This blog post, although brief, may be one of the most important things I share with you.
We’ve all heard of and inevitably been told by a business professor or sales guru at some point in our life that, “sharks need to keep moving forward at all times or they will die”. Unless you’re watching National Geographic, this passage is usually only used as justification by an overly aggressive person to clarify why they took the steps they did in order to achieve their desired results.
Another fact that is just as true, but often not discussed, is that we share most of our DNA with animals. No, this is not going to turn into a piece on evolution or the “big bang”, it is simply to draw upon the similarities we, as humans, share with different species.
Another commonly quoted statement is, “the mind is a terrible thing to waste”. And while true, it should be said with more detail. Something like, “not only is the mind a terrible thing to waste, not exposing your mind to new challenges can actually aide in your death”. Like sharks, your mind needs to keep moving forward and progressing or it will slowly deteriorate reducing your quality of life, and more importantly, limiting your expectations for yourself and others. Unlike any other muscle in your body, when you quit on your mind, your mind will quit on you. You can stop doing curls in the gym. Sure, your biceps may not look as nice but your quality of life will not be diminished.
In quick summary, your mind is like the movement of a shark. You are either forever moving and pushing forward in challenging new experiences or you are left to die. I challenge each of you to try something new TODAY. It can be as simple as a new food, a new exercise, a new book or better yet, conquer one of your fears. You will not only find the activity immediately rewarding, you will find yourself in a better mood days later with a hunger to push your brain to new limits.