Here's Another Stupid Thing We Do

One of the most annoying things I know is to be told to "relax" or "be calm."

Please, never tell me to "relax" or "be calm."

Besides the fact that it is an impossible request, it is often the last thing you want to be thinking about. 

When you have an important thing to enact, people believe they need to be "relaxed" and "calm" while they do it? Really?

Let's take two examples…

EXAMPLE NO 1

Someone is about to hit you with a baseball bat.

Ok, is this a time to be "calm" and "relaxed"? 

I know many people would argue that "Yes, only when you are calm, can you think of the right strategy." Which begs a simple question – if "calm" is such a beneficial condition to make smart decisions about survival, then how did 500 million years of evolution get this part wrong?

Because, dear reader, there is not a Chordate on this pretty little earth of ours that will remain calm while a baseball bat is threatening their life.

Not one. 

Except!

A weird, fantasy-full, wacky, often delusional Chordate known as "Homo Sapien". Yes, it seems that humans are the only creature on earth that manufactured this idea that in the face of a challenge, the best response is to be calm and relaxed.

Now I am a Buddhist, and I believe in a particular version of "calm" characterized as "stillness of mind". This kind of "calm" is the door into a deeper perception of truth.

What I don't believe in is "calm" in the face of challenge. That means throwing away 500 million years of biological advantage. 

Why would you do that?!

EXAMPLE NO 2

You are about to face an audience of peers.

This could be giving a talk at work, performing on stage, competing in sports, or leading a seminar. In every case, there is a biological response that will energize you. You'll want to empty your bowels and dispense with all unnecessary physiological functions. Clever.

Then you will self-medicate. All legal, all organic, all ethical. You are providing you with the hormones that will super-charge your senses and turbo-rev your musculature.

It's the smartest thing that can happen. Yet the world over people are being taught that instead of this, they should "relax" and "be calm" as they are about to embark on their challenging task.

The issue is not being "calm" - the issue is how to remain in charge; how to lead by intention - rather than being driven by fear-fueled fantasies. And this is where Alexander's discovery comes into its own.

Because the flip side of homo-sapien madness is homo-sapien genius, the two dance together – when you are given the keys to the kingdom, it's up to you what you do with it.

How to handle that, how to coach others – this is what you can explore with me in Japan next year. Our annual Golden Week residential is transformational fun – new people to meet, new ways to think about your work, a great variety and diversity of thought.

Diversity is Nature’s factory of innovation – at Golden Week residential in May 2020 it’s guaranteed you will be surrounded by one of the most diverse & unusual communities you have ever encountered!

Right now my three available rooms being considered, so if you are thinking about it, hurry and let me know.

Or jump the queue and slap down your deposit right now:

https://atsuccess.com/alexander-discovery-workshop-japan-jeremy-chance.html

cheerfully

Jeremy
本当の自助論 ! 
Helping You to Help Your Self