Anger

Consider the difference between losing a friend to a drunk driving accident and losing a friend to cancer.  Same outcome, yet we somehow feel less devastated when we can direct our anger towards something (drunk drivers), versus towards a disease we don’t understand.

Though a powerful anti-depressant, anger is a short-term and unhealthy alternative to working through suffering.

It’s possible to overcome and even be motivated by adversity.  The choice is to process grief by accepting what “is”, or to carry blame, animosity, and the repetitive story of what “should be”, and why you deserve to stay angry.

Leverage

Leverage means investing in activities that provide a disproportionate return.  Get your short list right, and free up mental capacity to focus on what matters.  A few examples for me are:

– Sleep

– Reinforcing discipline (in multiple areas)

– Exercise

– Human connection

– Meditation

– Not watching the news

– Not stressing over what others say or think of me

The things we protect

We guard our money, property and identities from people who might steal, exploit, or take advantage of us.  But we commonly allow others to seize our truly non-renewable resources:  time and attention.  (And time has little value without attention.)

Guard your valuables. And include attention as among the most precious.