“Would you have a great empire? Rule over yourself.” - Publius SyrusWhen I was a kid, thanks to Star Trek, I always thought of space as the final frontier. Apparently that title can also be claimed by the ocean. It makes sense; there is so much to learn from the creatures that inhabit the space just below the surface.
However, as I move even closer to magic birthday #39 (and it’s magic because I say so), I realize that while either of those wondrous, awe-inspiring places has continued room for vast exploration, they will never actually be the final frontier.
The real end-all-and-be-all is the cognitive functionality of that three pound mass of neurons that floats around between my ears, awash in cerebrospinal fluid and protected by my most definitely hard-ass head: my mind.
I’m truly starting to realize that the ability to control and harness that instrument is absolutely the answer to being the kind of person I want to be. This will only be through discipline, perseverance and persistence. No more excuses, just keep pressing forward.
I’d like to clarify my point just a bit -something else that these last years of my 30’s have shown me. For most of my life, I’ve had some type of goal – getting good grades, getting into college, graduating, finding a job, getting a promotion, making more money…some prize I’m always keeping my eye on.
I’ve experienced a departure from that, the proverbial treadmill. I think more now in terms of the kind of person I want to be. Not a title, not a station in life, but being the kind of person of which I can be proud. When you think about it, the things we admire about people have very little to do with the material. Being funny, smart or compassionate? Those things are free.
Since becoming a person does her best to focus on that which I can control, I’ve also put into practice letting go of worrying about the result. My effort is what I have power over, so I put 100% of myself into that. What happens after that? Not. In. My. Control.
As someone who’s been oriented since childhood to focus on changing the things I cannot control (like what other people think, the weather, the price of soy), this is fucking hard. I have to constantly remind myself which of the two camps a situation falls into. I expect it will be this way for the rest of my life.
This is why the mind is the final frontier. Taking control of yourself is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do.
No wait, I take that back. Realizing that you are the only thing you control – I mean really realizing it, in your bones – that is the hardest thing.
The second hardest is acting accordingly.
