Desire (pt 2): Going Deeper
“Apetitus rationi pareat” – “Let desire be ruled by reason.”
[Cicero, Roman author & politician, 1st-century BC]
(1093 words – approx 5-7 mins to read)
Last time we discussed how powerful an emotion Desire can be, how it’s useful when focused appropriately and how, when we allow it to lead us or even consume us, it can transform into something dangerous and debilitating.
I left you with a question, after the “What do you want?” and “What are you prepared to do to get it?” ones, which was:
WHY DO YOU WANT IT?
"It's the Climb"
I ran the Edinburgh marathon today – toughest thing I think I’ve ever done so far actually. I didn’t beat my target time of 4 hours and, as I was driving back to Liverpool with aching legs and a sense of disappointment, a song on the radio caught my ear – “The Climb”. Yes, it’s teen-pop, sung by Miley Cyrus, but the words to the chorus struck a neat little chord:
Ain’t about how fast I get there,
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side,
It’s the climb.
Lose weight while you sleep..!
I came across this article a while ago and thought I’d write a timely reminder of how your sleep (or lack of it) can actually affect your weight.
Researchers at Stanford and Wisconsin Universities have discovered through a series of experiments that sleep affects more than how tired we feel – it has a profound yet unconscious effect on our appetite. Read More »
The Power of Desire (pt. 1)
“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”
[Mario Andretti, Italian-born racing driver.]“Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.”
[Napoleon Hill, 19th/20th century US author and presidential adviser]
“I stood, nose pressed up against the toy shop window, gazing through at it, my eyes tracing over each feature, every detail of it, until I could almost feel the surface under my itching fingers. Somewhere deep inside I felt a cavernous space open up, a void that happened to be exactly the same shape and size as the very thing I was fixated on. Right then and there I knew that, however long it took me, I would be saving whatever money I could – pocket money, birthday gifts, odd-job payments – until I had the amount that the neatly written numbers on the precisely folded card in front said would be required in exchange for this marvellous item.”
Have you ever wanted something so much you actually felt the want – that yearning, a hollow space that you knew could only, can only, be filled by possessing whatever, or whoever, was the object of your desire? Read More »
Unploughed Ground
To make the most of ourselves we need to invest in ALL of ourselves.
“Break up your unploughed ground, and do not sow among thorns.”
[Book of Jeremiah, Hebrew Scriptures / Christian Old Testament]“Every loaf of bread begins with a seed sown and watered.”
[Unknown]
[1313 words, estimated reading time 6-10 mins]
I’m going to tell you a story, so if you want, I’ll give you minute or two to get a cuppa or whatever else you might need to help you get comfortable first. Read More »
How do you get it all into someone's mind..?
Odd, isn’t it, how we manage to keep some shelves and cupboards reasonably tidy and others are a total jumble?
I was speaking to a legal boffin at a local networking group last week about presenting and public speaking and came up with a metaphor for one of the powerful techniques derived from hypnosis of creating speeches that really, truly work.
It’s a bit like filling an empty cupboard with stuff. Read More »