Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Following Your Excitement

You are reading this because you or someone you love is looking to make positive steps towards health and happiness.

Tim Ferris' 4 Hour Workweek claims that boredom is the true opposite of success (not failure).  Excitement, then, is a synonym for success.  It's pretty close.  Think of the things that excite you.  This is more tangible than focusing on what you think might be successful!

Here is a short list of things I find exciting:
  • Jumping from high places into water.
  • Tubing the Comal
  • Being at the "top of the world" at places like Enchanted Rock.
  • Beach trips with my wife, Tomie.
  • Fighting a good fighter, like Patrick Rogers, without pads.
And since I'm a video game designer, some non-IRL moments:
  • Those "really important" rolls in a Dungeons and Dragons game.
  • Player versus player combat in games like Meridian 59.
  • NBA Jam 98's half court dunks.
Stess is a killer, but excitement is the remedy.  Our hunter-gatherer ancestors definitely had less stress from day-to-day thanks to a minimalist lifestyle.  A few hours a week gathering food left plenty of time for recreation.  But (this is the kicker) they also had more healthy excitement.  Hunting, sparring, spear-throwing, archery... all in a day's play!


What will your next "half-court dunk" be?  What exciting, "impossible" things are you capable of?  Which of your stresses are self-imposed?



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