By Jill E. Wolforth-
Coach Wolforth does an incredible job of continually having our family and staff at The Texas Baseball Ranch® read, ponder and reflect on a variety of subjects. He is fond of studying the Stoics and one of the books he shared with the family is “The Daily Stoic” by Ryan Holiday. If that name sounds familiar it’s probably because he authored another book which we refer to often, “The Obstacle is the Way”.
Recently, while reading one of the lessons in “The Daily Stoic”, I said to myself that the lesson presented was perfect for a weekly Ranch Message. As I reread it, I thought to myself, “I’m going to share this as is. I can’t write the message any better”. So, here you go. First is a quote from the stoic Epictetus, followed by Holiday’s description and application of it for us today.
“If a person gave away your body to some passerby, you’d be furious. Yet you hand over your mind to anyone who comes along, so they may abuse you, leaving it disturbed and troubled –
have you no shame in it?” – Epictetus
“Instinctively, we protect our physical selves. We don’t let people touch us, push us around, control where we go. But when it comes to the mind, we’re less disciplined. We hand it over willingly to social media, to television, to what other people are doing, thinking, or saying. We sit down to work and the next thing you know, we’re browsing the Internet. We sit down with our families, but within minutes we have our phones out. We sit down peacefully in a park, but instead of looking inward, we’re judging people as they pass by.
We don’t even know that we’re doing this. We don’t realize how much waste is in it, how inefficient and distracted it makes us. And what’s worse – no one is making this happen. It’s totally self-inflicted.
To the Stoics, this is an abomination. They know that the world can control our bodies –we can be thrown in jail or be tossed about by the weather. But the mind? That’s ours. We must protect it. Maintain control over your mind and perceptions, they’d say. It’s your most prized possession.” – Ryan Holiday
Originally, I had thought this week’s Ranch Message would simply end here and if it had, it would be a great message. However, as often is the case for me, when I’m focusing on a subject, it continues to show up in various ways and that’s what happened this past week.
I have been re-listening to the program, “Excelling in the New Millennium” by the late Jim Rohn. On this CD recording (from 2011) he emphasized and then restated the following comment, “Every day, stand guard at the door of your mind”.
I was struck by how well it tied into Holiday’s stoic message which I’d read a few days earlier. Apparently, it was a message I was supposed to hear.
Although I couldn’t improve upon Holiday’s writing, I think Rohn provides us the perfect synopsis and takeaway, “Stand guard at the door of your mind”.
If you’re not already doing so, I urge you to begin today.
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Important TBR Updates
- Information and dates for our 2022 3-Day Elite Pitchers Bootcamps can be found on our website. Call the office or fill out the online registration form(s) to reserve your spot! https://www.texasbaseballranch.com/elite-pitchers-bootcamp/
- We’ve just released the information on our Extended Stay Summer Program. Ranch athletes receive messages like the one above at the start of every training day. If you’d like more information, go to https://www.texasbaseballranch.com/events/tbr-summer-program/ There’s a $500 Early Bird Savings through March 31st. Space is limited each week so don’t delay.