls of that, ‘not shopping while hungry’ and trying just a little bit every day to say a kind word, to think a kind thought, to help someone for no reason at all and to smile more. These little things, repeated often, will make more change in our lives that big things done with a flourish – things which burn out quickly.
We can be a candle, a bonfire or a big explosion – but we need some fire in us no matter what.
Here are some precious words from Christopher McDougall:
“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the lion or a gazelle – when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”
Reader feedback:
BEWARE OF STRANGERS
Mark, spot on and thank you, DA, Toronto, ON
Family is picked for you. Friends you choose. There is much to be said for both as warm and loving relationships can and do develop. Although I love my family, I find that some of my most rewarding relationships are with the special friends that I feel I can share most things with and not be judged. A theory, a passion, a loss or just a weird idea. I'm so fortunate to have a couple awesome friends just like that! Quite frankly, I'm not one for being superficial and really am not a huge fan of small talk. Let's get to the meat and potatoes of life, or as you say, the meaningful and deep. It's a hell of a lot more fun! Love your musings, HC, Sherwood Park, AB
ALL IN MY HEAD
I enjoy your writings, I have not commented yet. There are a lot of people “in their head”, which happens when people are either not getting sufficient doses of reality. This can be either because they are not curious or not listening or seeking input from others, so their reality is highly filtered. On the upside, if you are in your head and happy with it, that is far better than those who struggle with mental illnesses, live in their head and are miserable for it. Continue the great work!, SB, Calgary, AB; p.s. I also really appreciate the work you put into the Facility Calgary even though I am not a Facility Manager – I presented to the IFMA group on Organizational Accountability some time ago. I see you have interviewed a number of people that I know.
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