It’s interesting how some things seem to just fall into place. I tried to get BlizzCon tickets earlier this year. I have a friend who was able to snag some and I thought why not. I love San Diego. I love gaming. I could use a short weekend break from it all. I was not able to procure my ticket to BlizzCon this year. They have a system where you try to get tickets during a certain time slot. I was not quick enough on the draw. It worked out though. Had I got the tickets I would have had an interesting decision. Fix my fractured finger and forgo the money I spent putting into the trip or fly to San Diego for the weekend and forgo my surgery. BlizzCon started the Friday I went in for surgery. Fortunately, I didn’t have to make a tough decision because I didn’t get the tickets (or would getting the tickets have changed everything? hmmmm).

Recently, I finished Everything Is Fucked: A Book About Hope by Mark Manson. It’s helped me tremendously with figuring out why I’m in a rut (documented in my previous post). Ultimately, it’s all about me. How I choose my struggles and conflicts in life. If I choose to self-indulge, I will become (was) miserable.

I started What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter. I’ve only just started and it’s giving me a lot of insight into how it’s all about me. How what I say and do has an impact on others. Both positive and negative. It’s a book for professionals moving up the management and executive ladders. From the book I’m learning that I can respond better, if only for my own sanity.

I joined an accountability group for the month of December and one of the things I want to get back into is meditation (the other is to blog on a weekly basis). Last night, I started researching Buddhism. I’m finding that Buddhism is all about me. How I respond to things is up to me. How I can use the practices of Buddhism to gain wisdom and enlightenment.

All three have a similar message: It’s all about me. I get to make the choice around how I respond to things. The anxiety I have is on me. The frustration and griping I have at work is on me. The lack of purpose is on me. To get there will require practice, patience, and self-reflection. I’m particularly excited to dive into Buddhism. I’ve already added a couple blogs to my RSS feed on top of the research I’m doing. Like What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, I need to be mindful of how I am responding to things in life. Today I put some of the book into practice.

Someone presented an idea and instead of tweaking it or debating it (which I often do), I said “great idea” and “thank you.” I do believe in authenticity, so I wasn’t saying it to say it. It was a good idea and something I presented to my guys as a possible solution. Like the BlizzCon trip, it’s interesting how things tend to fall into place and workout. I feel like I’m finally on a purposeful path.

If you have some Buddhism resources, I would love them shared in the comment section. You can also reach out to me by email or Twitter.