Jun 30, 2016
5 MM 126 The Trailblazer
Hello my friends and welcome to Five Minute Mojo. Today I
recorded an episode of Zen commuter that focused on ways to leave
the comfort zone. Specifically, it was a primer on escaping
the comfort zone by taking baby steps. On the show I read a
great article. Definitely tune in tomorrow to check it
out. One of the points of the blog post made note to say that
not everyone will be able to escape the comfort zone. It may
go against what they believe in, or feel, specifically fear.
In a way that’s a great segue for us today. I would imagine
on some level people who are uncomfortable stepping outside that
deceptively cozy box may have bigger issues to deal with.
They may not feel comfortable thinking uniquely, not being
concerned with the status quo or what everyone believes to be the
right way to do things.
History is full of examples of people who didn’t care what others
thought. They had a vision, a personal vision, and it didn’t
need validation from anyone. They were trailblazers.
There are still plenty of them around today. The question is,
are you one of them?
There are some common themes on Five Minute Mojo and ZEN
commuter. One of them that I talk about a great deal is the
desire to be part of a group. More specifically, I talk about
how life will never be your own until you are guided by your own
thoughts, beliefs, values and goals. So I guess I talk about
not being part of a group.
So let’s do something that is unexpected. Let’s throw the
question of the day in here right now. Let’s be
trailblazers.
When was the last time you did something just for you? When
was the last time you thought about doing something without having
to ask permission or go down a mental list of people to sense what
they would think?
So this question definitely warrants some exposition. There
are many times that we think we are doing things for ourselves but
the reality is that those thoughts are deeply imbedded societal
beliefs. I would encourage you to think a little deeper on
this one. Here is a great example. When you exercise,
hopefully that is frequently, what is your reason? I’ll list some
possible answers and you decide which of these answers do you think
are societally influenced and which are your own.
You want to be able to move around better as you get
older
You want to be thinner
You have a history of some illness in your family and you want to
lessen your chances.
You have kids and you want to be able to play with them and be
around for them for a long time.
You feel better when you exercise
You heard that exercising is a great way to meet people
A new crossfire gym opened up in your area and you are excited to
try it
Two of the answers are definitely influenced by society and one can
go either way. Let me read the list again and see if you can
spot the societal answers.
You want to be able to move around better as you get
older
You want to be thinner
You have a history of some illness in your family and you want to
lessen your chances.
You have kids and you want to be able to play with them and be
around for them for a long time.
You feel better when you exercise
You heard that exercising is a great way to meet people
A new crossfire gym opened up in your area and you are excited to
try it
Did you spot the two? The first is the desire to be
thinner. What is thinner? Thinner than what? More
importantly, thinner like who? Thin is valued in our society,
it’s enforced everywhere you look; in ads on TV or in
magazines. Maybe your doctor told you that you need to be
thinner, sound advice or not, you are taking their word for it.
The other one is easier to spot because it has two words that could
be a clue, you heard that exercising is a great way to meet
people. You heard signifies that someone else,not you, is
driving your actions. You may want to meet new people but the
suggestion came from outside of you.
The last answer could be either. A new Crossfit gym opened up
in your area and you are excited to try it. You may have been
excited to try crossfit, but is it possible its popularity drew you
to experience it.
Today has deep implications because as I mentioned earlier, if you
continue to follow others, then your life will never be
yours. For the next couple of days I want you to try
something. At different points in the day stop what you are
doing and ask yourself if you are doing that task for yourself or
someone else. Think hard there too. That exercise will
reveal a great deal.
You have plenty to think about my friends, but the weekend is here
so make sure you have some fun too, huh? This is Thom Walters
signing off for Five Minute Mojo. Go make the rest of the say
amazing, sleep tight and of course, sweet dreams.