Why You Should Accept Everything in Life Just the Way it is

Eric Daams says:

Solid advice. Good to remember, though it’s very very easy to focus on the disappointments in life. This is one of those lesson’s you learn over a lifetime:)

Tristan Rayner | The New Man Of Action says:

Thank you for this. I really enjoyed the read. Good old Mugsey Bogues! Focusing energy has a lot of meaning for me.

Ryan says:

Gotta love Bogues. And don’t forget Spud Webb, the third shortest player to ever play in the NBA and the shortest player to ever win the NBA dunk contest. www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-IoInRUjDM

What I love about both of these guys is they didn’t whine about their weakness, but they made it a strength. Bogues basically ran under the radar of the taller guys and was deadly in steals and assists. And no one ever expected the 5’7″ Webb to out-jump them and slam it in their face.

It’s not only about focusing our energy on our strengths, but seeing how our weaknesses can also be strengths in the right circumstances, and to then accentuate those circumstances.

Bamboo Forest says:

@ Eric Daams: I’m glad you enjoyed it. This is something I’m beginning to truly realize in life. It really comes down to where we put our energy. Worry and fear is just as much the extension of energy as is thinking positive thoughts and taking positive actions. We need to decide where to apply ourselves.

@ Tristan Rayner: Glad you enjoyed it. Mugsey Bogues is the man, no doubt about it.

Bamboo Forest says:

@ Ryan: The fact that Spud Webb can dunk and further that he won the slam dunk contest to me… is more mysterious than the possible existence of UFO’s.

That’s a good point. Our weaknesses can become strengths if we apply them wisely.

Marelisa says:

Hi Bamboo: I’m 5 foot 3, and I remember at Georgetown I met a few of the basketball players and I felt tiny standing next to them. I can’t even imagine someone of my size playing against them. You’re completely right: it’s mind over matter.

Writer Dad says:

Mind over matter moves mountains, we need only believe.

Bamboo Forest says:

@ Marelisa: Mugsey was too busy focusing his mind on improving his skills to worry about a height disavantage.

@ Writer Dad: The mind is definitely powerful if applied efficiently.

J.D. Meier says:

I like your Aikido move of redirecting the force into the right direction.

Bamboo Forest says:

@ J.D. Meier: That’s a good way of putting it. I mean… if you’re going to extend all that mental focus on meditating on what is not to your liking… you’d be better off dipping into that same resovoir, but instead channeling it to something truly life enhancing. Thanks for the comment.

Vered - MomGrind says:

Great advice. Sometimes easier said than done, but still valuable, solid advice.

Bamboo Forest says:

@ Vered: As Eric Daams pointed out… “This is one of those lesson’s you learn over a lifetime.”

Indeed… Being consistent at this can require many many hours of practice. And definitely easier said than done… but worth the effort.

The Lawyer Mom says:

Sometimes accepting the way things are means expecting a new way, a way things don’t usually go. Like Bogues.

Bamboo Forest says:

@ The Lawyer Mom: Interesting point.

Barbara Swafford says:

Hi Bamboo,

I agree, letting go can be the key to happiness. One of my favorite sayings is, “let it go”, but others often don’t want to hear it.

BTW: I love the title of this post – it’s catchy.

Bamboo Forest says:

@ Barbara Swafford: Letting go is probably a necessary element of life.

Thank you for the title compliment. As you probably know.. I really do try to come up with the best headlines possible.

patti says:

bamboo-

Awesome post!!!- Your insight is amazing-and thank-you for the reminder!!

Tabbie says:

Simple but sooooo true! Why is it that the simple lessons are sometimes the hardest to learn? You guys would make excellent counselors for high school kids (or people in rehab) (or folks down at the unemployment office) (or…you get the idea)!

Chris Thurmond says:

letting go of things and letting them be just the way they are is so often given a negative wrap as if its some kind of impotence to try and make a change. I think your post shed like on the actual reasons to let go, so you can fully grab on to what it is you truely want. The idea of ‘freeing up energy’ is great too because thats exactly what happens when you release on all the stress and anxiety that builds up in the ego mind, you free up all this energy that you had been using keeping yourself down and creating the kind of life you want becomes a creative work of art.

Bamboo Forest says:

@ Patti: Thank you.

@ Tabbie: My instructor once said to me… “Simple doesn’t mean easy.” Well… We are mentors and counselors to many a people. Hah.

@ Chris: Exactly. That’s the irony. In a sense by letting go, you’re really holding on.

Bakari says:

Letting go is a very special art and one that I admit has to be practiced and is not acquired.

On a separate note, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is a fabulous release for me. On the days that I train I am on cloud nine for the rest of the day. For some people, that is how they let things go. (I know you used it to make a point but as a practitioner of BJJ I couldn’t resist commenting on it.)

Bamboo Forest says:

@ Bakari: Martial arts is a great way to let go. You study your art and by doing so you’re directing your energy into something truly life enhancing.

Michele says:

Every moment you spend directing your energies toward circumstances that aren’t ideal is a moment you could instead be directing your powers into actions that will improve your life.

This is so true, Bamboo. I’ve recently gone through family tragedy that was out of my control and it was exhausting because I directed my energies toward it….

I’m now working on focusing on the positive, the future.

Thanks for a great post!

Michele

Bamboo Forest says:

@ Michele: I’m sorry to hear about the tragedy.

But certainly… we must be careful where we direct our essence. And always ask ourselves whether where we’re directing it is helpful or not.

Doublehelix says:

I wish I had you to help me draft a letter to apply for copywriting jobs. I have been working in a field that has become like a vanishing rabbit trail. Jobs are becoming more scarce, and any attempts to make myself more marketable have led to just more money put out and less jobs. Like IT, schools filled up the positions. I find myself with experience looking at ads, and I kid you not, say “0-1 year” experience wanted.
The last interview was pretty much a joke. A woman sat across from me and could not answer my questions. She didn’t know anything about the job, just that they were not paying benefits because the (professional) position was “3-4 days, 9-10 hours per day.” I asked how that wasn’t full time. She said when I wasn’t working on their premises, if someone cancelled an appointment, I would not get paid. I refrained from WTF, and thought about how utterly cheap these people were.
I need to do something else. I need to find another path. I can joke it up about things, but seriously this is getting to me. Coworkers from my last job said they missed me, as I always poked fun at things when stressed out. But it gets tiring making fun of such idiocy and incompetency out there. I’d like to be saying nice things for a change.
I have decided to embrace the creative part of me, the part I went to school and embraced many moons ago. I now look at my talents, ask myself what I have to lose, since I have invested so much in another field and got nowhere.
I guess I have to convince myself that I am worthy of applying for a writing job before I can convince “them.”
You said “When you identify with your past, it owns you. You must own yourself.” So how do I own myself?
I need a ton of software education to really make it, since creativity isn’t really much more than the cashew at the bottom of the nut box.

What I need is a crystal ball aka path in life.

Judson Dadey says:

Hi, Thanks for your post. You’ve helped me a lot.