Confessions of a Quirky Christian Artist

Well I’ve done it.  I’ve finally become an adult. At least by Common Law I guess.  You can’t be 40 and still be a kid, right?  Anyway, I’m remembering what it was like to turn 30.   http://joshuaforeman.blogspot.com/2005/04/reflections-on-my-30th-birthday.html I distinctly remember feeling like I couldn’t possibly accomplish what I wanted in life because I fell behind due to a soul-sucking marriage that held me back for a decade.  That, and I was more self conscious about how being in a different decade of life separated me conceptually from those I wanted to hang out with.  Neither of those things are a concern to me on the turning of this decade of my life.  I really don’t care about people who are biased against older people, and I accomplished a LOT in the last decade.  But more important than what I accomplished is the fact that my roadmap to what my life goals are is much better defined.  Having that focus has allowed me to better m...

There are two things you don’t know about that person who just cut you off, who just gave you a dirty look, who just snapped at you, etc. 1. You don’t know how big their emotional energy tank is.  2. You don’t know how much of it has already been expended today. Reminding myself of this helps me to give grace and patience to those who seem to “wrong” me. I don’t make moral judgement about people who can’t curl 100 pounds just because I can. AND, after a hard workout, I CAN’T do that anymore.  Likewise, I have to understand that there are people who simply have less, or depleted emotional energy to resist their animal instincts.  I know when I’m super focused on a deadline and pouring every ounce of energy into it the first thing that goes out the window is my diet. “Ego depletion refers to the idea that self-control or willpower draw upon a limited pool of mental resources that can be used up.” “a model that relates self-control to a muscle, which can become both s...