From now on, this blog will be dedicated to the mental and physical path to success in life. Have you created a Bucket List for 2010? You only have to years until 2012!
So far I've crossed these things off of my Bucket List in 2010:
- Ride a horse.
- Do Parkour.
- Take a wilderness survival course.
- Buy Burning Man tickets.
- Crossfit.
- Work abroad (Cross my fingers, interview on the 25th!!!)
Your brain is an amazing, amazing, AMAZING gift. It can only recall the past and the present. But the IMAGINATION allows you to see into the future. What the hell does that even mean?
Now here's an odd idea that you might disagree with. The brain cannot tell the difference between an actual experience (e.g. snowboarding) and a synthetic (make-believe) experience. It's called the Deja Vu Effect.
So if our brain cannot tell the difference between IMAGINED/synthetic experiences and actual events that happened, we can use our imagination to do ANYTHING. It's called "mental rehearsal." I see it happening in my mind, then actuate the situation. Some things may take longer to come true though. We tell ourselves many things that we believe and our brain fires up and makes it reality. Crazy stuff. It's called the "self-fulfilling" prophecy. You use your imagination to see the "future you" and the "future things" you've "already done." Crazy, I know.
This isn't mumbo-jumbo. I have actually used this thought process to imagine, set, and achieve actual goals. An example was my first day of Parkour. For those unfamiliar with Parkour, it's the practice of getting from Point A to Point B in the most efficient manner possible, using only the human body. If trees, children, or buildings are in your way, you figure out how to get around the obstacle and get to the finish. I tried it for the first time a few weeks ago, and I was watching experience Traceurs, or Parkour practitioners, doing the impossible.
I am not very athletic or coordinated. But when I closed my eyes, and listened to my breathing, I completely shut off the little voice in my head. The voice that says, "Dude you've got no business jumping off buildings. You will break something. What if you miss? Your friends will think you're stupid. You better...", and then I cut it off. It took lots of will-power, but then silence. Suddenly everything came alive and I began watching myself in 3rd person, leaping over a 4 ft. concrete wall like a monkey. It was the purest moment I've had in years.
Life takes on infinite meaning when you begin using your imagination again. Not just to create art, music, or other cool stuff. But when you imagine yourself ACTING. Imagine the robust life you want to live. Believe it with every fiber in your being. Instead of setting to-do goals, set TO BE goals. I want to be fit. I want to be sociable. I want to be musically inclined.
1. BE. Imagine the heroic person you deserve to be. Use every positive trait from the best people in your life, real or not, to become the ultimate YOU.
2. DO. If I am a great musician, I will naturally play music well. It is in line with my personality. First I must be who I wish, and the actions that are natural to that personality will just flow. Yes, this means you must practice, practice, practice.
3. GET. If your self-image starts to grow into it's "new shoes", it will naturally do great things and acquire the resources it needs to get the job done.
Since I was 4 years old, I knew what I wanted to BE when I grew up. A Jedi knight. A warrior who kept the peace in the world. Everything that I have accomplished in my life has been part of my Jedi training. I studied Philosophy. I learned Martial Arts for fight, and Parkour for flight. I learned how to be diplomatic. I learned about the energy that flows through every particle in this universe.
But now it is time to give back. It is also time for me to open my arms to change. I have been blocking the flow of my life for far too long. I will do my best to share my trials and tribulations so that people can learn from experiences. But most of all I want to know, what's stopping YOU from being your best self?
If you're curious, check out Psycho-Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz and Dan Kennedy. Download the audiobook and be ready to have your world rocked. Or rather, rock the fucking world!
Amor Fati,
Brandon
