A lesson from athletes

• A lesson from athletes

• Strength training pilot program!

• You are not your thoughts

• A book, a quote, a dad joke

Fatherhood: A lesson from athletes

If you ask most people what makes someone an athlete — beyond the technical skill of their sport — they’ll talk about attributes like strength and power. I’ll tell you a secret, though: the greatest athletes can relax faster than everyone else. That's because subtle course corrections only occur in those moments of relaxation; the grace notes between the beats.

I believe that this is also true for parenting — and relationships in general. How quickly can you go from agitated to calm and open enough to see the best in a person? That's where the magic is.

Focus: You are not your thoughts

There was once a gardener who would draw water from a nearby river for his own plants and flowers. Sometimes, the water was clear. Other times, rain or other events upstream would render it cloudy. He gathered that water up all the same. However, the gardener noticed that his plants did not respond well to the cloudier water and would sometimes wither after he used it. In time, the gardener learned to look at the water before drawing from the river.

You are not your thoughts, you are not your brain; you are your conscious decisions and actions. When thoughts that nourish your values drift by you can draw them out and take action. And when your thoughts are cloudy, you can simply let them flow on by.

What I'm reading

A New Philosophy of Productivity

Childhood Smartphone Use and Mental Health Effects

Slow Productivity by Cal Newport

Quote

“Matters of great concern should be treated lightly…. Matters of small concern should be treated seriously.”

— The Hagakure

Dad joke

Use this one anytime you’re out with your kids and a vehicle with a siren on goes by. Put a serious expression on your face and say, "They will never sell any ice cream at that speed."