Quality Controlled

Expanding boundaries, both professionally and personally, is a mission statement of sorts in the world of sports + thoughts, dear readers. Influencing a little change of thought on your end of the computer screen isn't necessarily a bad thing either, but it's certainly not one of my missions.

It should be one of yours, though.

Love it or fight it, y'all, change is quite the subjective necessary evil. Like farting when you really have to shit. (That goes for you too ladies because, well, despite rumors to the contrary, we all know you "toot" and "poop" on occasion.)

Today's lesson involves an old saying that goes something like, "Don't ever mistake my silence for ignorance, my calmness for acceptance or my kindness for weakness." The quote is attributed to tons of sources and is more-or-less self explanatory but I think the words are required reading.

Maybe even on a daily basis.

The risk, of course, is when we "give in" to urges in any of those situations we tend to make everything about one thing and one thing only: self satisfaction. It's easy to argue with others if you think you're right. (Which everyone does, of course.) It's easy to get angry when someone crosses you. It's easy to walk away when you feel you've been hurt or wronged. And I, for one, am tired of all this selfish "me, me, me" nonsense dominating the world these days. Shit, selfishness is so socially acceptable its turned into big business.

Just ask the matriarch of the Kardashian klan if you don't believe me.

Only the strongest of us can be silent when we have a lot to say, calm when want to release emotion or kind when we're justified in a little malevolence. Sure, if you make this mantra an ingredient in your daily interactions others may be confused by your behavior but you won't be and, more importantly, you'll find solace in the fact that trying to live that way, more often that not, results in doing the right thing.

Which should definitely be done on a daily basis.