Relatively cold

50 degree water is relatively cold…

Compared to 60 degree water.

40 degree water just laughs when we say this.

Good, bad, better, worse, hot, cold, healthy, unhealthy…

Each of these judgments is made in comparison. These judgments are stories a person tells to describe their perspective.

These stories shape our perceived realities and, therefore, alter our choices and behaviors.

In order to accurately match our strategies to the given situation, it is worth differentiating fiction from non-fiction.

“The water is cold,” is a fictional tale.

“The water is 50 degrees,” is non-fiction.

The more often fictional stories are perceived as non-fiction, the greater the discrepancy between what we think we are perceiving and what we are actually perceiving.

Inaccurate input. Inaccurate output.

It is true that you can spin stories in ways that benefit you. Positive affirmations are an example of this.

What I propose is that we practice telling ourselves the truth. Then cultivate an ability to do the difficult work of overcoming the resistance and doing what we know we need to do in the face of this truth.

This is integrity.

This is discipline.

This is health.