​Life is not at all like the heroic Hollywood movies where the main character faces a setback and then musters the courage to overcome it and win the day triumphantly - all in a few hours. Real life has much more nuance to it. In many instances you often won't know that you're facing an obstacle and certainly may not recognize the path to a winnable solution. Countless studies have shown that humans are much more robust than previously thought and can handle and recover from utter catastrophe. On the other hand, we reliably and consistently overestimate obstacles and setbacks as impossible barriers to overcome. 

This, of course, is a result of evolutionary pressures insuring that we don't take too many risks and when disaster does strike we've been gifted fortitude to carry on. It also has the ability to buffer us from permanent mental paralysis so we can recover from tragedy. Unfortunately, theses mechanisms work wonderfully in a primitive environment and not so well in the tech-focused world of modern times (see all of Twitter).

One answer for living a productive modern life comes from the ancient wisdom of the stoic philosophers. They encourage you to follow the virtues of Wisdom, Justice, Courage and Moderation. Courage is an essential component of your legacy because unlike the movies, you may be asked to answer the call at an inopportune time that may be littered with easy exits. In those moments where you could stand-up for injustice, challenge the status-quo, do a thing that is impossible or run toward danger while others run away, you require the moral and sometimes physical courage.

In modern times, it's easy to jump on a keyboard and speak out against an injustice. The problem is that it often begins and ends behind the keyboard without any effort to physically change something. We call this virtual signalling. It's the process of finding the minimal possible dosage to signal to others that you're with them or how you're a 'good person' without needing to prove it. The result is a system hack where we get the dopamine hit without the risks and rewards associated with actual work.

This is not courageous.

“To each,” Winston Churchill would say, “there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.”

Courage is answering that 'tap' on the shoulder. 

It calls you:

To take a risk.

To challenge the status quo.

To run toward danger while others run away.

To rise above your station.

To do a thing that people tell you is impossible.

Will you be ready to answer the call?

Student success departments in K-12 education are some of the busiest places in a school. In the last two decades their workload has doubled and in many cases tripled.

"I can't keep up" as one high school guidance counsellor recently posted on Facebook.

According to Johnathan Hiadt, rates of depression, anxiety and suicide among teens has skyrocketed since 2015. The numbers have steadily increased since the start of the COVID pandemic and show no signs of slowing down.

Simon Sinek believes that over coddling has led to a dramatic decrease in teenagers and young adults abilities to solve problems effectively. Experiencing setbacks is a normal part of life, but when those setbacks are fixed for you as a youngster, you don't acquire the the skills needed to deal with them as an adult.

Trees need the wind to grow strong. If trees aren't exposed to wind and weather, they will not expend the extra energy to reinforce the cells in the base and trunk. No problems means no need to invest in something that isn't there.

When a tree grows without being exposed to wind, they will grow tall and wide. However, when a thunder storm arrives, they will be the first to fall.

If there's one thing that is certain in life it's that storms will always eventually show up. 

​Downshifting is the movement of slowing down. Not just physically, but in every aspect of your life including your work. Downshifters work less, consume less and stress less. The theory of the movement is founded in the belief that there's an ideal work-life balance that can be reached to maximize the greatest life satisfaction. It became popular in the mid 90s when the world was arguably at the most stable point in modern times. Crime was rapidly declining, the economy was booming and politics were boring. Many people recognized that working more didn't seem to provide the necessary glory it once did.

Downshifters believe that working beyond a certain threshold results in diminishing returns. This makes intuitive sense. We only have so much time in day and finding the correct balance between the opposing forces of work, family, friends and fun can be difficult to manage. Work 14 hours a day and you might be too tired to meet up with your friends on Friday after work.

We've all been there.

According to the downshifiting movement, the best way to find the correct work-life balance is to seek out the 'minimum effective dosage' of work you require to maintain your ideal lifestyle.

How? Break out the math!

If your salary was cut in half - along with your working hours - what financial obligations would you need to remove in order to keep your books on the positive side of your balance sheet? It may be less than you think!

Secondly, since you'll have less money but more time, what will you do with it? European vacations and Caribbean cruises are generally not the ideal goals of downshifting. Instead downshifters choose to create.

Write a book, code an app, paint a picture, build a shed. The key factor here is to make productive use of your time by creating. The creating doesn't have to be a solo endeavour. Maybe you volunteer at the hospital or in a classroom. Perhaps you train to become a local firefighter or community watch member. Be productive. With less.

Although the economic crash of 2008 and the political strife that followed (and continues to this day) slowed the movement down to the point where downshifting communities couldn't afford to update their websites, pockets of individuals carried the movement on.

Today, the COVID pandemic has injected a new spark into the idea of downshifting. When we were all forced to slow down, we realized how much we were missing. Many people forced to work from home have reported how surprised they were to see how much nature came through their backyards. As we inch ever closer back to normal, it's likely that we'll see a seismic shift in our work habits. Many people will choose to work less and create more.

The challenge is to keep away from the corporate distractions like Netflix and Tik Tok. But that's for another post...

During the early days of the Iraq and Afghanistan war, the British and US military realized that improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were going to be more that just a troublesome nuisance in their pursuit of military objectives.

To counter the increasing number of casualties from IEDs - both individual and vehicle targeted - the US and British challenged their military innovation departments to develop equipment that could better protect soldiers on patrol.

The result was an interesting smorgasbord of innovative ideas that were pitched to the military, ranging from specially designed IED resistant vehicles to Boeing's sci-fi Plasma Protection Field that would surround a vehicle during an IED explosion.

One invention that fell under the radar (get it?) was bomb proof underwear, designed by the British military. The design came from the requests of soldiers on the ground who had first hand witness the destructive damage could cause to one's genitalia.

The product ended up being a big bust for several reasons including cost to manufacture, lack of reusability (how do you wash them?) and the obvious fact that unless you build the underwear out of metal, nothing is really going to protect your junk. The last and most describing reason was that the under garment contained spandex and polyester which would melt and stick to the skin during an IED attack causing more damage than good (ouch).

While it's almost impossible to predict the next innovative idea that will change the course of war (or your career), it is worth noting that a certain direction of thinking may assist in a greater chance of a positive outcome.

Let me explain.

Instead of pouring money into protecting soldiers during IED attacks, what if the military pivoted from the defensive to the offensive? What if they doubled down on the idea that IEDs - usually just rudimentary shells tied together with a simple circuit and controlled by a remote, timer or pressure plate - could be defeated by avoiding or destroying them before it's too late?

Undoubtedly the US military has a division of research focused on these issues. The real question is: How much are they investing time and money into these more 'far fetched' solutions?

We often get caught 'behind the ball' in our professional lives and that forces us into an innovative mindset that is always catching up.  Sometimes the best solutions are the ones when we look above the fray. It can be difficult, but it's necessary to make large transformational change. Othwersie, you might end up with bomb-proof underwear. 

In ancient Greece, education formed a part of your identify. Even though formal education was only reserved for males, females and slaves would often take-up informal education through private tutors (if they could afford it) or simply show up to the public square and listen to debate.

The Greeks led by the great philosopher's strongly believed that the purpose of education was eudaemonia - human flourishing. To be eudaemonic, one has the capacity to take advantage of the opportunities provided by culture.  At the heart of this is ability to pursue truth. If you were an artist or a poet, your prose would reflect the culture either by questioning or supporting it. The population supported this critical thinking style because they too were eudaemonic and seeking the truth to the big questions. This created a positive feedback loop where a culture of ideas propelled other better ideas to front made Greece - and specifically Athens - the legend that it is today.

The enlightenment hijacked this old idea of truth seeking and powered by the new tool of science, launched western civilization into the modern era.

We got to where we are because ideas were openly scrutinized until they conformed to objective reality (or a close to it as possible). Evidence is an essential when seeking the truth.

How much truth is being told in your classroom?
How many sides of an issue are you presenting to your class?
How much uploading of information are you doing with your students?

It doesn't matter if you are a pre-school teacher or a university professor. As educators we must be constantly evaluating our positions and ideas to ensure that our rhetoric is balanced and offers students an opportunity to question everything. 

Sisyphus was the founder of Corinth, who like most ancient Greek mythological characters, had a mischievous and deceitful side of him. He killed guests and travellers to his palace in order to consolidate his supreme power. This angered Zeus who attempted to punish him but Sisyphus outsmarted the God twice. As a punishment for his trickery, the God Hades made Sisyphus roll a huge boulder endlessly up a steep hill. When he reached the top, it would roll back down and he would do it all over again. For eternity.

The lesson: Be good and face no punishment in the afterlife. Sound like any religions you know?

According to Albert Camus, the myth of Sisyphus and his endless pushing of the ball up a hill, is just a metaphor for life. Camus believed that our existence is a struggle between finding meaning in your life and the 'unreasonable silence' that the universe provides to answer the quest for meaning.

The daily grind.

We've all experienced it as adults. Feeling like you're stuck on the hamster wheel of life. You start your Monday's looking forward to Friday at 5. The day's are long and the weeks are fast as the saying goes.

Camus - who lived in France during Nazi occupation - said that this way of existing in the world is wrong. Seeking meaning and pleasure during your free time while subjecting yourself to the powers that be during work will lead you to live like the lesson of the Sisyphus myth - be good and face no punishment.

Instead, look at the job of pushing a ball up a hill endlessly as the most rewarding part of the struggle to live a good life. When you reach the top of the hill and accomplish your goal it's not over. Ever. You begin again with a new goal.

Many people may just find it much easier to tow the line and avoid the headaches of reaching beyond their capacity for more. As you get older, you realize that accomplishing those life goals like writing a book or running a marathon required a lot less effort and bit more commitment than you realized.

Embrace the process of pushing the ball up the hill. Sure, you could stop and look how much further you need to go, but it will only make you feel small and weak. The hill will never get flatter.

If you focus on every moment of the struggle, you will be able to find love and goodness and the power of the universe in a moment of writer's block or a traffic jam or a cold, damp and dark 10k run.

​A quality life embraces suffering. Part of doing anything meaningful in life requires sacrifice. Listen to this talk given to a K-12 student body on the importance of believing in suffering. 

This article by Ryan Holiday from 2014 (over 4 years ago!) described the idea of how outrage culture was beginning to define modern media. Fast forward to today and call out culture - a synonym of outrage culture - is in full force.

The strange part about this culture is that it exists almost entirely on the internet. In your day-to-day life and you likely won’t interact with anyone who is violently opposed to your _______ (insert: gender, race, religion, political beliefs or a combo of all of them). Face-to-face we generally act civil to one another and interact with respect, dignity, and courtesy.

Why does it all break down on the internet?

Behind the virtual wall of our devices, we feel much more vocal because of the anonymity. Without the threat of physical repercussions (yelling, counter arguing and not just punching), we feel empowered to say what we think. However, the divide between real and virtual life is big. It appears there’s something else going on here.

It’s the echo chamber of social media.

Since anyone today can claim to be a news outlet, we’re being shown (polite way of saying it) information from politically biased sources. This would normally not be an issue without the internet because we could simply ignore it. However, if we follow a specific person on a social media platform like Twitter and they happen to forward one of these biased articles, we’re starting the trend towards the echo chamber. Us human beings are constantly on the lookout for acceptance and groupthink. It’s helped us stay safe for a long time and is genetically wired into our soul. When we see or hear someone of influence agree with our views it empowers to go forth and spread the word. It must be true, right?

Combatting outrage

There are two ways you can manage to survive in a world filled with outrage. One is to believe it and be as responsible as possible with the information you encounter. If you feel that a specific group is being targeted for some oppression then support the belief with data and evidence. There are plenty of scientific journals that study the interactions of human beings. Use credible research to back-up your viewpoint. Rage is never productive, especially in a debate. Focus on getting to the right answer instead of changing a person’s opinion.

The second is to accept it. The world has never been safer, healthier and happier than today. The trend continues to push us towards utopia. Sure, you may have been dealt a poor hand in the world. Perhaps you have a sick family member or a disability. The good news is that there are many stories of people overcoming these disadvantages and living a healthy and productive life. Western civilization was formed on the tenants of Judeo-Christian values including truth, love, and courage. Part of these ideas is that a truly flourishing life requires sacrifice and hardships. Moving forward in spite of difficulties helps us grow and become the people we want to be.

Regardless of how equitable we can make the world, it will never be perfect. Anyone can find something to be oppressed by. It’s how you deal with it that will make the world move forward or backward.

​

​Many of the great leaders in history seemed to have it all together when it mattered most. Churchill, when facing invasion against a superior army in the Germans, stood tall and proclaimed victory instead of defeat. He did so with stoicism, confidence, and courage. This act (which appears simple) not only rallied a nation in a dark time, it forced the Nazi’s to rethink their strategy. 

Although Churchill appeared confident in public, it wasn’t so much the case in private. He often overthought his words when preparing speeches and became frustrated and angry easy when dealing with his friends and family. 

We all have the ability to appear polished like Churchill. But we first must conquer ourselves. Our desires, emotions, and nihilism hold us back from rising to the occasion when needed. It’s not that we must bury these negative traits, but instead have to learn to live with them. When they control us, we become weak and unreliable. 

In the bible St. Matthew writes in chapter 5 verse 5:

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Here’s what is meant by meek:

The meek.--The word so rendered was probably used by St. Matthew in its popular meaning, without any reference to the definition which ethical writers had given of it, but it may be worthwhile to recall Aristotle's account of it (Eth. Nicom. v. 5) as the character of one who has the passion of resentment under control, and who is, therefore, tranquil and untroubled, as in part determining the popular use of the word, and in part also explaining the beatitude.

It means those who have the dragon but choose not to bring it out will inherit the earth. Like Churchill, you need to manage the demons inside you and move forward anyway. 

Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge set a new world record for men of 2:01:39 on September 16, 2018, at the 2018 Berlin Marathon. It is the closest a human has come to breaking the much sought after sub-2-hour marathon. Much like Roger Bannister’s ‘miracle mile’, most sports scientists believe that it is within human capacity to break this mark at some point. 

It hasn’t always been this way, check out what happened in the marathon at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis:

The first place finisher did most of the race in a car. He had intended to drop out, and got a car back to the stadium to get his change of clothes, and just kind of started jogging when he heard the fanfare.

The second place finisher was carried across the finish line, legs technically twitching, by his trainers. They had been refusing him water, and giving him a mixture of Brandy and Rat Poison for the entire race. Doping wasn't illegal yet (and this was a terrible attempt at it), so he got the gold when the First guy was revealed.

Third finisher was unremarkable, somehow.

Fourth finisher was a Cuban Mailman, who had raised the funds to attend the olympics by running non-stop around his entire country. He landed in New Orleans, and promptly lost all of the travelling money on a riverboat casino. He ran the race in dress shoes and long trousers (cut off at the knee by a fellow competitor with a knife). He probably would have come in first (well, second, behind the car) had it not been for the hour nap he took on the side of the track after eating rotten apples he found on the side of the race.

9th and 12th finishers were from South Africa, and ran barefoot. South Africa didn't actually send a delegation - these were students who just happened to be in town and thought it sounded fun. 9th was chased a mile off course by angry dogs. Note: These are the first Africans to compete in any modern Olympic event.

Half the participants had never raced competitively before. Some died.
St. Louis only had one water stop on the entire run. This, coupled with the dusty road, and exacerbated by the cars kicking up dust, lead to the above fatalities. And yet, somehow, Rat Poison guy survived to get the Gold.

The Russian delegation arrived a week late, because they were still using the Julian calendar... in 1904.

In just over 100 years we have gone from drinking rat poison during a run to now pushing the limits of the human body. What happened? The obvious answers are correct - the birth and development of sports science, the invention of proper clothing and the increase in the number of people participating in the sport. 

The more underrated answer is the development of the human spirit. It’s true that we’ve been able to survive much tougher conditions throughout our history. However, we’ve needed to rely on mythical stories or hearsay evidence to motivate us to push through our limits. After Bannister broke the 4 min mile, only one other person managed to do it (John Landy) within a year. However, within 25 years hundreds of people had broken the 4 min mile and even today a strong high school runner can do it. 

Knowing that it was possible made a big difference. It’s much easier to chase down dreams when people you can relate to having accomplished them. 

As our world becomes increasingly specialized, we’ll see these kinds of records continue to be broken. Most youth athletes spend a vast majority of their extracurricular activities on just one sport. There is a danger, however, in embarking on such a journey. What are you missing out on by sacrificing it all for one sport/opportunity/dream?
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It’s important to expose yourself to a wide variety of experiences before making the leap to specialize. Once you decide, definitely put all your eggs in one basket. Find someone who you can emulate - even if they’re physically inaccessible. And then get after it! Records are obstacles to be broken!

Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Joan of Arc, Jesus. What do these historic legends have in common? They all did the right thing. And it cost them everything.

We often assume that doing the right thing comes at less of a cost than taking the wrong route. We also wrongly assume that it should be rewarded.

It’s no doubt that this belief is ingrained into our psyche. It’s been part of our lives since we were children. We’re always looking for the easy way to get to the end. Tattle tailing is something kids often use to solve problems. Getting an adult involved alleviates them from extra work to solve their own issues. Of course, we can’t expect children to address problems without first teaching them how to do it. Sometimes it doesn’t happen and the kids turn into adults and use others to solve their problems. The right way is hard.

To be like MLK and Jesus, you need to embrace the difficulty that comes with doing the right thing. Complex problems cannot be solved through Twitter debates. If you can shut your phone off and forget about the problem, you’re likely not invested enough in it.
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If you really want to stop racism and corrupt capitalism, organize debates, protests and campaigns. However, be prepared that it might not work and could cost you everything.

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"This is what you deserve. You could be good today. But instead you choose tomorrow."
- Marcus Aurelius

Most of use spend too much time in the past or the future  instead  of the present.  Procrastination is the ultimate denial of the stoic - to assume that tomorrow will be better than today.  Work never goes away, suffering does not diminish by relegating a task to another time and the sacrifice required to forgo pain for pleasure  will never disappear. 

Eating healthy,  making your bed and doing exercise  are acts that can be done immediately and will not get easier  if you put it off until the next day. 

Ignore the simple but difficult tasks in your life and small  problems become big ones. 

You are what you deserve to be.