So I got an email that had a link to play an addictive game. The point of the game is to see how fast your reflexes are in shooting tranquilizer dart at stray sheep. If you jump the gun there is a 3 second penalty which will inevitably put you in the slowest category. There are 5 categories of speed: Sluggish Snail, Ambling Armadillo, Bobbing Bobcat, Rocketing Rabbit and Turbo-Charged Cheetah. Each name is an obvious description of what your reflex speed was during that game. And let me tell you it gets addictive because you want to try to be the Turbo-charged Cheetah, I got close one time with a speed of .1906 seconds, I was the Rocketing Rabbit.
This game got me thinking about life. Or better yet the speed categories got me thinking about life. How often do we go through life at a sluggish pace? Just barely getting by, making no changes and no effort to make things better until things get to be too late. In fact because we have been going along at a “sluggish snail” pace our reflexes are down and our problems catch us and overwhelm us. Thus causing us to go at an even slower pace and almost just stopping and giving up. Don’t get me wrong there are days when you should go slow and just enjoy being alive and stop and smell the roses, nothing wrong with that. The problem is when one day becomes a week, then a month, then a year and then before you know it, 5 years are gone and the whole world comes crashing in on you.
So instead of going through life at a sluggish pace, would going through it as a “turbo-charged cheetah” be any better? I mean because in that situation you would going through life facing each problem head on and therefore they would have no way of sneaking up on you and surprising you. You would actually have a jump start and be really quick. The problem I see with that situation is the fact that because you are going through life so focused on solving problems or potential problems that you overlook the little things in life and you bring more stress on yourself. So what is the best method?
For me, the best method is the Bobbing Bobcat (which I have to say I averaged on the game, coincidence????). The theory here is that the “bobbing bobcat” is quick in some instances by solving problems as they appear efficiently and then moving on and in other instances the “bobcat” is slow in solving problems that need more effort and concentration. In this case you are able to focus solely on solving the difficult problem while also paying attention to potential problems. The “bobbing bobcat” is able to stop and smell the roses in life and knows to appreciate each day and the journey, knows that life isn’t a race but also understands that there are times when speed is a necessity. This is a happy medium. Or at least in my opinion it is. I don’t think we need to race through life and trying to solve problems that aren’t even an issue yet. I’m not saying I don’t think we shouldn’t anticipate potential problems, but thinking that in every situation there is going to be a problem will surely send you to your grave early b/c of the stress that puts on you. I also don’t think that you should just let life happen to you while you just get through it. If that’s the way you are living life then yeah you are going to be unhappy. Same goes for going through life too fast, you don’t have time to enjoy the fruits of your labor and of course you aren’t happy, you may say you are b/c you have everything but you really aren’t happy.
Of course I’m not saying this is about everybody or even anybody. This is just a theory that I have and agree with after seeing many people in each situation. Of course I think I’m in the middle ground with a tendency to slide towards “Ambling Armadillo” but that’s something I can work on b/c I have brought it to my attention. I by no means am perfect or have the solution to life or how to make you happy. I just know what makes me happy and most of the time, it’s the simple things. Playing with my puppy, talking to my best friend, watching my brother play baseball, having a cup of coffee with my dad, hanging out with my mom or my sister, these things put a smile on my face and bring me so much joy.
My family means so much to me and is a HUGE factor in my happiness. But that’s another issue I’m working on, cause they shouldn’t be the sole factor of my happiness. Like I’ve said in the past I’m a work in progress and while I’m working on me and come up with theories I’ll help you work on you. ;)
Till next time,
Court
P.S. I've posted the link to the game so you can give it a try!
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