Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - DISCIPLINE YOUR THOUGHTS | Powerful Motivational speech

Episode Date: November 8, 2021

“I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” - Jimmy Dean

So much of life comes down to control, understanding what we cannot control, while simultaneously capitalizing and making the most of the things that we can. A constant awareness that's critical to our evolution. Epictetus wrote, We must be at once cautious and courageous, courageous in what does not depend upon choice. and cautious in what does.

And this idea has been shared many, many times in many ways over the centuries. Another of which a lot of folks have heard is the serenity prayer, right? God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. But regardless of how it's said,

and who it's said to, the point is the same. There are things we cannot control that we must find a way to stop exerting ourselves, stop exhausting our energy on. They are, as the saying goes, what they are. These obstacles are immovable. And rather than continue to push and push and push,

with all our strength and energy. Our time is best suited, learning to effectively navigate them. And then there exists those things that are in our control. I believe it was the power of now by Eckart Tolle. He said, and I'm paraphrasing, if something cannot be changed, stop thinking about it, right?

The future represents anxiety. It's worrying about things that have. haven't happened yet. The past is essentially depression. It's worrying about things that already happened. We can't do anything about the past or the future. All we have is now. And if it can be changed, then act now and bringing about a desired result. Take that first step. Create some semblance of momentum no matter how small. But to worry about what is behind you or in front of you is actually insanity. I remember loving the simplicity and pointedness of that message.

Accept it, eliminate it, or adjust yourself to it. Sometimes it helps when I think about things in metaphors, and I tend to do it often. This morning I was drinking coconut water, right? Of all things. And I was thinking, man, it'd be nice. You know those little pieces of coconut that float around in there. It'd be great if they were not in there, right? So I have this idea, just grab a

strainer, pour it through the strainer into the glass. I'm leaning over the counter, watching the pieces of coconut collect in the strainer, and I'm just thinking, sort of zoning out. Like, imagine if those were my problems, just being separated out of my life, just like that, how nice it would be, captured in a little net, and then, you know, discarded, thrown away. But, you know, it didn't take me long to realize a couple things. One, such an idea would never happen. Life will always have some obstacle to place before us. That's what life does.

After all, the word is predicated upon the avoidance of death. It's a struggle and a necessary one. Which leads me to the realization number two. We want hardship. You know, purpose and meaning. They're derived from our willingness to overcome adversity, and transform because of it. A life without struggle is a car without wheels.

And sure, you might avoid the fender benders, but you're not leaving the garage. So that's a thumbs down. So I thought, okay, well, what if I slightly adjust that thinking? What if it's a subset of problems that I can remove? That's when it kind of hit me, the opportunity at hand, right? Not the so-called problems, but my thoughts about them.

There are the real difference maker here, the negative storytelling that can be removed, pushed through the strain. Again, not novel or groundbreaking. Like I said a few minutes ago, this idea has been around for thousands of years, but sometimes things land perfectly. Right moment, right time.

And I knew what I needed to do was remove the worries and concerns pertaining to the events that I could not change, yet I exhaust my energy dancing around and around with my thoughts about them. You cannot change the future. You can change right now, which ultimately becomes the future, and there's a difference. I had to, you know, pull that back in.

See, I think most of our problems are derived from anger or emotional attachment to the immovable, the unchangeable. my favorite sayings is you can't change the direction of the wind but you can always adjust your sails and see when you remove the self-tormenting you have going on about your past things you wish you did or didn't do when you remove the concern that the future won't be exactly what you want it to be which tends to be where I lean of the two you're left with one thing the present right clarity you have a officially empowered yourself because the things you allocate your energy to can be changed,

can be made better or adjusted. And that's really what it's all about. You can't change the fact that someone you loved or cared about let you down. But when you dwell on it, you're now giving up the present as well. You're preventing yourself from doing what is required of you now to make your life better. You can't control. the fact that your company's reducing its size and your department is being eliminated. Can't control the fact that 8% get accepted to whatever you're applying to. Can't control the fact that you will be criticized for doing the unpopular thing, the thing that you believe to be right. And I say these things, not to be a downer. I actually don't think there's anything sad about

this to the contrary. Right. Now that you've experienced. accepted these truths, accepted this is reality. Now you can move toward what's best for you. No more dwelling on the unchangeable. No more fighting unwinnable wars. No, it's time to go put yourself in position to conquer whatever mountain is next. By straining out the things that cannot be changed,

you are left only with what can. You can't change your company's purpose. personnel reduction, but you can find something else, something better out there. You can set the stage for a new journey. You can't increase the acceptance rate, but you can increase your value. Go above and beyond. Put yourself in position to succeed. And if you don't, they're lost.

Continue learning, continue growing, continue moving forward. You can't stop the world's criticism. But you can learn to toughen up emotionally, learn to trust your intuition and decision making, surround yourself with people you trust who lift you up. See, when you stop wasting time and energy on the wrong things, you get the right things. Like Greg McKeown says in essentialism, it's now but we can acquire. But often what we cut away, removing the things that weigh us down, that we're dragging along with us everywhere we go, they don't need to be there.

I say to myself often that I have everything I need. It's there. Some of it's materialized. Some of it exists as a seed that I need to identify in water and nurture, but it's all right here. Which means the problem will never be that I'm incapable. It will never be that I'm not good enough. No, when I'm in the wrong, it's because I've forgotten to see it. I've either become consumed with the wrong things.

or lost faith in myself to do the right things. And knowing this has been a gift. It's been tremendous. It's helped me even during the darkest moments to reacquire what matters most. Sometimes it takes hours, sometimes days, even weeks or longer, but I get there. Eventually I arrive and so can you.

You have the ability to parse out why you feel the way you do. To categorize the thoughts in your head, in your head? Can I change it? No, okay, gone. And with all that's left, begins the journey, the good stuff, the adversity and the problems that will make you who you are. And don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying it will be easy, but I'm saying it will be worth it. And that's critical to understand. Your world is there to maneuver and adjust to reshape. But its transformation depends on a laser-like focus on that which is malleable. That's saying, do what you can, where you are with what you have.

It will lead you to exactly where you need to be. Even if you don't trust the road before you, trust yourself to walk down it.