I've been listening to three different audio books recently that I've really been enjoying, they've been providing me with some great thought fodder. They are Grit by Angela Duckworth, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller, and The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer.
Ms. Duckworth has been studying grit for years now, and wrote Grit about what she's learned about developing grit and how grit impacts our lives. I've realized that I have not really been focusing on grit in my life or in the life of my kids, and it's definitely a quality I could use a little more of. Or a lot more of. Probably a lot. I am definitely guilty of starting a ton of things and finishing very few of them.
She talks a lot about figuring out your... I can't remember what she called them, core interests? Or passion? I don't know, but the thing that you are most interested in, and doing daily, deliberate practice in that area. But I'm feeling a bit stuck because I don't know what that is for me. I like my kids and husband, and like reading books to try and improve in my parenting and spouse-ing skills, I like my dog, and like learning about dog training, I like writing, although every time I sit down to write I feel endlessly stupid, and I don't really feel like I have something life changing to write about, I like reading case law, I like being outdoors and hiking, I like traveling and seeing new places, but there isn't one thing that stands out to me as something I am especially passionate about in a life-changing way. Anyway, for now I'm going to try and do daily, deliberate practice on writing, and just see what comes of that, if I start to feel like I have something to say, and if not, then... I give up on grit. Ha.
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years is, I think a memoir? He talks a lot about one particular time of his life when he was working with a movie producer to make a movie from another book he'd written, which definitely was a memoir, and his thought on story, and creating stories, and living stories, and our need for story. I really like the idea about being more deliberate about the stories we are living. I feel like often I move through the motions of life without really looking at what I'm moving towards or why I have the particular goals I have, and I want to be more intentional about what I'm creating.
The Untethered Soul is one that a friend told me she was reading and liking it, and it was available on Overdrive so I gave it a shot. I haven't finished that one yet, but so far it's been about being aware of how our thoughts are separate from ourselves, and how much our thoughts influence how we experience and react to the world. And how we limit or hurt ourselves by holding onto our thoughts about different events, and how we can create more energy and joy in our lives by being more intentional with our inner selves. Anyway, I will say it's more out-there than the other two books, I think my dad would have described it as "hippy dippy", it's definitely not a book that I would tell everybody in the world they should read and will love, but it's been useful for me to spend some time being more aware of my thoughts, and I'm liking it overall.
I have to go get Jefferson, and I promised myself I'd hit publish on this before I left, so that's what I've got today, an un-edited rambling about some books I've been listening to.
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