Shields Up!

I stumbled across something funny while researching for this post. I guess subzin.com is a site where you enter a phrase and it kicks back any/all movies or shows with that quote in them. Sort of an odd project, but if bouncing around on the web is your thing (and not just a distraction from your passions! See below *wink*), I'm sure you could sink some time into it. Relevant: here's a search based on "shields up." As expected, a lot of Star Trek.

How was the turkey?

Did I leave the shields on this morning?

I should start with a belated Happy Thanksgiving! Hopefully you all had a good time with family and friends and didn't overeat. But hey, this post is not about Thanksgiving--or Star Trek for that matter. Today we're talking about shields. You know, those things you put up to protect, deflect, and otherwise disengage with whatever's thrown at you. Often, shields protect us from nasty stuff out there, but sometimes they keep us from greatness.

Shields in plain sight

• Online anonymity is a shield that all too often allows people to act less than desirably.
• Being cruel is a shield. The best defense is a strong offense and all that. But really, you're just trying to protect yourself, aren't you?
• Distractions are shields. Oh yeah. That last hour you spent on Youtube was entertaining, sure, but is it really where your passions lie? Is it where you'll be putting the work in? If so, then hey, go ahead. More likely? Your distractions are shields that keep you from doing your best work. (tweetable)
• Laziness is the shieldiest of all shields. How can you ever find yourself in a risky situation if you're never doing anything? How can you take a chance to grow?
• Not giving a loved one the benefit of the doubt? That's a shield too. That's just preparing for the worst without even considering the best.

My Distractions

A well-known good-type shield.

There was a time not so long ago where I had been sucked in to multiple smartphone games. Granted, they were fun, and yes, some of them dealt especially with franchises I was passionate about (the Marvel Universe in particular), but I could feel them sucking the life away from me. Many of these games are built with a sort of "play as much as you can within one week" or something like that. They reward you not just for playing, but for high frequency and devotion.

You see, games in particular deliver an insidious lie--that they matter. But at the end of the day, the number of points or experience or whatever is not going to affect your life nearly as much as, say, reading a book on a topic you're interested in, or researching something to help you improve in an area of your choosing. That's right--YOUR choosing. Nobody's here pushing you to be one way or another, to do one thing over the next. Not even me. You have to be true to what you want. You have to follow through with your passions, and if that really is phone games, or online videos, then maybe you should look into careers that take advantage of those passions.

It's just like those phone games--high frequency and devotion go a long way. But think--what if you took that fervor, that vigor, towards your dreams?

Circumstantial

The thing is, there are shields all around us. Only your circumstances will determine whether they will better serve as a helper or a hinderance. Only you can decide. And I'm hoping you choose to give the world your best work. Because remember; you deserve the Better World, and The Better World deserves you.

Be good, stay safe, and check in with me next week for some more shenanigans!