Last updated on February 18th, 2024 at 11:34 pm
February 11, 2024
Here is the best thing I heard (What?), saw (Eye.), and read (Read.) this week, as well as the best idea (💡) I developed.
What?
“The Hero of Ages” by Brandon Sanderson:
- “It wasn’t until that moment that Sazed understood the term ‘Hero of Ages.’ Not a hero that came once in the ages, but a hero who would span the ages. A hero who would preserve mankind throughout all its lives and times. Neither preservation nor ruin, but both. God.”
- I also utilized this quote in General Conference Applied season 2 episode 19.
Eye.
Sister Wendy Nelson, find.christ (Instagram) reel:
- “Do you know that feeling? You look around and everyone else is tall and straight and reaching to heaven, so to speak.
“They have everything figured out. They wear the perfect clothes, always seem to say the right things, have no problems, are perfectly obedient—and seem never to have made a mistake in their lives.
“And then, well, there’s you and me!
“My dear brothers and sisters, it’s time to stop comparing ourselves with others. It’s time to put away those erroneous views of ourselves and others. The truth is that we are not as hopelessly flawed as we may think, and others are not as perfect as they may appear—all except, of course, our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Read.
“The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles” by Steven Pressfield:
- “Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign.
“Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do.
“Remember our rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.
“Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and to the growth of our soul. That’s why we feel so much Resistance. If it meant nothing to us, there’d be no Resistance.”
💡
Do oblique crunches Monday – Friday until I develop six-pack abs. Start with 200 daily repetitions, eventually working my way up to 1,000 daily repetitions.
- This idea was inspired by the following conversations I had this week:
- My co-worker shared with me this week that his physical therapist has encouraged him to do 1,000 crunches every day. My co-worker has worked his way up to 200 daily repetitions (8 sets of 25). To do these crunches, lie flat on the ground on your back. Raise your upper body until you can see your toes, then lower your back almost to the floor, then raise your upper body again, and so on and so forth.
- My friend shared with me this week the importance of oblique abdominal motions (i.e., twisting your upper body when exercising your core) for overall core health and fitness. Thus, follow the process that my co-worker is doing, but twist to the left on the first rotation, to the right on the second rotation, and so on and so forth.