Who does
not like Star Wars? Nobody. It is a great fairy tale. And, we all
know the quote, “May the force be with you.” It is a memorable
line. And, it is kind of sexy. It is akin to wishing someone good
luck. We do it all the time.
Maybe I
should have titled this post “On luck” because I think it is an
interesting topic. I heard it said one time that we should pray for
miracles but work for results. I like this idea. It is rather
paradoxical. The idea that miracles happen is so promising. It is so
hopeful. It is something to wish for. But, counting on miracles is
not a good strategy. A better strategy is to work your butt off. If
luck comes in to play, all the better.
As you
know, George Lucas is the person who wrote Star Wars. And, as George
knew, he was not talking about reality. Lucas was not trying to tie
present experience to intergalactic space. His intent was to “set
standards.” Lucas knew he was dealing in mythology. For this
reason, the Star Wars series is great entertainment. However, when it
comes to life, the famous force quote needs to change one word. When
it comes to real life we should say, “May the force be in you.”
The
force is not something external to you. It is not something that is
either with you or against you. The force is always within you. It is
within all of us. We create force. I guess that brings me to another
quote that is a little weird. At one point Yoda says, “Do or do
not, there is no try.” I understand the point but it is kind of
bologna.
Let's
say you are teaching your child to ride a bike. Would you say, there
is no try? Of course not. Like anything in life you have to try, and
keep trying, until you get it. And that energy to keep trying comes
from within. It is a force that we have to create. The force is
within you.
The fact
of the matter is, a lot of times we just have to force ourselves to
do stuff. This relates to the idea of “emotional reasoning.”
Emotional reasoning is a, somewhat, nerdy concept that I wrote about
in this post (Don't Trust Yourself) It is where
we do what our emotions, or feelings, tell us to do. I guess another
name for it would be hedonism.
The idea
of using the force, to combat emotional reasoning, is based upon the
law of inertia. As we all know, inertia is Newton's first law of
motion. It is that one that says objects in motion tend to stay in
motion, and objects at rest tend to stay at rest. I way I think of it
always seems to be about pushing a car that has run out of gas. But,
the law of inertia applies to all facets of life.
When it
comes to work, and creativity, it is not a good idea to wait around
for the muse to kiss you. Rather you want to force yourself into
action. A big key is to inject the necessary energy to overcome
inertia. Pablo Picasso famously said, “Inspiration exists, but it
has to find you working.” If your (metaphorical) car has run out of
gas, the hardest part is getting it moving forward. Once the car is
rolling it gets a lot easier. Let me give you a personal example.
I really
did not want to write this blog post. I did not know what I was going
to write about. Plus, being that it is Memorial Day weekend, I have a
lot of other things I would rather be doing. The solution? Force. I
just forced myself to sit down and start typing. And, sure enough, as
I got into motion, the ideas started to flow.
Now, I
am certain this post is not the best in the world. Like I said, the
smell of barbeque makes it difficult to focus. So, please forgive me
if this blog is all over the place. But, I had to do it. I am always
trying to remind myself that my goals are stronger than my mood. I
remind myself to distrust what it is I feel like doing. I guess that
is how I selected this topic. I do not want to be typing these words
right now. But, I do want to stick to my commitment of blogging new
material once a week.
This is
actually the first post where I have written about my current
feelings. I did not think that was going to happen when I first sat
down. But, that is where the muse led me. And, I did not what to be a
hypocrite. How could I preach against emotional reasoning and not
have a post ready for this week? I couldn't. And, I remembered the
subtitle to this blog. It does not say, “Earth-shatteringly poetic
prose posted every Monday.” It just says “I post something new
every Monday.” Sorry Yoda, but, today, I tried my best.
All in
all, we need to force ourselves into doing thing much more often than
we will feel. If you're not forcing yourself to do things you do not
feel like doing, then you are not reaching your full potential. And,
it is my belief that work is the avenue by which humans can
experience the joy of reaching their fullest potential. This is the
take away from my very favorite book titled Flow. If you
haven't read Flow, please do so. It might be the most
important, and profound, book ever. More to come on that subject.
At any
rate. May the force be in you!
Time for
a burger!
