I’ve always been fascinated by the mental part of “the game.” Wrestling in High School, there was one guy I just couldn’t beat, because he knew he could beat me, and I wasn’t sure I could beat him. I know now, and my coach knew then, that I could’ve beaten him. But I didn’t.…
This essay appears in the current issue (Issue 23) of Naval Special Warfare’s ETHOS magazine. It was inspired by a story a journalist friend of mine shared with me about a panel he moderated with a group of military veterans. When he brought up the subject of fear in combat, there was a reluctance to talk…
I posted an essay in this space a couple of years ago entitled Resilience (click for hotlink) , and in it I wrote about some of the standard methods by which people deal with adversity, one of those being ‘self-talk.’ I had an experience this weekend which gave me some insight, not only into self-talk, but also into resilience.…
The text of this essay appears in the current edition of the NSW Ethos Magazine, an only slightly edited version of what appears below. For the link to the full issue of Ethos, go to NSW Ethos: —————————————— We see a lot of chatter in the media about the deterioration of ethics and character in…
This essay is a follow-up to my last post “What’s it REALLY all about?” in which I briefly looked at the quest for a simple, life-defining principle. As I worked through that essay, my two favorite quotes on simplicity came to mind: “Seek simplicity, and distrust it.” (Alfred North Whitehead) and “I don’t give a fig for…
We often hear the phrase, “That’s what it’s all about” in reference to honor, taking care of our families, winning, doing the best we can, or whatever – even in songs: “You do the hokey pokey, and you turn yourself around, that’s what it’s all about.” And when we say or hear “That’s what it’s…
I use this title partly in jest. ‘Mediocrity’ is, almost by definition, that which is not ‘praiseworthy.’ And yet in my comments that follow, I hope to point out that what appears to us as mediocre does not automatically warrant derision or embarrassment. There is an important place for mediocrity in this world, and often there…
I’m not sure, but life- balance may be over-rated. Think about it. Who are the people who have achieved great things in life? Did they have balance in their lives? Do you get to be President of the United States by having balance in your life? Do Bill Gates or Warren Buffet have balance in their…
“Resilience” is a new buzzword I’m seeing these days in a many different contexts. We need to develop “systems resilience” to deal with potential cyber attacks. We need more “resilient communities” to prepare for tragedy and the unexpected. The government is creating programs to help develop “family resilience” to better cope with the stresses of…
A reading group I’m in recently read Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club. It was great fun, and in thinking about the book, it occurred to me that one way to consider Palahniuk’s message was in terms of the Head versus the Heart. The narrator of the book, the Ed Norton character in the movie, is all ‘Head’…
