Listen to Episode 4 of The Matt Trick in the player above or download it.
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Here is a PDF of The Miracle Morning for Kids that I made for Oliver and Camilla.
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| Your hair grows everyday. Oliver's curly hair is proof. |
The Matt Trick
Stickk.com - Ian's website where you can setup a contract with Future You.
The $500 Diet by Ian Ayers on Amazon.
Carrots and Sticks by Ian Ayers on Amazon.
Commitment Devices on the Freakonomics Podcast.
Goal Line
I was thinking of using the $500 Diet to commit myself to get out and do my long runs each week. It’s been difficult to find the time (and energy) on my weekends to go run for 2 hours, and then to be physically drained for the rest of the weekend after my long run. These long runs are necessary though if I want to run a marathon this fall, which has been a tentative goal of mine.
But I think I’ve come up with a more practical commitment device for me this week though. I up and registered for the New Hampshire Marathon on October 4th in Bristol, NH. The registration cost about $60 after fees, so there’s financial incentive to make it to race day. I don’t need a referee because the money is spent and is non-refundable. I’ll post the news all over Facebook and in my Running Group on FB, I’ll tell all my friends at church and work so that it will add the cost of embarrassment if I bow out. And I’m telling all of you so you can hold me to my goal.
http://www.nhmarathon.com/ - if you feel so inclined to come and run with me.
Matt-spiration Moment
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| It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. |
By small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Alma 37:26
You’re hair grows every day, though you can’t see it happen, nor are the effects noticeable from day to day. If you’re like my four-year-old son Oliver, that growth is very evident by his crazy beautiful curly hair. In that same respect, our actions, even small, if repeated daily over a significant time period can yield a meaningful result.
Each of my sisters is an excellent and accomplished musician. I took up the trombone from my sister Melanie, and growing up, I would often go to bed at night to either Martha on the piano or Becca on the harp practices for long hours. (My brother McKay was also a musician, but he played the drums and we would all get mad at him if he practiced for long hours into the night). The secret to their success wasn’t necessarily the “long hours” part, but the “often” part. No one wakes up one morning with a mastery of anything.
Throughout my life, I am amazed at the mastery and experience of people that I get to rub shoulders with. Whether it be how some of my coworkers have a suggestion for any kind of engineering problem, or how some of my friends at church are able to recall scriptures from memory for any gospel topic, or some of my running friends who are twice my age can kick my butt on their “slow days”. None of these things happened overnight, and certainly none of them happened by accident either, but through constant, simple, effort over time.
Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said, “We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day” (Scott). If you want to be the kind of person who is great at music, put yourself in it everyday. If you want a close relationship with Christ, put yourself in prayer and scripture study every day. Not a huge chunks of time, but consistent effort will yield results. The same goes for anything-- running, math, relationships-- each of these things require an investment over time. (By the way if you’re having trouble committing to an everyday sort of habit, you might try a commitment device like the $500 diet!)
Unfortunately, this idea can work negatively too. Life destroying addictions begin with bad habits which had to have begun with a first bad decision. No married person decides in a day, “Marriage has been nice, but I think I’m having adultery today.” When married people claim to have fallen “out of love” it may be that they have simply failed to give their their spouse the regular and everyday sort of love and nurturing that such a relationship requires. Or maybe the marriage was poisoned slowly by pornography, unfair judgements, hurtful words, and pride. Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles observed, “An old proverb says that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, so watch your step” (Holland).
Be the kind of person you want to be by being that person everyday. Spend more time building good character traits and forming strong relationships with the people you love. Beware of spending too much time in trivial matters and stay away from bad habits that can tie you down with addiction and destroy you. Over time, the choices you make will make you the person you will become. As Albus Dumbledore said, “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” and if there’s anyone who understands how your hair grows long over time, it’s Albus Dumbledore.
You’re hair grows every day, though you can’t see it happen, nor are the effects noticeable from day to day. If you’re like my four-year-old son Oliver, that growth is very evident by his crazy beautiful curly hair. In that same respect, our actions, even small, if repeated daily over a significant time period can yield a meaningful result.
Each of my sisters is an excellent and accomplished musician. I took up the trombone from my sister Melanie, and growing up, I would often go to bed at night to either Martha on the piano or Becca on the harp practices for long hours. (My brother McKay was also a musician, but he played the drums and we would all get mad at him if he practiced for long hours into the night). The secret to their success wasn’t necessarily the “long hours” part, but the “often” part. No one wakes up one morning with a mastery of anything.
Throughout my life, I am amazed at the mastery and experience of people that I get to rub shoulders with. Whether it be how some of my coworkers have a suggestion for any kind of engineering problem, or how some of my friends at church are able to recall scriptures from memory for any gospel topic, or some of my running friends who are twice my age can kick my butt on their “slow days”. None of these things happened overnight, and certainly none of them happened by accident either, but through constant, simple, effort over time.
Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said, “We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day” (Scott). If you want to be the kind of person who is great at music, put yourself in it everyday. If you want a close relationship with Christ, put yourself in prayer and scripture study every day. Not a huge chunks of time, but consistent effort will yield results. The same goes for anything-- running, math, relationships-- each of these things require an investment over time. (By the way if you’re having trouble committing to an everyday sort of habit, you might try a commitment device like the $500 diet!)
Unfortunately, this idea can work negatively too. Life destroying addictions begin with bad habits which had to have begun with a first bad decision. No married person decides in a day, “Marriage has been nice, but I think I’m having adultery today.” When married people claim to have fallen “out of love” it may be that they have simply failed to give their their spouse the regular and everyday sort of love and nurturing that such a relationship requires. Or maybe the marriage was poisoned slowly by pornography, unfair judgements, hurtful words, and pride. Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles observed, “An old proverb says that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, so watch your step” (Holland).
Be the kind of person you want to be by being that person everyday. Spend more time building good character traits and forming strong relationships with the people you love. Beware of spending too much time in trivial matters and stay away from bad habits that can tie you down with addiction and destroy you. Over time, the choices you make will make you the person you will become. As Albus Dumbledore said, “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” and if there’s anyone who understands how your hair grows long over time, it’s Albus Dumbledore.
I've always loved that Dumbledore quote... it's one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteLoved the story about your dad.
ReplyDeleteWhoops, I commented on the wrong page. That was for last week.
ReplyDelete