Monday, November 14, 2011

Check Yourself. Fo' You Wreck Yourself.

CHECKERS...

Ahhh, the poor man's chess. I love it. It is, in my opinion, the greatest and most glorious board game of all time - immediately followed by "Shoots and Ladders" and "Monopoly" (joking about the former and dead serious about the latter). For all it's simplicity, the game of checkers can teach us a lot about how to succeed in life. In order to win at checkers it takes a combination of strategy and patience- both noble pursuits. But in checkers and in life, the best players are those who possess a strategic mind, patience, AND the ability to THINK two or three moves in advance. Some call it FORETHOUGHT. I think of forethought as being the more saintly version of premeditation (you just have to get past the Dateline 48 Hours Mystery connotation). Whatever you wanna call it, it means thinking in advance and considering the future or future outcome of any given action. WHAT??? Think before you act!? REALLY!? What a novel freaking idea.

CHECK MY FLOW: Whenever I say or do something stupid and in the moment or have a momentary lapse in judgement, I'll sometimes jokingly say, "I'm gonna let this be future Jeremy's problem to deal with." Funny thing is, there's a little bit of truth in every joke (oftentimes A LOT). "Future Jeremy" typically isn't very pleased with the results of "past Jeremy's" rash decisions. However, when I take time to think through and clearly visualize the finish line or end result of my actions, I usually end up feeling pleased with the outcome. There's merit in visualizing your heart's desires. Why? Because along life's journey, knowing your destination helps to dictate your decisions.

Do me a FLAVOR...Put all of your religious/spiritual biases aside, and just track with me for a moment. What are you pursuing in life? Is your pursuit happiness? Most wouldn't argue "happiness" as their general answer to this question. Those who would argue it are content to be miserable, angry MOFO's and might as well browse themselves off this site if they haven't already done so. L8R, H8R!!! I digress. So, if the goal is to ultimately achieve happiness in your life, then what makes you happy? Think about it. Visualize it. Okay, you can open up your eyes now, cheeseball. Now answer me this: What matters most to you in your relationships with your family and friends? What about your personal life and in your career? What leads you to feeling fulfilled in these arenas? Where are you at now and where will you be five years from now, ten years from now, or twenty years from now based on the decisions you're making? Your headed somewhere...we all are. Is it TOWARDS or AWAY from where you'd actually like to end up at. Just like in checkers, sometimes you've gotta think a few moves in advance in order to get a beat on which direction everything is going.

Hey, and if you don't like the outlook, then guess what you can do? CHANGE DIRECTIONS, JACKHOLE. ABORT MISSION. Throw your stinking sails up and wait for the wind. One brick at a time, your choices will build a stairway to your goal. Think about training for any sporting event. You don't just show up on the day of the event and hope that you'll be able to lift the bar, or hit the ball, or run the race. No, you train for weeks, months, and even years. All for the OPPORTUNITY to win, to compete, or just to simply finish the race. Each day of training is one more move that brings you closer to your objective, your finish line, your destination.

Time to LAND THE PLANE: Although I haven't played a game of checkers for quite some time, I'm pretty sure I'd dominate you if we threw down. Doubtful? Try me, cupcake. It's nothing personal. I just think I'll be willing to sit and out-think you til your thinker is thunked. I know, I know- a victory in a measly game O' checkers isn't nearly as glamorous as crushing your "Fight Gone Bad" score, besting your CrossFit Total, or beating your "Fran" time. No need to worry your pretty little lats off there, princess, I'm already three moves ahead of you...KING ME!!!

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