I feel like letting go (Paul McCartney)

Wie geht's?

James Clear was on fire this week and this quote summed up my feeling exactly at the end of a difficult week.

"At some point, you will have to learn to let go.

There is an endless list of obligations and expectations, desires and ambitions, and worries and fears that will always be ready to insert themselves between you and the feeling of peace.

If you never learn to let them go, there will never be enough."

Love and peace - Wozza

A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool (William Shakespeare)

Wie geht's?

After a rough day (sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you!) it is always good to reflect on James Clear's advice:

"The list of mistakes you can never recover from is very short.

But you likely realize your life will not be destroyed if your book doesn’t sell or if a potential date turns you down or if your startup goes bust. It’s not the failed outcome that paralyzes us. It’s the possibility of looking stupid, feeling humiliated, or dealing with embarrassment that prevents us from getting started at all.

The first step to being courageous is being willing to look foolish."

Love and peace - Wozza

The influence of every experience in your life is determined by the meaning you assign to it (James Clear)

Wie geht's?

According to James Clear - The events of your past are fixed. The meaning of your past is not. The influence of every experience in your life is determined by the meaning you assign to it.

Recently, I spent six hours in the company of my work colleague, Thomas Te Pou, as we journeyed in the Purdmobile, up and back to Gisborne for our athletics day.

Thomas has a prodigious memory. His capacity to recall events in minute detail is amazing. He knows the names of all the players and minute details about all the games of rugby he's played or watched, it seems.
 
I do not share his recall ability.

However, I was sick this week and off school for two days and had time to think about this (and many other things).

I've mentioned before how when I was a kid my mum would take me and my brother to a movie of our choice on our birthdays (which are 18 days apart so I'm sure we shared the movie at times).

Anyway, I decided to make a list of those movies for my own gratification.

Here they are:

• 1964 (I was seven, Ross was 5, and this is when the tradtion started) Mary Poppins
• 1965 That Darn Cat; Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines
• 1966 El Dorado
• 1967 The Jungle Book
• 1968 (This was a weird year - I can distinctly remember seeing these 5 movies at that time - although, they came out in 1968 but may not have screened until 1969 in NZ or else we saw some, like Shalako, outside of our birthday tradition) Villa Rides; Bandalero; The Scalphunters; Where Eagles Dare; Shalako (dad joined us for this one so it definitely wasn't a birthday special - I suspect Brigitte Bardot was a major drawcard)
• 1969 On Her Majesty's Secret Service
• 1970 Kelly's Heroes 
• 1971 Diamonds Are Forever (at this point - I was now 14, Ross 12, the tradition stopped but I can't remember any discussion about it at the time)

A few things about this seem noteworthy, apart from the obvious love of Disney (3), westerns (5), war movies (2), James Bond (2). 

• This was clearly a bonding exercise (mum and us). Our father was never involved. We would always head into Queen Street from Royal Oak (in mum's mini).
• Obviously mum had no problem with the cartoon violence on offer (Scalphunters! What was she thinking? Ross was only 8 or 9).
• This 'tradition' only lasted 8 years. It was a narrow window from age 7 to about 14. Actually I'm not even sure those last couple were with mum along - there's that awkward stage where you want to be dropped off with your mates (same with most families I guess).
• Yes, I aimed to do the same thing with my children but I wasn't as consistent as mum was.

Love and peace - Wozza