Sunday Supplement #30 (December 5th, 2021)
Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.
I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!
Quote of the Week:
“I am not afraid of storms for I am learning to sail my ship.”
– Louise May Alcott
Book of the Week:
Awaken the Giant Within – Tony Robbins
My first adventure into the self-help genre came in the form of Tony Robbin’s Awaken the Giant Within. He was the perfect entrance ramp for me on my journey of self-reflection and development. I’m not a massive fan of his voice or seminars, so I opt for his books rather than his videos.
Tony Robbins is one of the nation’s leaders in the science of peak performance, and he uses this book to guide people with the fundamental lessons of self-mastery.
Awaken the Giant Within provides techniques and strategies for mastering your emotions, your body, your relationships, your finances, and your life.
I first read the book around five years ago, and some of my favorite perspective tools stuck immediately. I particularly enjoyed neurolinguistic programming (NLP) and intention setting.
NLP is an approach to communication where you focus on removing negative and limiting words from your vocabulary. The power of what you think and speak is highlighted, and the research behind the technique is fascinating. With intention setting, I found out how powerful it can be to shape how you want to participate in an experience before it happens.
There are many more brilliant techniques explained in the book, and all of them are worth exploring to see if they click for you. Tony Robbins’ work is all over the world for a reason.
Movie of the Week:
Finding Forrester follows basketball prodigy Jamal Wallace, as he is invited to attend a prestigious private high school. A chance dare connects him with a reclusive writer, with whom he refines and furthers his talent for writing while learning to express himself fully.
Mike Rich penned the brilliant screenplay that won him a Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1998. Rich was picked up by Hollywood through his success in Nicholl’s screenwriting competition, and his script made it to the big screen in 2000.
Gus Van Sant directed the film, and the cast was wonderfully rounded out with newcomer Rob Brown and acting giants Sean Connery, F. Murray Abraham, and Anna Paquin. I’m still not sure how this movie completely missed the Oscars.
The simple story is well done and is a thoughtful narrative of stepping outside your comfort zone. An underlying feel-good aspect of the movie is subtly done while addressing timely topics.
Finding Forrester didn’t receive the best reviews from critics, but it is worth checking out.
Brainfood of the Week:
Marcus Aurelius: How to Think Clearly — The Art of Improvement
The Art of Improvement is a YouTube channel that makes videos with the focus of helping viewers learn how to better themselves and how to be more productive.
Much of the video focuses on breaking down some valuable lessons from Aurelius’s Meditations writings on living a balanced life.
Because of overstimulation, our brain limits our focus to what’s most important to us. This technique is useful to our survival but has the unfortunate side-effect of making us miss what’s going on outside of our perspective. We then can get easily distracted and removed from the present because of our thoughts.
Aurelius, in his writings, came up with methods to help himself be more aware and attentive.
The Art of Improvement video highlights three of his methods to help improve the consciousness of your surroundings and yourself.
The discussed methods delve into breaking the autonomous loop of everyday thinking, seeing situations through an objective eye, and practices of decluttering the mind.
The video is a wonderful introduction to some of the brilliant lessons left by Marcus Aurelius in Meditations. Let me know if you found anything helpful and applicable to your life.
Closing Spiritual Passage:
“Knowledge is learning something new every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day.”
– Zen Proverb
This proverb reminds me that growth isn’t always about addition. I tend to gravitate toward making sure I experience something new every day, even if it’s as simple as reading a chapter of a book or having a conversation with someone.
However, as I get older, I realize that eliminating bad habits or decluttering my schedule and the space around me makes a huge difference for my mental health.
Jesse Itzler, featured in Sunday Supplement #3, discussed how he did the math on how much time he spent watching college football each weekend and how many hours that would total over the next twenty years.
The short of that experiment is being more conscious of how we use our time. Itzler says if you only see your parents once or twice a year and are getting up there in age, you might only have a handful of visits with them.
This kind of reflection is the perfect example of how elimination can create space for more meaningful activities in your life.
Make space for something meaningful, and have a blessed week ahead!
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