Reflections inspired by everyday life: meaningful conversations, memorable quotes, everyday moments, and the questions that continue to shape my perspective on purpose, growth, and peace.
Distractions From What Matters Most
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I used to watch Gordon Ramsey’s cooking shows quite a bit. There is one moment from an episode that still makes me laugh. A chef was preparing a dish with pork as the main ingredient. When Gordon came over to check on the chef, the chef was going into deep detail on how he was preparing the vegetables on the side. He was so focused on explaining the side dish that he was neglecting the main part of the meal. In classic Gordon Ramsey fashion, he interrupted and said, “The hero is the pork!” As funny as the moment was, I think there is a lesson in there. We can get so focused on one part of our lives, but it isn’t aligned with what truly matters to us. We become so focused on the “vegetables” that we forget to tend to the hero. We can say our family means everything to us, yet we spend all of our time focused on work. We can say our health is important to us, yet we indulge in activities that are harmful for our health because they feel good in the moment. We can say friendships matter to us, yet weeks or months pass by without reaching out because we’re “too busy.” There is so much in the world that competes for our attention: notifications, deadlines, opportunities, obligations, entertainment, and even good things in our lives that slowly crowd out the best things. How do we know when we have lost sight of what matters most to us? There is a difference between our spoken values and our lived values. Without saying a word, so much could be discovered by looking at your calendar, your spending, and your attention throughout the day. The easiest way to discover your priorities isn’t by asking yourself, “What matters most to me?” It’s looking at where your time, energy, and attention consistently flows. It doesn’t mean that other aspects of your life may not be important, but we need to know how to prioritize and protect what we care about most. Whatever you are working through or dedicating time for, ask yourself this: Is it helping build what matters to me or is it taking time away from it? Until next time, Ryan |
Better Questions
Reflections inspired by everyday life: meaningful conversations, memorable quotes, everyday moments, and the questions that continue to shape my perspective on purpose, growth, and peace.
In the TV show, The Bear, there is a scene that stuck with me. Marcus, an aspiring baker, travels to Copenhagen to learn from a world-class chef, chef Luca. Marcus asks chef Luca, “How did you get so good?” Chef Luca responds, “I think at a certain stage it becomes less about skill and it’s more about being open… to the world, to yourself, to other people… you can spend all the time in the world in here, but if you don’t spend enough time out there…” What could make a world-class chef realize...
There is a well-known illustrated book written by Charlie Mackesy titled, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. Most pages have just one sentence, but the story is filled with lessons. While walking on his journey, the boy says to his friends, “Imagine how we would be if we were less afraid.” The mole responded, “Most of the old moles I know wish they'd listened less to their fears and more to their dreams.” Of the many lessons in this book, this is one that stuck with me most. Instead of...
Who am I becoming? What deserves my attention today? What do others think of me? When will I finally feel like I have enough? What truly matters? Some are conscious. Others are so familiar we no longer notice them. Some we choose. Others we quietly inherited. Whether we realize it or not, the questions we repeatedly ask influence what we notice, how we interpret the world, the decisions we make, and ultimately, the life we build. Together, we will explore the questions that quietly shape our...