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Not everyone will understand your journey. That’s fine. It’s not their journey to make sense of. It’s yours.

Zero Dean

Author | Photographer | CG Artist | Filmmaker

Zerosophy

The journey is the reward

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The reward for travel is as much about what the act of experiencing new things makes you think (and feel), as it is about moving from one place to another.

Travel is not so much about the distance between departure and destination as it is about the journey. Don’t assume you have to travel far or somewhere exotic to reap the benefits inherent in the process.

Many people are guilty of failing to explore places that are easily within their reach simply because they take these places for granted or assume they know what they will find when they get there.

They fail to realize that the journey is as much of a reward as the destination.

Go for a walk, a hike, a bike ride. Take a drive.

However you do it, don’t be guilty of not exploring places that are easily within your reach. And remember to remain present for the journey.

Some of people’s best thoughts happen in the shower. Others come from going to places one has never been.

You never know where the inspiration for that next best thought or idea will come from. It might just be down that path you’ve never gone down before.

The reward for travel is as much about what the act of experiencing new things makes you think (and feel), as it is about moving from one place to another.

Originally published on: Apr 12, 2014 @ 15:40
Republished on: May 30, 2015 @ 13:40

The secret of the Fountain of Youth

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It’s not so much how many wrinkles or how much hair you have that makes you seem old, it’s how you act.

Enthusiasm and an energetic spirit go a long way in giving one a youthful presence.

“Being youthful is an inside job. Think about what youth is. It’s kids, kids are enthusiastic, energetic, interested, optimistic, engaged, and curious. If you’re not all of those things, you can have no lines on your face and a 32 inch waist, and no one is going to call you youthful.” — Rob Lowe

Nothing makes you seem quite as old and used up like talking about how old and used up you are. And nothing reinforces in your mind how old you are as catering to these kinds of conversations with others.

Perhaps your memory isn’t as sharp as it used to be because you don’t do anything to keep it sharp or make it better.

Perhaps the pain or fatigue you feel in your body is a result of not doing much of anything to combat the effects of aging.

“You don’t stop doing things because you get old. You get old because you stop doing things.”

Yes, perhaps you have to make some mental and physical adjustments as you age, but people can do amazing and inspiring things at all ages.

If you simply resolve that “I am now limited because I’m getting old and that’s just the way it is”, you do a disservice to all the things you could still strive for and accomplish if you only tried.

Old-age thinking and old-age acting leads to “old age” much more than our revolutions around the sun.

Keep this in mind the next time someone wants you to identify with being “old” in a way you don’t necessarily agree with.

You can’t stop the clock, but you can do can do much to naturally combat the effects of aging in a negative way.

The secret of the fountain of youth is not in anything that can be bought. The secret of the fountain of youth is a healthy attitude towards aging.

Whatever your age, there’s always room for one more goal, one more accomplishment, one more way to better yourself and the world around you.

Never give up.

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The mock of shame

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We live in a culture that suggests “thinking differently” and standing out from the crowd is a good thing, and yet we are often guilty of poking fun of anything or anyone we come across that is “out of the ordinary”.

Perhaps it’s because anything different is an easy target, a conversation starter, and an opportunity for any of us to make obvious observations…

“Oh my god. Look at that person’s…”
“Look at the weird way they…”

We may think we are being funny, but we often state these observations in a way that is critical — and not complimentary — to the person being observed. The fact that these aren’t the sort of things we would feel comfortable sharing verbatim with the person directly is a clear indicator that they’re being said at that person’s expense.

If you truly do admire independent thinkers and those who are true to themselves, remember this the next time you come across someone or something out of the ordinary. It means someone is choosing to be themselves despite immense pressure to fit in and be just like everyone else.

It takes a great deal of courage and confidence to be one’s true self and — as long as someone isn’t harming themselves or others in the process — it should be applauded, not mocked.

If you truly appreciate uniqueness in others, learn to express it in a positive way. Don’t be the person that says they believe that people should be themselves, but when presented with someone or something different, uses it as an opportunity to make fun of that person.

The qualities that make someone unique should be respected — even admired — not ridiculed.

Unique people often have coolest stories. And it might just be that if you knew the reason behind someone’s display of independence, you’d find it inspiring and worthy of praise, not mockery.

And perhaps that “weirdo” sitting behind a laptop in a cafe for 8 hours a day, multiple days in a row, is a badass with an awesome backstory and you just don’t know it.

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Be patient, be consistent, strive to better yourself…

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Be patient, be consistent, strive to better yourself and the world around you, and embrace small victories.

With consistency, small victories become big victories.

One day at a time.

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I’d rather be interesting than normal.

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I’d rather be interesting than normal.

I&039;d rather be interesting than normal.

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Take the time to express it

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Take the time to say it.

“You know what I really like about you…”
“I love it when you…”
“I really respect you for…”
“This thing you did had such a good effect on me…”
“Thank you for…”
“I really appreciate it when you…”
“I admire you for…”
“One of my favorite memories of you is…”

Accentuate the positive in others and you may just have as positive effect on someone else as they have on you.

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Yes, you absolutely make a difference.

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“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” — William James

Yes, you absolutely make a difference.

But do you know how you make even more of a difference?

Simply by being aware of times that you can do so and then following through with some kind of action.

A kind word, a sincere compliment, a bit of encouragement, a smile, a listening ear, some positive feedback…

These things often take mere moments of our time to give, but can be worth so much to the people on the receiving end.

Accentuate the positive and positivity expands. You don’t have to see it to know it happens, but when you do, it is its own special reward.

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How to tell when someone just wants to fight

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How to tell when someone just wants to fight:

  • Rather than talk about the issue, they talk about you.
  • Rather than actively move towards a peaceful resolution, they turn you into the opposition.
  • Rather than it be “us vs. the problem”, it becomes “me vs. you.”
  • Rather than take what you say at face value, they choose to twist or misinterpret what you say to meet their own needs.
  • They will accuse you of being defensive when you are simply stating facts or your opinion.
  • They will tell you what you think, put words in your mouth, or provide their own justification for your actions.
  • They will tell you what good things they used to think about you before telling you they don’t feel that way anymore.
  • They will tell you how much you disappoint them.
  • They will try to bully you into apologizing and saying you’re sorry.
  • They will recruit others to do all of the above.
  • And as you communicate, things get progressively worse, despite your efforts at working towards peace.

If someone uses the above techniques in a “conversation”, that’s not called being open minded or “working things out”. That’s called trying to “win” through submission.

And the fact is, no matter what the outcome is, there are no winners.

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Emotional reasoning

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“Emotional reasoning is a cognitive process that occurs when a person believes that what he or she is feeling is true regardless of a presented evidence.” — Wikipedia

Believe it or not, direct communication, and not making guesses or assumptions — no matter how right you think you are — is still the most reliable way to get accurate information on why someone has chosen to act (or not act) a certain way.

Leaps of logic with regard to others’ motivation are often prone to being inaccurate when one is working with only personal experience or a limited amount of information.

If you want to know the when, what, or why behind something someone did or is doing, many times all you have to do is ask.

Never underestimate the power of clear, open, honest, and direct communication as a means to establish or perpetuate long-lasting and rewarding relationships.

As it is often a lack of these things that ultimately cause relationships to fail.

Don’t fill in the blanks for things you don’t know the true answers to with negative things that you convince yourself are the truth.

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