Fight Inertia & Get A Free Meal

About fear
The hardest part of change isn’t always fear of change, it is the fight against inertia that comes with it.

People like to say otherwise. They claim that fear is the true culprit for not making changes in their lives and to an extent I agree.

There have been moments where I have let fear prevent me from making the move from where I was to somewhere else but inertia has definitely played a part too.

When a giant boulder appears in your path and you know the only way around it is to move it there is a tendency to say, ‘fuck it.’

‘Things aren’t bad enough to make me get my hands dirty.’

I get it, that sucker is big and you know that it is going to take a ton of work to start rocking it back and forth so that it will move.

And god help you, if it starts to roll the wrong direction because it could end up rolling right over you or go down the wrong hill and smash the cars and houses below.

Very few people carry boulder insurance, it is even more uncommon than earthquake insurance so we tend to tread cautiously around them.

Easier to look at inertia and trash talk from a distance.

‘I could make you my bitch. I could own you, but I just don’t need to. Don’t have time to play games with you today.’

Ask my kids and they’ll you about Jack Steiner’s “I Made Inertia My Bitch” story. It is a good one.

The Best Bloggers Are Storytellers

The Best Bloggers Are Storytellers Part 2 is one of my favorite posts.

There is a certain lightness about it that makes me smile, a reminder of a boy who wanted to play for the Dodgers but didn’t make the team or even get a tryout.

A tale of a man who became a writer and has spent more than a decade taking the goofy stories in his head and putting them out on a page in cyberspace.

That whacky gentleman hasn’t quite turned his craft into the goldmine he knows it can become, at least not at the level he wants it to be, but he has done ok for himself.

When he is not talking about himself in 3rd person he is thinking about how while driving over the Grapevine in California he saw two cars with Texas license plates and how he knows in his gut that he is going back because it is part of the next chapter in his life.

It is why when fear comes to visit and suggests he reconsider he says ‘walk away or suffer my wrath.’

Sadly in real life, very few people take that seriously and when you are talking to yourself it doesn’t necessarily make fear tremble either.

But the trick isn’t to eliminate fear, it is to master it so that you can be brave for just long enough to do what you have to do.

Sometimes that means looking at inertia and deciding it is time to start rocking that boulder regardless of whether you have boulder insurance or not.

Besides I figure if the damn thing goes astray it makes for a good story and you can never have too many of those.

Speaking of good stories I might have to call Lindsey Buckingham and ask if I can borrow the shirt he is wearing here, I bet I could have some good adventures in it.

About That Free Meal

Earlier this week a certain restaurant chain offered discounted meals as part of their anniversary celebrations.

It is one of those places I have been going to since I was a kid and have taken mine too many times so I figured it would be nice to take advantage of the opportunity for a cheap night out.

We get to the joint and it is packed with families and assorted others who have the same idea as we do but I don’t mind the five-minute wait to be seated so we hang out.

Soon we are seated and enjoying our pancake dinner.

The teen and the tween are getting along nicely and it is a very pleasant meal until life decides to mix things up a bit.

One solitary cockroach crawls up the wall next to my daughter and she tries to bolt from the booth.

That ends the eating portion of our meal.

A moment later a waiter apologizes for our visitor and comps our meal.

Shortly afterwards we stand outside and the kids want to know why my daughter trying to bolt from the booth bothered me.

“Dad, why did you get angry?”

“Because your reaction wasn’t necessary. That sucker wasn’t going to hurt or eat you. Don’t panic. Stay calm and ask me to move. No need to trample dear old dad. Besides, if you dip them in syrup they are really tasty.”

I get the groans I expected to receive and then remind them that I am serious about the importance of not panicking. Stay calm and think before you leap.

Besides, we just got another story to tell and you never have too many good stories to tell.

in the wild now

Post Script

I played six games of ball last night. My team won five of them.

No one will give me a new contract or trophy for my play and that is cool with me.

We won because we played as a team and because we played hard. Took two Advil this morning and might need a few later on because I went at it like I might not get to play again.

But there is a certain satisfaction that comes from knowing you left it all on the court and that you did what you could with what you had.

I haven’t always beaten inertia, but  I have made that boulder rock more than once and I am going to do it again. This is just the warm up.

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4 Comments

  1. Janine Huldie July 9, 2015 at 4:01 am

    I have no doubt if it were you against fear you would win hands down every time. By the way, we too enjoyed the pancake deal the other day, but thankfully no happy little critters joined us, except for the kids 😉

    • Jack Steiner July 10, 2015 at 7:53 am

      Glad you had a good meal and that it was companion free.

      I am not going to say I have always conquered fear because I haven’t. but I have gotten pretty good at handling it.

  2. Larry July 8, 2015 at 5:35 pm

    I think the fear can lead to inertia. At least, it does in my case.
    Funny about the syrup.
    I haven’t played much ball lately too. However, I know what you mean about leaving it all on the court. It feels good – and the shower afterwards is spectacular!

    • Jack Steiner July 10, 2015 at 7:51 am

      That shower is spectacular. When you are so damn tired you have to lean against the wall you really can feel good about the effort you put in. I don’t know about you, but that makes a difference for me, especially if we lost. Can you tell I get competitive. 😉

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